cost to replace valve stem seals?

Thrashero

Member
I'm looking at buying a gen 2.5 Montero that needs the valve stem seals replaced (if I can get it cheap enough). It's got 160k miles. I'm not sure yet if it's something I'm comfortable doing myself so I'm trying to get a rough idea of how much it would cost to get it done. parts? labor? Thanks.
 

nckwltn

Explorer
Expensive. You don't need to pull the heads or drain the coolant, but you do need some special tools and make sure you have extra keepers, they are easily lost

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
 

normal_dave

waytoomuchwritinginposts.
Here's a good summary of the valve seal issue by DougC on Justanswer.com:
https://www.justanswer.com/mitsubishi/79qrc-mitsubishi-pajero-glx-3500-v6-lwb-hi-guys-need-know.html

another discussion from a fellow that did his own.
http://msport97.proboards.com/thread/10100/notes-after-replacing-montero-sport

I did my own, valve seal set(s) I found on sale, Fel-Pro quite cheap. Lots of labor, not for the faint of heart, you need time and patience. I did mine over a long weekend day and a few short weeknights, just to break it up. Used the air compressor method, the Lisle valve spring tool, and a hand held sledge to compress the spring enough to release the retainer/keepers. Hardest part was getting the old seals off. Next time I'll buy the valve seal "pliers" tool! New ones "seat" in two steps or drops. Sure is nice not to have "Ol Smoky" kicking in at the red lights anymore.

Here's an older post that should give you lots of good related information all in one place:
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/159696-Replacing-Gen-3-Heads-(Like-a-Virgin)-Any-Recommendation
 
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bikerjosh

Explorer
Expensive. You don't need to pull the heads or drain the coolant, but you do need some special tools and make sure you have extra keepers, they are easily lost

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

Still haven't done mine, new valve stem seals have probably rotted out from sitting in my shop so long? LOL, chemical rebuild keeps the smog folks happy every two years. :wings::victory:
 

Thrashero

Member
I definitely have time. I just bought a house with a garage, I bike to work, and we have a very dependable Prius. I'll just take it slow and do it myself, I guess.
 

jaccox23

Adventurer
If you are planning to do it yourself it's a very cheap fix. IIRC the seals are under 100 and the tool you'll need is around 30. I used the Lisle tool that you strike with a hammer (best option once you get the hang of it) But you'll also want to replace valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube gaskets and intake manifold gasket. Again not terribly expensive but do add to the overall price. Then while you have the intake off it'd be best to go ahead and do some new iridium plugs and new wires since this is the only time they are accessible. Kinda expensive but that's easily a 100k mile worry free right there. All in all I say do it yourself and learn about the vehicle especially if you have the time and space. I had neither but still managed to do it myself in a weekend.
 

evomaki

Observer
People seem to like that Lisle tool, I hated it and bought a Schley Products tool and these very important pliers to remove the old seal. I've posted about it. I've don't this twice now. You get better at it with practice. This should not be the first engine internal work you do. Seal everything so carefully. I like doing this without removing the heads, as most of us do. However, if you drop one of those keepers and it goes into your sump you would have wished you'd just pulled the heads. Account for every one of those. I turned the shop stereo off so I could hear if one launched. I only had one scare. One hit the ceiling and I heard it land someplace away from the engine, so all good. I'd also do a compression check just to make sure your engine is up to snuff B4 investing all this time. No sense spending all this time on an engine with some other problem. I went with OEM valve stem seals and aftermarket Melling (Chinese) lash adjusters. The factory lash adjusters were super expensive, like 6x the cost of the Melling. Mixed results with the Melling. One vehicle fine and one still ticks. Also replace the rear cam seals. Plenty of posts here about the timing belt.
 

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