Annoying Car Problems

Aminor_Accident

Registered User
Ok heres my list of things to do this winter Problem 1 i never tore one of these cars down as of yet im not a newbie mechanic but im a newbie to these motors .... the valve cover gaskets seem to be leaking pretty bad the passinger side is the worst about every few mins you see smoke puffing up from there and i can smell it in the car its embarassing also i have a chatter when driving almost sounds like a heat shield but i have know way of knowing hence im driving? wont do it sitting still i know ive seen on here many times about removing everything off the top for head gaskets is this true for valve gaskets too............. i know it would help and 1 more thing while i have it sorta stripped down what should i replace any help and direction would be helpful thanks :eek:
 
Here's an idea....

Before you go through the trouble of removing all the "junk" to get to the valve covers, see if you can torque them down a little. You will need a couple of extensions and at least one swivel to get to them. These birds are notorious for loose and leaky valve covers. Be careful not to over-tighten (aluminum heads) or the threads will strip out.
 
As for the "chatter" get under the thing and hit the exhaust with a rubber mallet, or your hand for that matter, and see if you can get it to make the noise.

My Cougar has an annoying "chatter" in the exhaust that sounds like a loose shield. I got under it and found that the noise is located at the beginning of where the pipe goes around the tank. It's inside the pipe near as I can tell, so I figure it's a bit of cat material stuck there. Car seems to run OK so it'll be annoying for a while.
 
Back
Top