Don't you just hate it when you pop your hood to see oil seeping from a random Valve Cover crack, or removing the spark plug boots and end up taking the cover with it? It's annoying, and not only does it make the cover look ugly, it makes it leak awful as well.
So you are left with two options:
1. Source a whole other valve cover that has no damage.
2. Repair it.
Repair it? Absurd. I think not. In this tutorial, let me show you how an example of how you can repair a 4g63 Valve Cover.
Step 1: The tools needed in this project.
-Curved file(Fine)
-Straight file
-32 Grit sandpaper
-400 Grit Sandpaper
-Cold Chisel
-Hammer
-JB Weld
-Misc. Aluminum chunks(Refer below)
The idea behind this method is to help replace missing valve cover material with similar materials, and bridging with with a metal putty. (Think of it as a crude puzzle piece).
Let's examine our test cover.
In this demo, we can see that this cover has two chips in two spark plug boots. It looks awful. This is completely repairable.
To cover the idea of our "puzzle" I needed similar shaped pieces of like metals. Thickness and size. I went to the junkyard, and found a valve cover missing chunks. So with my hammer, I broke a bunch of spark plug boots to collect sample pieces.
With the samples gathered, I cleaned the surfaces around the cracks with acetone, and started applying liberal amounts of JB Weld. I applied it using the skinny end of a rivet I found on my workbench, haha. Remember its easier to remove then to add material, and an adequate cure time consists of 24 hours.
With JB Weld added as our base, proceed to finding a like size piece to fill the void. If too big, put the piece down and try to break it up. It can be taller than the rest of the boot, we just want as much area covered.
Set it in the JB Weld foundation. After that, start applying JB weld all around the chunk. Don't be afraid to glob it on. Give it 24 hours to cure.
****NEXT DAY****
Now it's time to blend the repair area.
Just to show you guys, the thickness of the boot wall is about 2mm.
Let's start from the inside out.
Grab your curved file, and start blending the repair area from the inner boot. Keep the file moving, as to not keep hogging out one spot. The goal is to blend it.
Also, don't keep the file at a perpendicular axis to the cover, keep the file moving at an angle, to help taper the end of the boot to keep with similar thickness, in case it is thicker on one end from too much JB Weld.
After some time, and using your creativity, it should look like this!
With any JB Weld that covers the valley of the valve cover, I grabbed my cold chisel and hammer, and GENTLY started to "nibble" at the JB weld to break it off. Try not to hold the chisel straight up, or it could cause more damage than not. Imagine trying to dig "under" the goop.
Now Take your Corse or Fine Grit sandpaper (Depending how much material needs to be removed) Wrap the sandpaper around the boot, and pull the sandpaper back and forth on both sides, like if you were to dry yourself in the shower.
Now, in case any of the chunks of metal are protruding higher than the rest of the boots, take your flat file, and start riding it across the top of the taller sections. Keep going until you notice the aluminum rubbing off on the undamaged areas. That will give you an idea that the heights are level.
Repeat any of the steps is necessary to your liking.
When done it should look like this!, Well after you primer it like I did.
Now paint it, and enjoy the beauty.
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Now you're wondering, "Why go through this trouble?" Well, not only do you save money, and your "Rare" version of any 4g63 cover, but My motive is to make the most of what you have, instead of tracking down another Valve cover, which can crack at any time. I hope you enjoyed my little fun project!
