replacing valve stem seals without touching anything else

[SBC 240Z]

I'm on a tight budget at the moment so head work is pretty much out of the question. I'm prepping my coupe to put up for sale and just in time for this it's decided to display how bad the valve stem seals really are. My question is, is it worth replacing the valve stem seals ($30) without taking care of the guides at the same time.

I know valve stem seals have been discussed a thousand times but going through the past threads it looks to me like a lot of people confuse the valve guides and valve stem seals so it's hard to decipher if people are replacing just the seals or having the guides replaced at the same time.

I've done just the seals before on past cars but they weren't getting as bad as this. I cleaned up my PCV and that helped some. I've got the vise-grip style valve spring compressor and the air compressor attachment that plugs into the spark plug hole to pressurize the cylinder and keep the valves from falling, this combo has worked out great in the past.

[Hijacker]

if you have the tools, skill, and time, do it. Valve guides are less likely to go bad and would require a dissassembly of the head.

[SBC 240Z]

Yeah my point exactly, I know it sounds bad but $30 is a lot of money right now haha, so I didn't want to waste time and money if it was a moot effort. Just trying to get the car in shape to sell and I know the first thing anyone would notice is the cloud of smoke when i first start it. Being 24 and going back to school full time sucks for the income.

[Gabes13]

I didn't replace anything but the valve seals in both my ka and rb. You usually dont have to touch the guides unless there motor experienced some serious damage, or, if you're doing an extreme over overhaul for big numbers.

[SBC 240Z]

Great, these are the answers I was hoping for. I've recently started driving the car about 30x as much as I use to and it apparently took it's toll fast on the valve stem seals. I use to live across the street from work so I might drive a couple miles a week max and now I'm burning through an entire tank of fuel in a couple days from driving across town several times a day for school and work.

The car use to only give a little puff of smoke after stoplights but now it's an embarassing cloud haha.

[Gabes13]

The car use to only give a little puff of smoke after stoplights but now it's an embarassing cloud haha.

Hahaha. oh the perks of enjoying a 20+ year old car.

[costa_rican13]

thats just gas and exhaust from the raw power of you t9 trying to spool.

[SBC 240Z]

hahaha, I'm getting tired of driving this car anyway because every idiot that sees it on the road thinks "oh look 240 he must have a SR/RB/CA/KA-T" and I don't so I'm ready to start DDing the Z so they're like "oh look old a** Z, what's up with the dual exhaust you gay?"

[Lobo240sx]

^ LOL. Welcome to the S13 world.

Hahaha. oh the perks of enjoying a 20+ year old car.

[getangle]

i just replaced mine cus i had to lap my valves so might as well do it.

[TheRealNap0le0n]

I'm ready to start DDing the Z so they're like "oh look old a** Z, what's up with the dual exhaust you gay?"

lolz

[SBC 240Z]

Did stem seals today, no more smoking, my car's lungs will appreciate this

[JKL1031]

U did this without removing the head? What engine?

[thienthan]

I need to do my valve seal on my s14 really soon...Anybody have a write up or used one that was helpful I can use?