so i have an extra head that im gonna get hot tanked and drop a new cam and valvetrain in before i put it on my current block. i took everything out(valves,retainers,springs,keepers,rocker arms...) except the valve seals and guides. i went to autozone to see if they had a tool to get them out and they said that they didnt, so im lead to ask this question...is it okay to keep the valve seals and guides in the head while it gets hot tanked, or is that gonna mess them up?? if i should remove them, are there any tricks or easy ways too, cause they seem to be in there pretty good and i dont just wanna go pullin at stuff. sorry for the slight bit of noob ignorance, but im not sure on this one- any help is appreciated..

 

The guides will be fine, but I would recomend not hot tanking the head with the valve seals in it. Just put new valve seals in after it's hot tanked. They are cheap.

 

bump

 

other opinions???

 

I bought a head that was hot tanked, the seals did not look bad at all, but I replaced them anyways. It could vary from each individual situation, but if you plan on using the head for any period of time, then replace them. Realy cheap and rather easy to do.

 

you can hot tank a head with the stem seals still installed and even use them afterwards. However if they are hard when you lightly squeeze the tips of them or broken in any way replace them.

 

If they are as cheap as everyone says, why not just do it. It's probably worth the saved labor/downtime of having to do it down the road, now anyone have suggestions on how he can remove them?

-PHiZ