Cracked valve cover [Merged 4-8] crack

[Laguna739]

Hey i got one quick question, i cracked my valve cover tightening the bolts down, well, before i had figured out what i had done i installed a mbc, and it never seemed to work, and i also seemed to be running only 6 pounds vs. my norm of 9 . does this sound like the reason for the boost loss? Will my mbc theoretically work now, i havent tried it i just wanted to see what you all thought. thanks

 

[mike9146]

Oil loss, yes. Boost loss, no.

 

[UltraImports]

how did you crack your valve cover by tightening the bolts....usually you break the studs that way.

Hmm....note to self, easy on the bolts

 

[DSM91]

The valve cover is extremely thin metal which sees very high temps all the time. It gets brittle and easy to break if you torque the bolts down too much. I found that even the factory torque specs are too much on an older valve cover.

 

[allwheelTSI]

i'm not sure,but i think it was Cucmber who recently said the vavle cover bolts should be barely past finger tight (2-3 ft./lbs.)

 

[steve]

That's the right spec for 4G63's, I looked up and posted the specs for all our engines in this thread

Steve

 

[CH152]

Yeah i cracked mine too put a hole in it JB weled it took that back off and then out a Heli Arc weld to it... Before i fixed it oil, oil, oil, oil everywhere under the spark plug cover

 

[1990EclipseGSX]

So today I'm replacing the gaskets on my valve cover, and when I put the damn thing back on it cracked. Does anybody know where to find an OEM valve cover? All I can find are powder coated ones that are expensive.

 

[wisconsindsm]

junkyard.

 

[DSMJim]

You over tightened it. You only need to give it a little pressure to hold it down. Just barely snug it up and put some gasket maker on the corners is all you need.

 

[TrustGs-R]

Originally posted by 1990EclipseGSX
So today I'm replacing the gaskets on my valve cover, and when I put the damn thing back on it cracked. Does anybody know where to find an OEM valve cover? All I can find are powder coated ones that are expensive.

.
Coming from a honda only background, I cracked my first 3 valve covers on my 4g63 . On honda valve covers they require 7-9ft/lbs on those bolts. I think the dsm ones are like 1-2 ft/lbs.

Anyway, you can usually find them on like ebay for 50-100 bucks. 150 you can get your self a BLING BLING chromey one haha.

Regards,
Jon Y

 

[steve]

On a 4G63 no more than 3 ft lbs please.
If it still leaks then you either have already cracked it from before or the gaskets are bad.

 

[steve]

On a 4G63 no more than 3 ft lbs please.
If it still leaks then you either have already cracked it from before or the gaskets are bad.

 

[nh98gsx]

so i just found some cracks in my valve cover, probably happened when i jumped my timing, but i have been having some oil collect where my plugs are so i am going to replace it but does any one know where to get a new or used valve cover (1998gsx w/cam sensor on rear of engine)
also i just put my f-in cover back on this weekend (new gasket) do you thing i would be able to reuse the gasket or don't even chance it?

 

[TSi90Awd]

You should be able to reuse the gasket. As for the valve cover, you can go to your local junkyards and look for cars with a 4g63 in them: turbo talon or eclipse or laser, galant esx i think it's called (they are nt, but still have 4g63 in them).

 

[turboholic]

-Or http://www.dsmtrader.com/ or http://www.thepartstrader.com/ or ebay.

 

[98FWDSM]

ok, i was replacing the valve cover gasket today because it was leaking, what i think happened though is that it was leaking at the center front bolt and at the right bolt just beside the timing belt...the whole thing is fine but i think that i may have made the crack worse or maybe there was no crack to begin with and i just made it, but....there is a very tiny crack well, is there ANY way to fix this other than buy a new valve cover??? can you weld or sauter it? or just use some type of sealant?? i tried to use some RTV silicone and that didnt hold the oil from coming through...i only let it set up for about 10 minutes though if that has anything to do with it...i tried to outline the crack with yellow in the pic

Thanks

 

[oldman]

JB weld.

 

[IHeartTurbo]

JB weld.

Yup. Worked for me.

 

[EclipseGSX012]

JB weld.

what he says. When you JB weld it might seems like it wont do any good. But trust me it works like charm!!

 

[psychlow]

I agree with the crowd on this one.

Make absolutely certain the area is completely clean before you apply it. You might even want to rough up the area a little with sandpaper, or even go to the trouble of using a rotary tool (Dremel) to make a small valley on top of the crack and then fill in the valley with the JB weld.

Using the above method, you could resand the top of it flush with the rest of the cover and repaint it, since I'm sure you'd rather keep that nice looking valve cover looking good.

 

[bigfoot 13]

Just suggesting not to use JB Kwik. Get the real stuff, and try and mix it at a perfect ratio for best results.

David

 

[XtremeGST]

go to ebay u can get a perfect used one for 15$$

 

[98FWDSM]

ok, i will using JB Weld on it today and hope that that works...the only thing is that the crack basically follows the washer around to make a 1/4 to 1/2 circle around the washer/bolt... 1) should i take the bolt out and run a tiny amount of JB Weld where it is cracked 2) should i leave the bolt in and JB Weld around the bolt thus making it very difficult for me to remove the bolt 3) should i take the bolt out and run a little bit around the crack and within minutes put the bolt in and tighten it up, thus forcing the JB Weld to ooz out and lay flat....the only reason i am thinking this is because since the crack is directly with the washer/bolt then i would only be able to put a very very tiny bit and still get the bolt to go down....Thanks all

 

[IHeartTurbo]

Do the third option. I had to do that same thing.