Valve spring seat, missing? (1 Viewer)

[algeeba]

Good afternoon all.

100,000 miles ago I head my '78 head worked on. Now it's blowing some smoke when I let it idle a bit then I accelerate. So I began replacing the valve stem seals with the Fel-Pro SS27504 ones. The machine shop put the later 2F seals, which I am finding out are the good ones.

Now I'm getting a bit confused as the manual shows that a valve spring seat goes between the spring and cylinder head. My setup consisted of the later 2F valve stem seal (which I figure acts as the seat and seal), then a washer with grooves on the bottom of it and then the valve spring. Now that I am putting the Fel-Pros on, I have no seat and only the washer.

Questions: do I need the seat? do I need the washer? If I need the seat, can I just cut the used valve seals and use them as the seat? If I use them as the seat, then do I really need the washers?

When I reassembled by just putting the washer it looks like the spring will just dance around.

Thanks all.

 

[DougAustinTx]

I am trying to understand what you are asking. Are you saying you had the top-hat style stem seals with the built-in spring washer, and now you are installing the smaller seals that just push onto the top of the valve guide? If you used the top-hat type seal you would not normally install the original spring spacer washers as well. Those washers on a cast iron head are primarily used to set the compressed spring tension. I have never seen anyone use both the top-hat seal flange, and the OEM spring washers at the same time. It would certainly increase the spring tension. If your spring "dances around" with the oem washers under them, then you either have partially collapsed springs, or the wrong springs, or your valve stems are too long.