Removing stuck valve stem seals tip

[Dan]

First time reworking a head. The valve stem seals are really stuck. Practicing on a spare head because I don't want to mess up the guides. Did some reading on the forum and whoever posted the "burn the rubber off with a torch" tips were very helpful. Made it a lot easier.

I learned another trick that someone might find useful. I raided my tackle box and grabbed my heavy duty fishing forceps. My needle nose pliers were either too big or too small, but this worked. Was able to get the seals wobbling and eventually pull off.

 

[Sandy]

Actually heat does work. You don't necessarily have to burn them off but some heat, even a good hair dryer might be enough, will probably soften things up enough to pull them off.

 

[Guest]

First time reworking a head. The valve stem seals are really stuck. Practicing on a spare head because I don't want to mess up the guides. Did some reading on the forum and whoever posted the "burn the rubber off with a torch" tips were very helpful. Made it a lot easier.

I learned another trick that someone might find useful. I raided my tackle box and grabbed my heavy duty fishing forceps. My needle nose pliers were either too big or too small, but this worked. Was able to get the seals wobbling and eventually pull off.

View attachment 58852

That tip originated from Eric Bang. See my signature.

 

[GregT]

I use Z1 stem seals on the 2V heads. All rubber, no removal problems. Give you a little more room for bigger cam lifts too.

 

[Brendan W]

Smiling here at the piece of line on the forceps. So what exactly have you lost overboard

 

[Dan]

Smiling here at the piece of line on the forceps. So what exactly have you lost overboard

HA, yeah I fish from a kayak. Most everything is lashed down, but it's a constant inventory of what's fallen or about to fall. Lost my paddle once in some rapids because I was too busy fishing. Made due with a flip flop for a while.

 

[Dan]

Thanks for the help guys. On my spare head the seals were tough to move. On the new head, they came right off with needle nose.