I am preparing to polish my valve cover and I was wondering if I should be looking out for anything when I remove it. I know I will need an new head gasket when I put it back on. Do I need to remove the spark plugs or the ID cover?
Thanks
Best Time 15.917 at 86.86MPH
remove the idi cover, remove the bracket holding the throttle and cruise cable, remove the other stude next to the one holding the bracket. Then you just have the 8 or 10 bolts.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/676422/1
Ummm....if you think you need to replace the HEAD gasket when taking off the VALVE COVER I don't think you should even try to work on your car until you learn a little more. Yes you will have to remove the spark plugs considering those go into the head through the valve cover. Get a manual, do some research, or let someone else work on your car man.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
He's just asking about removing the cam cover.
You don't have to replace the gasket, I've taken my cover off numerous times and have not had a leak. You do not need to remove the spark plugs in removing the cam cover.
I'm gonna guess he didn't know what to call it is all.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/676422/1
remove IDI cover (4 10 MM bolts and aplug) remove the ground strap on the back drivers side of the engine along with the brakcet for the throttle cable, the brakcets that hold the fuel lines in place, and then as said above remove the all the little 10 MM bolts form the cover... they suround the entire outside edge, and then a few under the IDI cover, you don't have to remove spark plugs, in fact its recomended to leave them in, if you remove them worst case scenario you drop somthing into the cylinder through the hole. all the valve cover bolts have little rubber things around them... you DO NOT have to pull them completely out of the valve cover, some wll probobally come all the way out but you don't have to remove the rubber, just undo them. The cover will stick on, gently pry it off ot tap it with a rubber mallet or with a hammer and block of wood. you don't have to replace ANY gaskets unless you actually @!#$ it up, they can be reused without any issues. When the cover is off cover the insde with a CLEAN plastic bag to keep debris out, do whatever it is your gonna do to the cover and wipe off the gasket and the surface on the head the gaskets mates to, just make sure its clean and dry. When puting it all back in just keep in mind they are small bolts going into aluminum.... DO NOT sit there and crank down on them, just a little more then snug is fine, they do not hold any load, surport any weight, and aren't under any pressure.... you do not need to crank them down
Team Vision Racing (aka hypsy) wrote:Ummm....if you think you need to replace the HEAD gasket when taking off the VALVE COVER I don't think you should even try to work on your car until you learn a little more. Yes you will have to remove the spark plugs considering those go into the head through the valve cover. Get a manual, do some research, or let someone else work on your car man.
Good God man chill out...he probably just got his words mixed up and call it the wrong thing. But he at least asked, which is what you do when you don't know something. You can't say that you have to know EVERYTHING before you do ANYTHING...let the boy learn, and you learn by doing things yourself, which is what he wants to do...jeez...
Easiest way to polish it is to first look at the cover and see if you have any large dents or scratches in the aluminum. If you do you will need to start with a low grit sand paper and sand those out first to get a mirror finish when your finished. Next all you have to do is polish the cover with sand paper and water. This is called wet sanding. Start with around 330 grit and work you way the whole way up to 2000 grit then polish with mothers aluminum polish. The key is to keep the sand paper always wet. Take it outside and use a hose if you can. Here is a pic of mine that i wet sanded. I got rid of the blue loom and replaced it with black for a cleaner look.
MishkaFan wrote:Team Vision Racing (aka hypsy) wrote:Ummm....if you think you need to replace the HEAD gasket when taking off the VALVE COVER I don't think you should even try to work on your car until you learn a little more. Yes you will have to remove the spark plugs considering those go into the head through the valve cover. Get a manual, do some research, or let someone else work on your car man.
Good God man chill out...he probably just got his words mixed up and call it the wrong thing. But he at least asked, which is what you do when you don't know something. You can't say that you have to know EVERYTHING before you do ANYTHING...let the boy learn, and you learn by doing things yourself, which is what he wants to do...jeez...
All I told him was to go do some more research. If he can't handle that then he shouldn't work on the car. At least I didn't post SEARCH like other people do. This topic has been talked about before.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
Darkstars wrote:remove IDI cover (4 10 MM bolts and aplug) remove the ground strap on the back drivers side of the engine along with the brakcet for the throttle cable, the brakcets that hold the fuel lines in place, and then as said above remove the all the little 10 MM bolts form the cover... they suround the entire outside edge, and then a few under the IDI cover, you don't have to remove spark plugs, in fact its recomended to leave them in, if you remove them worst case scenario you drop somthing into the cylinder through the hole. all the valve cover bolts have little rubber things around them... you DO NOT have to pull them completely out of the valve cover, some wll probobally come all the way out but you don't have to remove the rubber, just undo them. The cover will stick on, gently pry it off ot tap it with a rubber mallet or with a hammer and block of wood. you don't have to replace ANY gaskets unless you actually @!#$ it up, they can be reused without any issues. When the cover is off cover the insde with a CLEAN plastic bag to keep debris out, do whatever it is your gonna do to the cover and wipe off the gasket and the surface on the head the gaskets mates to, just make sure its clean and dry. When puting it all back in just keep in mind they are small bolts going into aluminum.... DO NOT sit there and crank down on them, just a little more then snug is fine, they do not hold any load, surport any weight, and aren't under any pressure.... you do not need to crank them down
Thanks alot that will be a big help when I do it
I will post pictures when I get done with it!
Best Time 15.917 at 86.86MPH
^^^^^^ just make sure you remove the ground! i was so pissed when mine wouldnt come off and i saw the ground i was WTF!!!!! LOL its really easy just make sure you clean the gasket really good be for you reuse it.
It really is a lot easier than you think. Just follow what Darkstars wrote and you will be fine.
As far as polishing, just wetsand like Blue Splash said. A dremel comes in handy for hard to reach nooks and crannies (for polishing, not sanding). If you were closer to me, I'd tell you to come down and we could hit it with my bench top buffer and have it looking like a mirror.
Check out
This forum and
This forum
both those links have a ton of info on polishing. The first one I gave you even has a free downloadable booklet about buffing and polishing metal.
Any other questions about polishing, e-mail me (address is in my profile)
^^^^^^^Thanks I have put those forums in my favorites, but there will be bo sanding going on here. I have som mag polish that I have already tested on the surface with my hands, and it looks descent. I will remove the cover so it is easyer to clean instead of leaning over the car. i bought some cotton spindles for an air gun so that should help. The reason i'm doing this is because the owner before me didn't keep it clean. It is a daily driver so I don't want to go too cazy.
Best Time 15.917 at 86.86MPH
Quote:
Easiest way to polish it is to first look at the cover and see if you have any large dents or scratches in the aluminum. If you do you will need to start with a low grit sand paper and sand those out first to get a mirror finish when your finished. Next all you have to do is polish the cover with sand paper and water. This is called wet sanding. Start with around 330 grit and work you way the whole way up to 2000 grit then polish with mothers aluminum polish. The key is to keep the sand paper always wet. Take it outside and use a hose if you can. Here is a pic of mine that i wet sanded. I got rid of the blue loom and replaced it with black for a cleaner look.
awesome, thanks for the tips.
http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/my2005cav/my%20car%20the%20bash.jpg
