Friggin' car outsmarted me!

B

bustedbird

Registered User
Well once again I was fooled by my car. On a thread last nite I was reading about a fella who's car was gushing oil like crazy. That reminded me of my own leaking valve covers, and laziness not to fix them.

Anyways, I got ambitious today and decided to tackle the job. I removed the supercharger, every harness and hose, and removed the valve cover bolts, by hand! I think that was the problem all along, but I proceded with the project and got the left cover off to discover that there were the same $70 gaskets that I purchased already on!

To make a sad story short is there anything that I should do now (as far as preventative stuff goes) that I have the supercharger off. I believe that the hg's are already done.

Thanks,
Art
 
yes

id change the thermostat-put in a slightly colder one, and when you reassemble make sure to use orange rtv on all the ic connections-also, may be a good time to do plugs and wires since theyre a bit more accesible-good luck, Mike
 
When putting valve cover studs/bolts in, I used SOME of the thread sealer (that was needed for my intake manifold bolts).
By using a little, I hoped the valve cover bolts would not loosen back up (On their own). So far so good. No leaks yet.
I don't know if loc-tite would be a good idea..so I used thread sealer..
 
Thanks for all the info. I was going to use loc-tight, but I think that I will go with the thread sealer now. RTV will work for the ic tubes? Someone told me that you needed a special kind of tape. Can you go to the parts store and get the double platinum plugs, or are they a special order deal? Thanks again for the help, Art
 
well

on every car i work on, i use orange (hi temp) rtv silicone-with silicone tube placement is less critical, and much easier than the tape. just takes a little longer to set-id wait at least a few hours before starting it-apply an even bead on all of the mating surfaces (1/4") and just a very thin layer between the blower and top. next, the platinum plugs are available at any auto parts store-but get autolite-NO OTHER BRANDS-stock wires are the best as well, but any high end ones are ok-not the cheap ones. good luck-and thread sealer is fine on the valve cover bolts-but id use a little low strenght loctite for small fasteners. Mike
 
Guys, the parts stores around here suck. One out of the 5 had the wires, and only one carried plugs. All they had were the Bosch +2 Platinum. I went ahead and bought them because I want to get my car back together. Is this not a good idea? Also I bought a 180 degree thermostat and the douche behind the counter said it was a bad idea. The wires are 8.5mm and I think that there are 9mm on there now. Will that drastically decrease my performance? Thanks again, Art
 
Do Not

do not use the bosch plugs-bad idea-they suck for our cars-youll be chasing down problems in a few months if you do-return them and go get some autolites-lol-as for the wires, 8.5 should be fine. lastly, a 180 stat should be fine, anything colder is TOO cold and wont allow the car to warm up sufficiently and reach closed loop operation-180s fine. good luck, dont DONT dont use the bosch plugs
 
I'm screwed, it's easier to change the valve cover gaskets than the spark plugs. I got one on, thats it, I don't know how you guys do it. Is there some special trick to doing them? Help!
 
bustedbird said:
I'm screwed, it's easier to change the valve cover gaskets than the spark plugs. I got one on, thats it, I don't know how you guys do it. Is there some special trick to doing them? Help!
Click to expand...

LHS plugs are removed from below... a 3/8 drive flex-head ratchet with bent handle (MAC Tools type) with a 1" inch ext. and std plug socket....actually quite easy process....make sure to put some moly grease on new plug threads ( I use ARP assembly Lube) and torque new plugs to 10 lb.ft max

RHS plugs ... rear two come out from below...( cyls. 2 & 3)
#1 plug can be pulled from topside ( after removing intake air tube. )
Ratchet with 18 inch extension and plug socket with unversal joint works great. use a six inch piece of vacuum hose to put new plugs in. slip hose over top end of plug and drop into place. spin hose to thread plugs into head..
NOTE: plugs must changed ONLY when engine is "stone-cold" ...but I probably didn't have to tell you that :)
 
Shes on the back burner for now, I've got to go back to work tonite. Thanks everyone that gave me their input! Art
 
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