I was planning on replacing the valve stem seals and possibly the valve guides (if needed, by a machine shop) on my 2.8 V6 and maybe even the rings, again if needed. I was talking with someone who said that rebuilding the top end (valves and rings, right?) without also rebuilding the lower end (crank & piston arms?) would wear the engine out faster than not doing the valves & rings.

I want to put a 3.4L V6 in my Troop, but I have to save up for that. The whole reason for looking into the valves/rings is because I am using oil at a rate of @2qts.+ per 650-700 miles and it smokes quite a bit at startup.

Any thoughts?