2G Cracked valve cover root cause?

[SouleZZ]

I've been driving this car for about 5 years pretty much trouble free, I've had to do a few things like alternator, under drive pulley and other maintenance type stuff but lately its been running like crap and throwing some strange codes like P0120 (TPS) and P01105 (Fuel solenoid or something) and P0505 (I think whichever is the IAC). basically I've parked it until I get this resolved. Here is some insight into the car and what I've done please let me know if more information is required I would sure appreciate the help.

The Car

The car is a 98 GSX pretty much stock although I did do a bolt on 3 inch O2 housing a 3 inch Megan Racing downpipe and 3 inch all the way back no cat. It has both O2 sensors installed an aftermarket HKS sequential type 2 BOV (It could be a knock off I don't know I didn't buy it), plug wires, boost gauge and not much else I can think of at the moment. The car usually doesn't have any CEL and I try to keep up with everything since its my daily driver.

My O2 housing concern

I noticed today it has a crack in it now not sure how long it has been there It wasn't cracked when I installed it 5 years ago.

My BOV concern

I figured at first my BOV was due to be rebuilt or replaced and that was some of my problem I get a lot of flutter or whatever you call it lately and it just seems you have to crank it down more than when I first got the car anyway. The bov doesn't have the recirculation kit going to the intake and I know some people don't like that and all but its been that way ever since I've had it and its been fine. I also noticed just recently (no idea if this means anything) I could hold my hand over the end of the BOV and it would change the way the car ran drastically like the BOV wasn't closed all the way or something and other times it seems it sealed fine and there is no effect when holding your hand over it (especially after high rev). I figured I would find this to be a problem when doing a boost leak test but at 20 lbs I didn't hear anything from the BOV so it took me in another direction.

My Boost Leak test and the cracked valve cover

I've noticed oil around the spark plugs for quite some time like maybe even a couple years but after building the boost leak tester today and running the system up to about 20 pounds it was super obvious air is coming from a crack in the valve cover ( a pretty big one). The boost leak test popped off a vacuum hose which I quickly put a clamp on and besides the obvious leak in the valve cover I didn't notice any other leaks, although I must say I was beyond annoyed I had a big crack in the valve cover so you know how you can miss things when your a bit upset. Anyway I don't know how much this has to do with the way the car runs now.

My fuel concerns

this PO1105 is the newest code and it seems to go hand in hand with the recent changes in how the car runs. I don't know if its the solenoid or fuel problems or what, I went ahead and blew a whole can of throttle body cleaner in the throttle body ( I took it apart and used toothbrushes and stuff best I could) it of course blew a bunch of smoke and stuff out after it got started and it did seem to run better I drove it like 5 miles on the highway but it still has the crappy unpredictable idle and it has the turbo lag thing going on where it kicks in real hard after a delay like its got a boost leak or something, so it is almost un drivable for most people. I did get new plugs and gap them correctly a few weeks or so before cleaning the throttle body today.

One side note I did clean my Idle air controller and have not seen that p0505 code for a little while now but I haven't been driving the car much either with everything going on with it.

I would sure appreciate some of your guys input I've gotten a lot of useful info off here over the years and I don't want to just run out and buy valve cover, TPS, solenoids Etc without asking people who know what to do already.
I made a video of my boost leak test if needed I can give a link and I suppose I'm in the market for a fancy new Red valve cover with a gasket if anyone can point me in a good direction for that that isn't crazy expensive.

I wanted to throw in the fact my ecu is factory I do have another one with dsmlink v2 and the obd2 cable around here somewhere and a laptop with dsmlink on it. Maybe its time I make use of it if it would provide more useful data or is putting in an ecu while the car runs bad a bad idea.

I have a little generic code scanner that will reset them that's about it.

Thanks

 

[athlete3344]

Why dont you seal the crack on your valve cover and paint it red? The gasket kit can be purchased at a local auto parts store. Just make sure to get yourself a torque wrench and follow the pattern when you replace it.

Fuel Solenoid:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/219632-cel-1105-a.html


You should definitely recirc your BOV line unless you tune the car using dsmlink.


Do a 2nd boost leak test to after you seal up that crack in the valve cover to make sure you didnt miss anything.

 

[EC17PSE]

Why dont you seal the crack on your valve cover and paint it red? The gasket kit can be purchased at a local auto parts store. Just make sure to get yourself a torque wrench and follow the pattern when you replace it.

Fuel Solenoid:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/219632-cel-1105-a.html


You should definitely recirc your BOV line unless you tune the car using dsmlink.


Do a 2nd boost leak test to after you seal up that crack in the valve cover to make sure you didnt miss anything.

No no no no no!!!!! Why you telling him to use a torque wrench on something that is only hand tight, if that.

Do not torque the bolts on the valve cover as more will crack, just do them up snug and they will be fine,

And unless your running a gm maf or speed density then you HAVE to recirc your bov, even if you have the full link package it will still have issues unless one of the suggested is in place, which im guessing your car has not got

 

[Joethefallen23]

Someone clearly over tightened the valve cover when they changed out the gasket. Some people have had moderate success with JB weld, but you need to get it super clean before applying it. Even then, I wouldn't apply it internally, only externally. Frankly, I'd just pick up a valve cover either on here or one of the supporting vendors. Hell, you can even have it powder coated.

 

[snowborder714]

No no no no no!!!!! Why you telling him to use a torque wrench on something that is only hand tight, if that.

Do not torque the bolts on the valve cover as more will crack, just do them up snug and they will be fine,

They do have a torque spec of 2.2 - 2.5 ft.lbs. (26.4 - 30 in.lbs.) and I have used a torque wrench to torque the bolts. Sometimes they might need a bit more snugging, but this is an easy way to make sure you don't over tighten them.

 

[Jmmahon]

For the valve cover, you probably tightened the to tight.. They do not take very much to get them tight, had tight is enough. It may not crack right when you tighten it but increased crankcase pressures could have been the last straw on it.. I'm sorry if this had already been answered but I hope it helps!

 

[dsmspick]

+1 I use a torque wrench on my valve cover to factory spec. I use a little 1/4 inch, inch pound torque wrench. Just make sure you go in the correct pattern and do them little by little.

 

[EC17PSE]

They do have a torque spec of 2.2 - 2.5 ft.lbs. (26.4 - 30 in.lbs.) and I have used a torque wrench to torque the bolts. Sometimes they might need a bit more snugging, but this is an easy way to make sure you don't over tighten them.

Oh I know they do but the amount of people who use a torque wrench and crack it is alot, and ive always done mine up by Hand and in the many years ive yet to crack one so I was just trying to help him not crack more buy using a torque wrench,

plus who actually calibrates theres and resets it to keep accurate readings? Doubt alot or people do.

 

[athlete3344]

Oh I know they do but the amount of people who use a torque wrench and crack it is alot, and ive always done mine up by Hand and in the many years ive yet to crack one so I was just trying to help him not crack more buy using a torque wrench,

plus who actually calibrates theres and resets it to keep accurate readings? Doubt alot or people do.

The VC wont crack if torqued to the correct spec. Torquing down does not imply 100 ft lbs. By hand works for you, but to do it the absolutely, hands down, correct way, torquing to spec following the pattern is the way to go.

As often as one would use that small of a torque wrench, the calibration is probably not necessary. That is also a lame excuse to not do something correctly.

 

[EC17PSE]

Calibration is always a concern no matter what And who owns it, on this the minor offset could of course mean a crack cover or not!

Now if your saying the absolute hands down correct way is torqued way then its hands down that its calibrated before you use it even if its new but 3 years old in the box! My friend has cracked 2 covers and he used a torque wrench dont know if he over did it or not but me and many other people have no issues with doing it by hand.

I dont want to argue but lite specs like these dont always have to be done with the correct tool, its just the TOOL using the tool who is the concern haha

 

[SouleZZ]

Ok guys I've gotten all the bolts out of my valve cover and I understand the importance of not over tightening and I know how a torque wrench works. I only have this crappy 1/2 inch one I sometimes use with my breaker bar on bigger stuff of course. I'm not going to use it on the valve cover , ill be doing it by hand. I've noticed the gasket has a few small leaks I doubt ill be able to re use it. I would appreciate more help along the lines of "pop that thing off watch for flying monkeys and use yadda yadda" or "I used silly putty it worked great" rather than a debate on tools and the right way to do things, personally if it has a spec I think the right tool should be used and yes that would require a torque wrench to verify it but this is in my driveway man.

Thanks though guys I just got this forum going through my iPhone so I can try to be a bit more active.

 

[athlete3344]

Ok guys I've gotten all the bolts out of my valve cover and I understand the importance of not over tightening and I know how a torque wrench works. I only have this crappy 1/2 inch one I sometimes use with my breaker bar on bigger stuff of course. I'm not going to use it on the valve cover , ill be doing it by hand. I've noticed the gasket has a few small leaks I doubt ill be able to re use it. I would appreciate more help along the lines of "pop that thing off watch for flying monkeys and use yadda yadda" or "I used silly putty it worked great" rather than a debate on tools and the right way to do things, personally if it has a spec I think the right tool should be used and yes that would require a torque wrench to verify it but this is in my driveway man.

Thanks though guys I just got this forum going through my iPhone so I can try to be a bit more active.

In that case, pick up a Hayne's/Chilton's manual and start reading, or learn to search the forums really well.

 

[SouleZZ]

Just a little update here:

I fixed the valve cover and painted it Chrysler red it looks awesome (thanks to the search btw) just waiting on it to cure, I picked up a new gasket kit and cleaned all terminals on the fuel solenoid and connector in the harness it was pretty corroded, I fixed the O2 sensor housing crack and I'm trying to sort out a piece to pipe my bov back into the intake. If it wasn't so damn hot outside I was thinking of swapping my ECU but I think I'll just get it running good first.

I'm hoping to have some good luck once I get it all back together.

 

[turbotomBoost]

A hard hit

 

[SouleZZ]

I got a chance to put the valve cover back on today and do a boost leak test again, this is pretty much my first boost leak test so you guys can let me know if what I'm seeing is pretty typical. First thing I noticed is my dipstick fly's pretty high under pressure so after securing it and dealing with the oil cap as best as I could to make it stop leaking (its on of those nice looking ebay ones that say 4G63) I used some dish soap and found my throttle body gasket and the elbow gasket where both bubbling up towards the front of the car. I didn't notice any other leaks and I spent some time checking as best I could. I went ahead and put a wrench on the throttle body but wasn't able to get it to stop so I guess I'll be removing that, should I get new gaskets or can I attempt to seal it up with the gasket maker stuff I bought to do the cam shaft ends and stuff on the valve cover?

Thanks guys

Just wanted to add I was getting a little bubbling coming up around the BISS and I was around 20 psi or so.

 

[Matticus]

Calibration is always a concern no matter what And who owns it, on this the minor offset could of course mean a crack cover or not!

Now if your saying the absolute hands down correct way is torqued way then its hands down that its calibrated before you use it even if its new but 3 years old in the box! My friend has cracked 2 covers and he used a torque wrench dont know if he over did it or not but me and many other people have no issues with doing it by hand.

I dont want to argue but lite specs like these dont always have to be done with the correct tool, its just the TOOL using the tool who is the concern haha

Although most people that have been around cars for a while would know not to over tighten certain things (or as us shade tree mechanics say it ,"hand tight"), I would be willing to bet something is being done wrong if your friend is using a tq wrench and keeps cracking valve covers. There's no need to get into specifics but, you did tell someone not to use a tq wrench on something that DOES have a specific tq spec.

If you are that concerned about a correctly calibrated tq wrench, it may be time to invest in a higher quality tool. There are tq drivers for things like valve cover bolt

 

[boostin gsx91]

if the gaskets on throttle body are still in good shape ive had really good luck spraying them with high tack gasket sealer about 8 buc at your local parts store or you can use copper coat its the same idea its basically sticky spray i use this stuff one all my paper gaskets and even multi layer head gaskets

 

[SouleZZ]

I got it all back together and did another boost leak test and stopped my throttle body leak now I'm getting oil coming from what looks like the exhaust manifold once it gets warmed up and the car shoots out a ton of white smoke. I still have a leak somewhere I guess I'll be working on it tomorrow.