Valve Guide Seals

[drk1313]

I was replacing the valve cover gaskets on my '72 351 and found several chunks of rock hard valve guide seals in the heads. Never tried to replace seals with the heads still on the car, but with compressed air in the cylinders and a spring compressor the job was not too bad. Most of the seals crumbled when I pulled the spring. I found one seal still in one piece, but it was as hard as a rock as well. Here's a pic of a new one installed. I would get a nice puff of oil at start-up, so this was a job worth doing for sure.

 

[TommyK]

You may find some more of those chunks if you ever pull the oil pan.

 

[Fordboy71]

Definitely worth the time it took. I have found that if you don’t have a compressor handy, a long piece of rope in the cylinder works good also.