WEll i may be purchasing an 86/87 iroc. The car is practically a giveaway. BUt the catch is it needs valve seals. Is this a hard job? If i cant do it myself how much would a reputable shop usually charge for this. The car is only 200 dollars im sure i can make that back by parting it out.

 

I've heard people mention driving cars that need valve seals without and problems although I may be confusing it with something else. Basically it'll be a smokey start up and no other problems otherwise. I know nothing about engines though, thats just repeating what I've heard.

 

I had a mustang 5.0 that had the same problem. It wouldnt run right thats why uim asking about this.

 

my 87 iroc had bad valve seals from day one (130k) and i drove it well to well over 180K

just keep an eye on the oil.

i would say pull the heads, get a dremel and polish the ports, swap the springs so you can run more lift, and buy some 1.6 roller tip rockers to increase the hp a bit. and while you've got it apart...change the seals.

 

Valve seals are not typically one of the more difficult jobs. it requires removing the valve covers and rocker arms. the only semi difficult part is you need a valve spring compressor (which you can rent or buy) if you are mechanically inclined the job is not that hard. but if not it might be a little difficult because you need to readjust the rockers without valve covers on and the car running. hard to say what a shop would charge because, depending on thier labor rates and where you come from prices will vary. I will say parts are pretty cheap for that job though.

 

hey firebird where in mass you from? i noticed on your profile you are from there.I'm in medford.

 

The parts are about $20 but it will probably cost around $200+ to have them changed.
Both of my 3rd gens had bad valve seals and it just smokes on startup after it's been sitting for awhile, other than that, they still ran great.

 

My previous car was a 1991 Rs Camaro with the Lo3 and it needed valve seals pretty bad. It would smoke on start up and smoke really bad at Wot. I drove it for 20,xxx miles without any problems before I swapped it out for a 350. Just keep an eye on the oil, cause you'll be burning it.

 

It sounded like it was running rough. I think its out of time too or a spark plug or 2 is fouled. His mom wants it out of the yard so bad that they may just let me take it. He said he needed some seals in the intake manifold 2 but i dunno. The mechanic who told him this is not that reputable. I think it may be a simple fix. The car only has 90k on the ticker so i dunno.

 

I actually think it may be a sensor keeping it from running right?

 

Buy the car! Great deal even if in the worse case it needs rings(which I doubt due to the low miles).
If possible drive it before buying to make sure the tranny is okay(if its an auto) along with the other parts of the drivetrain which can get pricey to fix or replace.