techboy Posted June 25 Report Share Posted June 25 This season my car has started puffing some smoke after the first shift after start up. It does it once and then it won't do it again while driving. So naturally I'm thinking it's time for new valve stem seals. Which kinda stinks considering how few miles I've put on this car since restore, but I guess they get hard and don't seal anymore even while sitting. Anyway, I was reading up on some old threads about doing the job and I stumbled across one where Shelby mentioned you should do the Jet Valve Elimination O-rings too b/c oil can sit on top of them and cause the same symptom. I'd hate to replace the valve stem seals and discover the car is still doing it b/c I didn't do the o-rings. 1 - Can anyone verify that is in fact true? Shelby was usually pretty trustworthy. 2 - I don't see the o-rings for sale anywhere separately. Anyone know the size? Or is it easier to just buy a new elimination kit while the valve cover is off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev Posted June 25 Report Share Posted June 25 Usually, bad valve seals will blow smoke all the time but most noticeably while on acceleration. If it blows after let-off, it's probably blowby past the rings. Clean up the breathing system first and see if that helps. But, yes, there is an o-ring on the JVE kit. So shelby is correct. Have I ever seen one leak though?...no. I don't know the o-ring size but it is most likely a standard dash size being that they are probably Goodson JVEs. They might tell you if you called them, but the kit is only $30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted June 26 Author Report Share Posted June 26 If they are just standard o-rings then I probably already have them in one of the o-ring kits I have then. Pretty sure I saw the valve stem seals on Dad's website. I'll try doing a new PCV valve before I do anything. Having to do rings would be really disappointing since I never trash on the car and it has about 4-5k miles on the rebuild in the last 10 years. If that's the case I may live with it for this season and figure what I want to do over winter. Like I said, it only does it once after startup and first shift. Then it's fine. Something is seeping while its sitting and then its burning if off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted June 27 Report Share Posted June 27 (edited) If it's just once after sitting like that, I might never have noticed. I feel your pain about going into a fresh build though. After one of my rebuilds it would let a puff of smoke when I spiked the go pedal or let off abruptly. Then after it drove for a bit the symptoms seemed to go away. Upon investigating I found that I did not have one of the valve stem seals properly seated and it made contact. The damage was not obvious without really looking. I only found it when advice from others (may have been Shelby) said to just change the seals. Low and behold, operator error on my end. Definitely interested to see what you find out. Edited June 27 by psu_Crash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 On 6/27/2025 at 3:47 PM, psu_Crash said: If it's just once after sitting like that, I might never have noticed. I feel your pain about going into a fresh build though. After one of my rebuilds it would let a puff of smoke when I spiked the go pedal or let off abruptly. Then after it drove for a bit the symptoms seemed to go away. Upon investigating I found that I did not have one of the valve stem seals properly seated and it made contact. The damage was not obvious without really looking. I only found it when advice from others (may have been Shelby) said to just change the seals. Low and behold, operator error on my end. Definitely interested to see what you find out. I'll definitely post up with what I find out, but it might be a little bit - like fall or winter. Other than that the initial puff of burnt oil the car is running really well and I'm in the middle of a building a garage at the new house, restoring a Galant VR-4 with my son and I bought a new turbo for the Eclipse almost 2 years ago I'd like to get installed and tuned, so barring anything crazy the Starion is kinda on the back burner for now. Honestly, I don't think I would ever build another G54B at this point. If something were to happen to my current motor, I'd swap - just not sure to what. I'm kinda between 4G63, 5.0 and 1JZ. I'm still kicking myself for not buying all the 4G63 stuff from you when you moved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted July 6 Report Share Posted July 6 (edited) On 6/30/2025 at 9:41 AM, techboy said: I'll definitely post up with what I find out, but it might be a little bit - like fall or winter. Other than that the initial puff of burnt oil the car is running really well and I'm in the middle of a building a garage at the new house, restoring a Galant VR-4 with my son and I bought a new turbo for the Eclipse almost 2 years ago I'd like to get installed and tuned, so barring anything crazy the Starion is kinda on the back burner for now. Honestly, I don't think I would ever build another G54B at this point. If something were to happen to my current motor, I'd swap - just not sure to what. I'm kinda between 4G63, 5.0 and 1JZ. I'm still kicking myself for not buying all the 4G63 stuff from you when you moved. Good deal. Sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy! Congrats on the new house and garage! Man ... I kick myself for selling all that stuff off too. I should have stuck with the plan and 63/64 swapped the Valencia car. It would probably be running now if I had. Still have the LS on the stand waiting for a home though. My problem is I bought an 86 944 that took a lot of time and $$ to get on par. Driving the wheels off it now though! Not to mention it's been hot as Hades lately!! That makes garage work slow Edited July 6 by psu_Crash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted July 8 Author Report Share Posted July 8 I actually listed my Starion for sale 2 years ago for one the nicest Turbo 944's I have ever come across. The seller was super cool and gave me a chance, but in the end I couldn't sell the car quick enough and it sold ... unfortunately the car went overseas. I LOVE 944's and would really like to own one someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Posted July 16 Report Share Posted July 16 Easy thing to do is install a set of Jet Valve eliminators. I have them in stock. Dad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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