I'm battling a oil burning problem with my Firebird (89 Trans Am, 305 TPI) and am replacing the umbrella seals and stem seals to see if that might delay the inevitable. I checked compression and it was 140 dry and 155 wet. I imagine those numbers are good enough to presume the rings aren't in horrible shape. I should probably check more than just one cylinder.
The main problem I'm having is oil in the exhaust. What's worse is that it's getting put back into the engine via the EGR. I was thinking that the valve guides are probably worn and allowing oil into the exhaust and then being reciruclated exacerbating the problem.
When removing some of the springs, I noticed that at least one of the valves had some movement into it. Lateral movement. My question is how much movement is too much? I'd like to say no movement is best but since there is, I'd like to know how bad it's gotten. It also appears when the heads were put together, the shop didn't put valve stem seals and the umbrella seals have hardened enough that they don't even appear to be made of rubber. I'm hoping the new seals will help. Any thoughts?
-Bruce