How difficult is it? According to the chiltons, it seems pretty easy, but It looks like I need to remove the upper intake, and a bunch of junk to get to the valve covers (at least the pass. side). Is there anything else I should replace while I'm in there? Thanks for any advice.

First off, does it smoke bad? and is only during startup (after sitting) Sometimes its easier to just keep adding the oil...

Well, once you get the valve covers off its not that hard, you will need to remove the spark plug and either connect a fitting so you can fill the cylinder with air or jam rope in there, this will prevent the valves from dropping (well if one is burnt and you us air.. it will not seal... You will need to get a External valve spring compression tool, most good auto parts stores sell them. I recommend getting some extra valve stem keepers (2 per valve) before you start, because you may loose one or two...

If you use the rope trick, you will need to rotate the engine(using a socket on the crank NOT THE STARTER!!!) after you jam rope in there.. rotating the engine will compress the rope, therefore holding the valves up.

Good Luck....



Uzi... Yamaha Sleds, Honda Bikes, and Ford Trucks

If you go to the trouble of removing the F.I. plenum to get the valve covers off, I would suggest checking the intake manifold seals too. If any signs of oil leaking, get a kit and replace the intake gaskets and seals with Ford's latest part number.

NormSpeed

I just replaced the valve seals in my ’91 Bronco with the 302, and it sucked. First, because the valve stem locks is a bitch to get in and out. But what I did was gone ahead and did the job right the first time.

I went ahead and bought the Gasket set from Advance Auto Part for the upper engine. It has 2 head gaskets, intake upper/lower gaskets, throttle body gaskets, 16 valve seals, 8 injector O rings, 2 valve cover gaskets, 2 exhaust gaskets, and 1 distributor O ring. Making it an all in one gasket set (can’t remember the Fel-Pro #) But then you are able to take off your heads, clean the valves and see if you have any damaged one, and get to the valve seals with ease. I even repainted the heads after cleaning them up.

Then you just put the upper top of the engine back together and you can feel confident that all gaskets are new and you don’t have any leaks. Just pay very close attention to the torque specifications. Torque everything in 10-15 lbs increments.

Just some friendly advice.

The only place my engine leaks is at the rear main seal. I was planning on taking the engine out this spring to rebuild it anyway, so this valve seal replacement came at an inopertune time!