Valve guide seals

[adamchatum]

Hey guys, whats the best way to remove valve guide seals? Just grip em and yank? Trying to take them off my '79 GS750.

[niclpnut]

yeah, if this is the first time you are replacing them they are sure to be pretty hard and stiff.

I just snagged mine with some needle nose and yanked/wiggled them off.


edit: eek...i just used hard, stiff and yank all in one reply.

Nic

[Flyboy]

Yep, just wiggle and pull real hard with a pliers, but they can be a bear to get off, the biggest problem is getting a good grip on them, it's an 8 beer job, pull a seal, have beer, pull a seal, have a beer.....the 16 valve guys get really sloshed.

[Guy]

Don't just grip it and yank at it, unless you want to risk breaking a valve guide clean off.
Use a sharp knife to score down the side of the seal and then peel it away with a pliers.

[Nessism]

Don't just grip it and yank at it, unless you want to risk breaking a valve guide clean off.
Use a sharp knife to score down the side of the seal and then peel it away with a pliers.

The stock seals have a metal cover on the outside. How do you suggest scoring them?

[hampshirehog]

If you can twist them (get them spinning) you can tease them of with a bit of gentle rocking / twisting / pulling etc. If they won't turn, and it's rare when they won't, use a blowtorch to burn the rubber and then have another go.

[adamchatum]

Thanks for all the advise. I managed to pull em off with some needle nose pliers after getting them loose with combination pliers. Their on there good though. I think they were the original 32 year old seals. Found some brand new ones on ebay with 5% teflon for only $3 a pop. Can't go wrong.

[TheCafeKid]

I have always been afraid I'd screw up and score the valve guide trying to yank em off with pliers. What I've done is use a thin peice of wood (like a door jamb shim or something of that sort) and lay it on the edge of the head and then use a flat head or better still one of those plastic (or maybe delrin?) gasket scrapers to get under the edges of the seal and pry it up. I use the wood to prevent whatever tool from messing up the mating surface of the head and as a fulcrum. Works ok. They're still trixy sometimes.

[Guy]

The stock seals have a metal cover on the outside. How do you suggest scoring them?

Years ago I snapped a guide through heavy handedness and inexperience. That's how I do them now.
If the seals have metal cups you can sharpen an old wood chisel and tap it edgeways down the side to split it.
But I think it's a bad idea to just grip the seal and pull at it; the guides can be quite brittle and you could end up with a lot more work than you bargained for.