Best Method For Changing Passenger's Side Valve Cover Gasket

427Cammer

Registered User
Have a oil leak from passenger's side valve cover, directly onto the exhaust manifold -- stinky and smokey, and the heater fresh air intake just sucks the smelly smoke right into the passenger compartment on a cold morning . . . uhg.

Having never seriously wrenched on a SC, I need some guidance -- in order to get the passenger's side valve cover off, exactly WHAT do I need to remove from above it? I cannot hardly SEE the passenger's valve cover, much less find its bolts and remove it -- lots of supercharger and intake stuff hovers over the valve cover -- and when I put it all back together, what do I need to pay attention to, or what needs some sort of special attention, like *sealing tape* or some such on the SC/intake plumbing.

Break it down for me, if you would -- I am an old wrench hand, practiced in the old school traditions and methods -- the SC is a beast to work on, I am quickly discovering -- and I would prefer to do the job correctly, the first time.

Thanks ahead of time -- BTW, I snail-mailed my SCCoA membership dues to George the other day, with the intention of supporting the board and tapping the expertise that hangs out in the member-only areas, so hope I am not pushing the limits with my several recent requests for info from the *free* SCCoA tech boards.

FWIW -- my SC is a 1990 5-speed, white, factory stock. Car blew a head gasket in 1997, and, rather than fooling with it at the time, I simply garaged it. Recently pulled it out of storage and replaced motor with one from a good-running, stock 1990 SC that I picked up a while back, and am busy squashing bugs and hiccups that nine years of storage has introduced -- when I parked the car, everything worked perfectly -- not now -- LOTS of minor issues to iron out.

Cammer
 
im sure others will chime in if im not 100% on this but, i would remove the supercharger top(which is 4 bolts on each corner) and the whole upper intercooler tube( it detaches from intercooler with 2 bolts). if u still cant get it after that then i would take the lower IC tube off also, which is again, 2 bolts from the intercooler and, i think a flange at the return plenum.

i dont have my SC here to double check it , but im pretty sure the info's good.

good luck
 
Tried tightening the valve cover bolts? mine werent even finger tight, though they leaked no matter how hard I tightened them after I was done. If you have to do the dirty deed dirt cheap, just seal everything up afterward with a very thin bead of Copper RTV torqueing to full spec after its cured.

If you ever run into a snag, whether your a full bonified member or not, just shoot us another question, as I'm sure thier will be peeps that will be glad u did.
 
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I've got the exact problem with my car and on the same side. But, after spending 2 hrs. changing the plugs and wires with my brother yesterday,and ,a tps on top of all that, I'm just going to take it in to the garage. The passenger side seems to be the worst side to work on. At least it seemed that way for us. - And BTW ,I think ford was only going to charge 2 hrs. @ 105.00 an hr. to chage the gasket, which seems good to me.
 
I would start with removing the three bolts that hold the supercharger
down. After removing the blower belt.

Mark your vacum lines on the back of your plenum.
So you know where they go during installation.

Unplug the MAF, TPS, IAC Wires.

Remove throttle cable.

Unscrew the blower top IC tube,unbolt the blower top.

Then lift and remove the blower, throttle body, plenum,
cold-air tube,MAF, bolted together as one hole unit.

Then fix valve cover leak.

Set blower,plenum,throttle body back on motor.
and put a clamp or plastic tie on every vacumn
hose connection you can get to. before bolting
blower unit back down.

Randy
 
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Randy's got it right. Only additional thing is that your 90 5spd has EGR that sucks to deal with. To get the bolts out of the EGR you may want to remove the cowling on the passenger side - both upper and lower. It's not that hard and it will save you some cut hands.

Then remove the entire blower and TB in one piece and voila, the valve cover will be right there. The OE Ford gaskets take a permanent set and no amount of tightening will fix the leak. Get new Felpro valve cover gaskets and be careful not to over tighten the bolts (you can ruin the valve covers if you do) and you'll be back in business. I use RTV to seal the IC tubes, just make sure you remove all the old crap and get the surface real clean and grease free before assembly.

Most of the members hang out on the public board anyway but when you are searching for some really technical info the member section has some really good archives.
 
OMG !!! i just now realized he needed the passenger side valve cover. wow! how embarrassing, i feel like an A$$. sorry man, at least u know what to do for the driver side, lol.

Jason
 
Valve Cover Leak

Randy,

How long should it take for the passenger side gasket? It took me 3 hours on the driver side. Is it only 3 bolts that hold down the SC and plenum?

I have a '95 SC any other special things for that year?

Thanks
 
I think this info is about complete. One thing I did not see mentioned is that there is a coolant hose running through the throttle body, at least on earlier years. You may need to cut it to get it loose. You can replace it or bypass it using your best judgment. It's there for anti-icing purposes in cold climates.
 
Hey There, Folks,

Shortly after I posted this query, back in 2006, the car was unexpectedly re-mothballed, while the needs of my professional life took over -- no time whatsoever to fool with the 'Bird.

For reference -- this is a bone-stock 1990 SC 'Bird with a 5-speed stick, roughly 100,000 miles on the odometer -- car is equipped as it was from the factory, with the exception of the radio. No mods (yet . . . ).

Last month, pulled the 'Bird down off of the garage storage rack, unbundled from the tightly wrapped car cover, pumped up the tires. Paint is "dirty," but in good overall shape, especially when considering that it is 23-years old. Since I waxed the entire car before putting back into storage in 2006-2007, will clean up without too much effort -- tried a couple of random spots with a Mother's cleaner/wax product, and cleaned finish gleamed with a nice gloss.

Was not too excited with the thought of pulling the gas tank out of the car to drain it, or some other time-consuming method of removing the old gasoline from the tank, and wondered whether or not I could **possibly** get away with starting the car on 2006 gasoline (or varnish, at this point??) -- had about 1/2 of a tank showing.

Decided to give it a whirl, and dropped a whole can of Sea Foam into the tank, replaced the battery, checked out basic electrics, gauges, lights, fuel pump activity -- checked all of the fluid levels -- hydraulic clutch and brakes were a bit low, and dirty looking -- sucked all of the fluid out of the clutch master cylinder, replaced with fresh DOT 3, and bled the brakes until fluid was clean. Changed the oil and filter, topped off the power steering fluid.

Put a breaker-bar on front main pulley bolt, and hand-rotated the motor around several times, to assure that it was not stuck/frozen prior to starting -- motor turned very freely, with no perceptible drag or rough spots.

Prior to 2006 re-storage, radiator/cooling system was professionally flushed, and the manual 5-speed tranny was completely disassembled and necessary internal bearings/parts and seals replaced, along with new stock clutch disc, pressure plate and pilot bearing -- flywheel resurfaced.

Put the car up on the lift, and gave the bottom side an extensive visual inspection -- spent over an hour, just looking and prodding -- front and rear suspension bushings, body bushings, drive shaft and U-joints, any leakages from ANYTHING, end-links, ball joints and boots, rack dust boots, rear axle inner and outer dust boots -- all of the dust boots, with the exception of the front upper control arm ball joints, were in good shape, which is surprising considering that they are 1990 factory original -- poked and prodded them to be sure -- go figure -- inspected for rust issues on brake and fuel lines, none found -- noted that brake hoses, while intact, are looking dry and old -- will be replacing in near future. Emergency brake cable and linkages were rusty and stiff -- lubed with lithium grease to free them up -- will need to disassemble and properly remove rust and restore finished surfaces/replace some minor parts to restore full and free cable and linkage movements and spring retractions.

Virginia-only car, owned since new, driven once in the snow--ever tried to drive a torquey stick SC with a tight 2.73 posi and wide tires, on a snowy surface?? Gives a new definition and meaning to the phrase, "swapping ends . . ."

Exhaust system appears tight and intact, with no overt rust issues apparent.

Brake calipers were intact, but quite rusty in appearance, but all seemed to be working properly, despite extensive years of car sitting in storage -- they, too, are factory original. Brake pads/pucks are 1/2 worn, but appear acceptable. Disc rotors are solid rust on pad surfaces -- likely will drive the car a bit, and reinspect rotors and pads to see whether either rotors and/or pads will need replacement.

Hand-rotated each wheel, listening for noises -- front driver's side backing plate was rubbing a bit -- all wheel bearings seem silent in their movements, and rotate freely.

No chassis sheet metal rust to worry about, though a couple/four of the rear suspension bolt NUTS have rusted away to the point that I cannot get a socket or wrench on them that will fit, and will likely have to cut the bolts out with a zip disc cutter, and replace. Weird that only THOSE nuts are rusted -- everything else is in good shape, per se, including the sheet metal floor and rocker pans.

With everything looking "peachy," gave it a crank.

Starter motor turned over exactly 4 times, and the motor fired up -- had to pedal the gas, as the motor was stumbling and fussing -- after about 30-seconds, motor mostly cleared itself, and was able to idle almost perfectly smooth. Very minor puff of smoke on initial start, which cleared immediately -- no rattling or knocking noises from motor or accessories as I cold-started. Not bad for nearly six years of sitting idle.

Exhaust system is tight and quiet.

Drove it yesterday on its first 100 mile trip since it was parked in 2007 -- gotta love the cruise control, works very well -- had forgotten how "long-legged" the stick SC is, when cruising the highways -- just hums along with little effort or fuss.

Tires need to be replaced, obviously -- while tread is quite good, they are a bit lumpy and bumpy from sitting so long -- and the rubber is starting to crack because of drying over the years -- kept the speedo well under 65, just in case.

Noted the following issues:

1) end links will all need replacing.

2) front upper control arm ball joint dust boots will need replacing.

3) ABS light is lit on dash while running -- likely the accumulator is **dead** and will need replacing -- can hear the ABS charging motor running too long when first powered by putting key in run position -- though brakes work properly, and can stop the car RIGHT NOW, if needed -- just minus the assistance of the ABS system.

4) slight humming/whirring from electric fuel pump, though seems to work as expected -- will likely replace with high pressure version when I do gas tank conversion (with later model 'Bird tank version, which will allow the fitting of a larger after-market exhaust pipe without the extensive dog-leg path of 1990-style exhaust pipe) later this winter -- heated garages are your friend!

5) while speedometer works properly, neither mileage nor trip odometers are functioning -- looks like I need to rebuild with kit mentioned here, and about.

6) front passenger rotor will need replacement -- slight pedal pulsation when braking.

7) shocks have seen better days, and rear shock bushings are hard and clunky when going over minor bumps.

8) and THEN, we come to the original subject of this thread -- leaking valve cover gaskets -- which do not "get better" with age -- uhhg, what a mess -- slight drips that fall onto hot exhaust pipe, producing a minor smoke cloud while waiting at stop-lights, which also gets sucked into the passenger cabin via heater fan with "wonderful" aromatic consequences for occupants -- is there ANY way to shut down the external air intakes, and have the car HVAC system draw its air from INSIDE the cabin, ONLY? Have just realized that there is NO recirculate function apparent on HVAC cabin controls.

Hope this blurb was informative, as it were, describing the trials and travails of long term storage of an SC automobile.

Valve cover gaskets are next -- going to be a bit of a knuckle-breaker, as we all know. Will replace spark plugs and wires at the same time, as well as any rubber hoses -- heater hoses, vacuum hoses, other rubber hoses encountered and accessable while top-side of motor is dissassembled, since all rubber hoses are original. Also will drain and replenish the supercharger lubricant while off of the car.

Edited to add -- thanks for all of the above advice -- you folks are helpful!

Carry On!

Cammer
 
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if only the abs light is on, and you've got pedal pressure, the accumulator is not the problem. Especially if the car stops right now. If you slam the brakes and the ABS and BRAKE light are on and the pedal goes way down before pressure kicks it up, then your accumlator is not holding pressure.

The ABS light is a problem with the abs system. The car will stop without ABS. More than likely one of your wheel speed sensors is not reading. There is one sensor in each hub and a computer in the rack in the trunk. The motor and accumlator under the hood only supply the pressure to run the brakes.

When the accumulator is failing the red BRAKE and yellow ABS light come one when the brakes are engaged since it empties the accumulator and it senses low pressure and has to run the motor to pump the system back up.

If the accumulator is failing it's dangerous to drive the car because you could hit the brakes to stop quickly and the pedal will go to the floor, and you will slam into something or someone.

Valve cover leak should be simple.

Replace the upper control arms since the ball joints are not able to be changed by themselves. They are like $50 each side.

I recently started mine after letting it since since 2007 and my brakes are completely stiff. The accumulator was failing when I parked it, and now I think the pressure switch has failed. I'm going to convert it to standard vacuum assist brakes.
 
Scott,

Thank you for the 101 primer on the function of the accumulator within the context of the ABS system.

My "diagnosis" was based upon a quick conversation that I had with a former Ford-trained tech who used to work on these cars -- he has not actually seen/tested the car, and was basing his comments upon my brief description to him.

Brakes work well, with car coming to a halt immediately -- pedal pressure is very good, and high on the pedal stroke.

Your response has convinced me to pursue the troubleshooting of the ABS system further -- I will do so, and report back.

Thanks again,

Cammer (Scott, too!)
 
Brakes work well, with car coming to a halt immediately -- pedal pressure is very good, and high on the pedal stroke.

Your response has convinced me to pursue the troubleshooting of the ABS system further -- I will do so, and report back.

Thanks again,

Cammer (Scott, too!)
The tradeoff on diagnose vs. best guess comes into play with this system. The shop manual (I think it has this chapter) will take you through a good but lengthy set of steps and may require a special tool along the way. Or... you can take a faster but 90% approach (10% of the time it will be wrong) and eliminate the most likely problem areas and possibly replace them. Swap out with known working parts is what I usually do in the case of ABS because I don't have the special tools.

I would suggest a close inspection of the wiring and sensors (at the wheel hubs) and then, if available, swap out the ABS computer which is in the trunk on the package tray. If your brake light is not lit, not just burned out, AND your pump motor runs and shuts off regularly, then the problem isn't under the hood.. (OK, actually there is a 1% chance that the 2 stage pressure switch has a problem).
 
Will do. I haven't been very active in the club in the past 5 years other than showing my face at the shootouts but that will change when I get back. I can't believe I've had my SC for 14 years. Been a part of this club since 1999.
 
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