I got an 88 GT with a rebuilt AOD, engine has about 187K, but one of the valves I believe is loose. Started it up once after it had not been running for a while, started driving it, and when I hit the gas I heard some noise, having somewhat of an idea of what im talking about im almost positive it was the left side if you are looking at the engine. A bit more exhaust comes out of that exhaust pipe as well and it smells funny when I run the engine for more than 15 minutes, eventually a bit of smoke. Question is, is it worth it to try and do the heads with 187k on the engine, risking opening up a can of worms? Car is pretty solid i've owned it for the past 5 years, runs strong, everything changed on time. Just needs to be good enough to be on the road for a few months, any suggestions? I have other engines I could drop in after fixing the heads on those, but want something that can be done in a week or so

 

I don't think it'll hurt anything. You will still have a pretty worn lower end, but when you get around to doing that, the heads will already be done. First , though, I would do a compression test. That will narrow down the problem as well as give you a "base" ....in which you can do another test after the heads to let you know what kind of improvement/ work, needs to be done yet. If you can also do a "leak-down" test, that would be even better.


I say ,go for it. Nothing to lose by it.