Valve Guide seals

[Guest]

Has any one ever tried to change out their valve guide seals without removing the head?

Hap

[daveo]

I've done it,(using clothes line packed thru spark plug hole) but not on a GS, would be really hard to compress #2-3 springs with the frame in the way, with the engine out it may be do-able, probably be faster to just pull the head

[shaftzuki]

Never tried it on the bike - probably spend more time engineering something that would work than you would just pulling it off - of course we all know where that leads, once the head is off, you may as well pull the block and re-ring her ... 8)

[SqDancerLynn1]

I have never done valves on MC but have done it numerous times on cars I agree! Trying to do it on the engine is only doing 1/2 the job. At the point when you have every thing removed to change the seals It would be very easy to remove the head and would probably save time in the long run. It would also allow you to remove the carbon in the head and on the piston, inspect the valve seal,and valve guides

[deano]

seen it done on a car, they had an old sparkplug with the porcelan removed and a compressed air fitting brased into it, they just hooked an airline up to it to fill the cylinder with air (and keped the air going in) while they changed the seals.

[Dave_A]

On my bike, the guide seals are on the tappet-end of the valves, so theoretically you could change them (one side at a time) by rotating the crank so the piston being serviced is at TDC, removing the valve springs, changing the seals, and re-setting the springs...

Of course, when I did that, I was replacing valves so it didn't matter - I had to pull the head anyway...

[saaz]

I have not done it myself, but have heard of the compressed air through the spark plug hole trick to hold the valve up.

My bike is in the same situation, still great compression but seals need doing. I may leave it until another decade or so.

[Anonymous]

Valve stem seals

Hello, two winters ago I changed the valve stem seals on my 850. I did this while the motor was still in the bike. The way I compressed the top of the valve collar was to make a tool from a large socket(15/16 in st length) that I cut away the side of it. I took a length of 3/4 in galvanised strapping the type you use for hanging pipe around 2.5 in. long and held it in place with two screws (6mm I think) in the cam bearing cap bolt holes. I used a small pry bar to put pressure on the socket to compress the spring to get the keepers out. To keep the valve from dropping into the cylinder I turned the motor so the piston was at top dead center and I took a length of 14 gauge house wire with a loop in the end and positioned it under the respective valve. Getting the old valve stem seal off was another matter, just a lot of grunt. Job done and no more oil seepage. I can e-mail you pictures if necessary. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Re: Valve stem seals

Hello, two winters ago I changed the valve stem seals on my 850. I did this while the motor was still in the bike. The way I compressed the top of the valve collar was to make a tool from a large socket(15/16 in st length) that I cut away the side of it. I took a length of 3/4 in galvanised strapping the type you use for hanging pipe around 2.5 in. long and held it in place with two screws (6mm I think) in the cam bearing cap bolt holes. I used a small pry bar to put pressure on the socket to compress the spring to get the keepers out. To keep the valve from dropping into the cylinder I turned the motor so the piston was at top dead center and I took a length of 14 gauge house wire with a loop in the end and positioned it under the respective valve. Getting the old valve stem seal off was another matter, just a lot of grunt. Job done and no more oil seepage. I can e-mail you pictures if necessary. Best of luck.

Hey mack you ought to post thst one on a web page for all to see. It sounds like the winner on this subject.

[Anonymous]

Okay, compression is good on my bike so I'm willing to do the seals but not the head and base gaskets. It's too bad the thing has 8 valves. I've got two questions.

How long do seals last if the guides and valves are not replaced? I can see the valves wobbling around in the loose guides and quickly wearing out the new seals.

My bike probably has different style seals in it from manufacturing when compared to OEM replacements. Do the replacements attach to the origional guides?

Thanks, Steve