valve seal breakthrough!

[s13sr20chris]

ok, so i have been tearing my redtop down for a "freshening up" and i pulled off one of the famous sr20det exhaust valve seals. you know the ones that are not interchangable with usdm sr20's because the valve is 1mm fatter. well i just compared it side by side with a ka24de exhaust valve seal and it was nearly identicle! only diff was the color of the rubber! so i slap one of the ka seals in and check everything. its good. unless someone knows something i dont know i plan to just get a $20 set of ka seals instead of a $60 set of det seals from phase2. i already have a set of intake seals by the way. i will post this in the sr20 parts guide if the motor runs good with no probs. that way its verified you know.

[nismostate]

i've always been told that whenever you put in new valves and seals you have to gap em almost like spark plugs? my buddy is a dsm guy and he mentioned to me something about it before. hope everything works out!

[s13sr20chris]

gap? i am not really familiar with dsm valvetrains although i know they have hydraulic lifters. when i get the headwork done and valves in i will have to measure and set up the shims and guides. thats ok i found the shim setter at my work and i have a small pile of spare sr20 valve shims and guides.

[180fan]

DO'H!!! Chris, if you had only found that out a few weeks ago *sobs* I could have saved all of like 20-30 bucks? So it looks like you're starting your work on your motor eh?

[Hijacker]

this is good news for me too. Might be tearing down an SR soon. Not mine, though.

[s13sr20chris]

yeah, i remember the conversation too. sorry bro. i did not think it would work untill i had the valves out and saw what the darn seals looked like. then i matched em up with a spare ka head. let me just say the engine wont be running for a while so i cant be 100% sure. im just at about 98%.

[180fan]

it's all good dude. if you're tearing down and need some internals, let me know. I got your back on that stuff. Got a spare SR parted out and a new one being built so got doubles of alot of parts since alot of the stock parts are getting dumped for aftermarket. hee hee hee

[Gladius]

How do old and worn out valve seals affect the engine? Would it cause some compression to be lost into the head? I think mine might be worn out, because at high rpm I get a lot of oil getting blown out of the valve cover vent.

[robbbby]

Worn out valve seals would lead to oil loss. Not out the valve cover though.

[Gladius]

Worn out valve seals would lead to oil loss. Not out the valve cover though.

Worn out seals wouldn't let some of the cylinder pressure past the valves and into the head? I really dont know.

[s13sr20chris]

that sounds more like rings. i had the same issue and am correcting it right now.

[Hijacker]

Worn out seals wouldn't let some of the cylinder pressure past the valves and into the head? I really dont know.

the crankcase has pressure in it (a slight pressure, but pressure none the less). The head gets some of that pressure too because of the drainage passages that allow the oil back into the crank after it lubes the head. That's why you have things like a PCV valve and the breather tubes. Anyways, what I'm getting at is that the pressure that can leak past a worn valve seat isn't enough to pressurize the head. It will more or less just be like adding a bit more of a slight wind to a room.

[Gladius]

I apprecitate the responses guys. I did a compression test and it came out 155-160 throughout. I guess im getting alot of blow by at 17 psi.

Another thought,

Do you think 17 psi of boost through some leaky seals might provide enough pressure to pressurize the head enough to throw out some of my oil through the valve cover vent? Or once again it wouldn't have enough effect?

[Hijacker]

the vent has a baffle under it to prevent large amounts of oil escaping through it. it also has a wire mesh filter to protect from tons of crap oozing in and out. the only thing coming out of it is oil vapors. if you're seeing a small amount of oil in your intake stream, that's mainly just condensated oil vapors. the main area of concern when it comes to blowby is oil pooled up in the turbo.

[s13sr20chris]

what all do you have plumbed into your post turbo pipes.

[johna_99_99]

s13sr20chris,

hey man...i was just wondering if you ever fixed that bogging problem with your car....i was having the same trouble....and id like to fix it before it starts acting up again....thanks...

[s13sr20chris]

nope, i have bigger fish to fry starting with the piston rings.

[tonis56]

Any developments with the ka24 seal fitment?? Looking to save some cash. Im guessing i would just get these from the dealer? If so, would you happen to have the part numbers for them? Thanks in advance.

Tony-