06 Savana w/6.0l, bad valve seals an easy fix?

[cabledawg]

So we've had this Savana van for 2.5 years, put 40k miles on it (its almost right at 140k on the odo), and now whenever its sat for a few hours, it smoke on startup. Not much, just about 10-20 seconds or so. It'll taper off than its good the entire time the engine is running. So I'm pretty sure its the valve seals.

So here's my big question: how hard is it to fix valve seals on an engine that is 70% buried under the body? It has the doghouse panel, but I'm not 100% sure I can still reach the entire engine, I thinks its more of a courtesy panel. In the short term its not going to hurt anything (just gotta watch the oil levels a bit closer), but what about the long term effects? Can I just leave this alone till the rest of the engine craps out or should I look at scheduling a head job (hehe) in the spring?

Tahnks in advance guys!

 

[rebelgregory]

Long term effects I can think of: fouled spark plugs, (obvious) loss of motor oil that you'll have to check periodically, and in a couple really extreme cases, I've seen soot buildup that kept the exhaust valve from seating completely - this can cause a lot of problems, but you'll know it.

I don't know the savanna layout, but a lot of those types are easier to just pull the engine cradle out of the bottom to work on. Sounds extreme, but it's not usually as complicated as it seems.

 

[Stomis]

I don't have experience first hand with one but I have been amazed at how much easier it is to access the motor with that doghouse off than working on a regular truck in some instances.

Valve seals you'll need the compressed air adapter to pressurize the cylinder and the correct spring puller for the engine with the head n the vehicle.

 

[cabledawg]

I'll have to pull the doghouse and see how much room I have. I was very surprised when I did the water pump last year and didn't need to pull anything more than the shroud and fan. So we'll see. Since I don't have a garage this fits into, I may just wait till spring......

 

[prolinews]

With a 140k on it, no way I would worry about it! I had one that smoked a little on start up for 250k miles. I sold it and the other owner put another 25k on it.