valve stem oil seals/ piston rings

[ritter1]

Hi guys, now this ones been a persistant problem since my mum and dad bought the car over a year ago. It burns oil basically. Now, ive decided its time it gets sorted seeing as I will be driving it from Liverpool to Wrexham and back every day starting September and one) im not paying for a bottle of oil a week to keep filling it up and two) I dont much fancy finding out if its the valve stem seals or piston rings that r the problem wen going down the motorway.

Now its only the AEX 1.4 engine (as some of you will know by now with the amount of small things ive asked about on here over it haha) so I cant imaging it being too hard to do the job.

I know its best to ghet the ehad off, and looking at the engine, it seems pretty straight forward, however, whenever I assume things im always WAY off haha. I would get a garage to do the job (its getting checked to confirm the problem this week) but it will cost 150 quid just for the head to come off, then whatever needs to be done on top of that and seeing as I have no money for this sort of thing atm, I cant see me being able to shell that out.

Now, at the moment, im sure if its the valve stem seals or the piston rings, but the parts for both r only cheap and with the cost problem, im tempted to do it myself, particularly if its the valve stem seals. I have a haynes manual but this seams to be the only thing they didnt put in it, welli cant find it, and want to know how its done.

Ive read up on the process and stuff, but would like to know any advice and a kind of walkthrough on how to do it on this particular engine. I have heard it can be done without taking the head off, but the risks seem far to much for me and i dont want the engine off the road for more than a day or two at most so please guys, advice, tips and if possible, a walkthrough of the process onj this particular engine would be a great help.

I will probably end up getting a garage to do it anyway, but just incase, this is what I need to know.

[kenney]

You do not need to remove the head to replace the seals.There are a few special tools involved,which makes the job a lot easier,and without these,i think you will have a problem.,and the fact that you need compressed air on the cylinder,means,you will need a compressor.Removing the head,does not mean,you do not need the special tools,just the compressor.The job takes about 4 hours,and since the camshaft will be removed it might be an idea to replace the timming belt etc.Having said that, these engines are known to use a bit of oil.

[BobProperty]

If you do a compression test on the engine then repeat the test after squirting a little engine oil into the bores your should be able to tell if it is the bores or the valve seals. With the oil in the bores there will be little difference between the figures if it is the valve seals. If there is a large difference it is the bores.
The Haynes manual does cover the head and valves but not specifically the AEX so you have to "interpret" and identify which bits apply.
As for doing the valve stem oil seals without taking the head off, it would be a neat trick, I think.

[kenney]

A compression test will tell you nothing,it is worn oil rings that cause the engine to burn oil,the seals are replaced without removing,the head (no trick)that is how it is done.

[BobProperty]

Sorry, I'm getting my valves and vale stems mixed up. A compression test would tell you if it was the bores though surely?
Doing the valve stems without taking the head off is fine if you have all the equipment. "Bolt on" spring compressor or whatever its proper name is, air compressor, etc. ( What do you actually use to keep the valves closed anyway, just air pressure? ) I presume it is done this way in garages to save all the risks associated with removing and replacing the head as well as being quicker if you have all the tools.

[kenney]

It is the compressed air which keeps the valves in place.As mentioned,you can have top compression,but the engine can burn oil,If the oil rings are worn,oil passes them,and is burned in the combustion stroke. Usually with bad compression,other faults are present.

[ritter1]

thanks for the replies guys, so am I right in thinking garages do the job without removing the head yet still charge for removing it? If I do end uip getting a garage to do it I think i will be sitting there watching just to make sure im not paying for what hasnt been done.

Would you guys recommend doing it yourself if I could get hold of the air compressor or is it eaiser getting a new engine even? To be honest with you, im sure ive seen these engines go for as low as £100/£200 so would probably be cheaper to get a new engine than pay for this to be done by a a garage. I would even consider a larger engine except the fact im 19 and its a golf and insurance is high on it even with all kinds of discounts and such.

Or would you say leaving it a while is okay? I really dont have the funds to pay for this to be fixed and would have to save up anyway.


One thing to kind of give you an idea of the problem, I get the obvious symptom of blue smoke from the exhaust, but its a tiny amount at idle, so tiny in fact you dont notice it at all unless you are looking for it. If you rev upto say 3000 rpm, its more noticable but still not in plumes, if you hold at 3000 you do get blue smoke coming from it (when the car ahdnt been used for a year, it was plumes at this stage but since its been in use not so much) and if you rev closer to redline, rev up and take off the gas you get a cloud of smoke.

Ive never ever noticed any smoke from the rear while driving it so surely its not burning that much?

It alos has the trademark black sooty exhaust aswell.

[BobProperty]

thanks for the replies guys, so am I right in thinking garages do the job without removing the head yet still charge for removing it?

I'd hope not. If I understand correctly how it is done it would be quicker than taking the head off but, more importantly, there isn't the expense of all the parts needed to replace the head (gasket set, head bolt set, etc.), the time to set everything up again after and the risk for the garage.

Would you guys recommend doing it yourself if I could get hold of the air compressor.....

It's not just the air compressor. I have no idea what the air tool is like but suspect it fits in the plug sockets, so that would be a rare and professional tool (=£££s) The spring compressor that can be bolted down to the cylinder head also won't be a £5 Silverline one either.

[zollaf]

why not get hold of some forte top end treatment, put it in with the oil and see if that helps. i used some in an old landrover that was consuming oil at a very alarming rate and it stopped it.

[kenney]

To buy the tools for,maybe a one time only,job,would not pay you.You could fill a lot of oil for what is going to cost you.Buying a second hand engine,is like buying a cat in a bag,you might get a worse engine,than the one you have.Zollaf suggested a cure with forte,which is well worth a try.