Valve Seats

[69coronet318]

Hey all got a quick one for ya......My 72 dart still has the original heads with the original soft valve seats on a 318. the motor is burnin a little oil. It mainly smokes on startup then clears up as the engine gets warmer. I'm thinking that the valve seats are the culprit, is there any way to check? If not, is there a way to eliminate other possible causes (rings etc....)

[Giles]

It sounds like valve guide seals. These can be replaced without removing the heads.----Good Luck-----

[biggerhammer]

have you ever had the heads off? if not, then might be a good idea to pull them and have them checked. could need guides, seats, seals , springs may be weak , oil passages clogged etc. if you can afford it and like the car, then might be a good time to rebuild( and hop up) the engine.

[69coronet318]

No, I've never had the heads off because when I do take them off I'm planning on putting a different set on. I'm basically just looking for ways to check, because if its the rings or something else I would like to know before I get too deep into the motor. Thanks

[23T]

My bet is on the valve guide seals if it smokes on cold start-up and not on warm starts.

[Doug Wilson]

1) Valve stem seals 2) Everything else

[cuda66273]

Go rent or borrow a leak down tester, put the pump to it and listen to the carb and crank case breather. if it's leaking back through the carb it's valves, through the crank it's rings.

If it leaks more than 12% it's time.....

Whats the oil pressure like....on a real gauge.

How many miles?

[69coronet318]

I'll hop on getting a leak down tester as soon as I have some time. As for oil pressure, need to go get a real gauge. The engine has 92k miles on it, and only needs about a quart every 1000-1500 miles depending on how much I put the pedal to the floor

[cuda66273]

Actually your problem sounds like "Valve stem Seals"

Easily fixed....got a compressor and about 2-3 hours?

You'll need a tool to compress the valve spring..you can rent those.