Mitsubishi Repair: Valve Seal Replacement, head gaskets, seal replacement

Question
Hi Anthony,

Thanks for your earlier response to my white smoke issue. Well I took the car by a mechanic and he stated clearly it was blue smoke and I needed the valve seals replaced. Now, I do not know what is involved, but I did locate an engine shop that will clean the heads and resurface them as well as place the seals on them. However, they do not take the heads out of the engine. They said I needed to find someone to do that. What do I ask another mechanic - Do I need to locate someone that will remove the heads out of the engine and place them back in again, or is it more involved than that?

I look forward to your reply.

Tony

Answer
Tony,
Removing the heads can be a very intense job.  You have two heads, and several components would be required to be removed just to get to the point to able to remove your heads.  

Because it is such an intense job, it will take a while.  So, when looking for a mechanic to remove the heads, find one with a reasonable hourly rate, and also find one that is familiar with working on cars of your type.  First off, ask your mechanic the time and cost to remove and install your heads.   Some mechanics may recommend a place that reconditions engine heads.  So, when they remove the heads, they can ship the heads out and have them reconditioned (new valve seals and stems, valve guides, retainers, springs, etc.. ;any thing that needs to be done) and then have the heads shipped back to the mechanic to install them again.  That will save you time in running back and forth.  Defintely call around to several mechanics.  It really pays.

Also, since your heads are coming off, there are many things your mechanic can do as regular maintenance once in there - and they may recommend it as well.  Since your car is a over 12 years old, several things may need to be replaced.  You should definitely replace your head gaskets.  That's always a must when getting your heads reconditioned.  If you're still using your original water pump, or it been more than 6 years since your last one, have that replaced.  Your timing belt, auto tensioner, tension pulley, and idler pulley should also be replaced along with the water pump.  

As you can imagine, the cost to all this will start to add up.  But taking care of all this stuff all together will defintitely benefit your car in the long run if you plan on keeping it running a long time.
Good luck!