New help with valve cover?

[J-Syght]

okay i took out all my bolts so i paint my cover, but the thing is the valve cover won't come off, i took off all the bolts it's kinda tight. Any ideas please?

 

[kyledykstra]

Very, very, very, very gently, with a large flathead screw driver, pry it up. But be very, very, very gentle, so you don't gouge anything on either the valve cover or the head.

 

[troysevo16]

gonna need to replace the valve cover gasket to, if you take it off to paint it!

 

[Strm Trpr]

small block of wood, and a hammer.... knock it on the front right hand corner and consider it done......

 

[J-Syght]

Why do i need a new gasket, the one i took off looks pretty much new still?

 

[Perch - Tsi]

regardless, itll leak oil onto your manifold and make a lot of smoke





go on, ask me how i know

:thumbdown

 

[Diplomat]

"Very, very, very, very gently, with a large flathead screw driver, pry it up." - kyledykstra

As a last resort. "Very, very, very, very gently" and "large flathead" being the key words. Find the widest one you can. But first:

"small block of wood, and a hammer.... knock it on the front right hand corner and consider it done......" - Strm Trpr

Use this method as Plan A. Tap several places all the way around the cover if need be. If it somehow does not work, make certain that you have indeed removed all bolts and any remnants. Then try the other procedure. You can get a valve cover pretty cheap. A gouged head is difficult to repair and expensive to replace.

When you replace the cover, go slow and use a torque wrench for gods sake. Be gentle with everything, including the spark plug cover bolts and PCV (if applicable). I swear these valve covers are made of hardened tin foil.

 

[darkness_fallz]

Why do i need a new gasket, the one i took off looks pretty much new still?

Anything worth doing is once is worth doing right....

If you have to PRY the thing off, more than likely you're going to gouge the gasket which will just force you to pull the thing up at a later time when your engine bay starts looking like it's been working in a coal mine..... the gasket is cheep and worth replacing.

 

[J-Syght]

Okay I order a Gaket from auto part store & it should be in tuesday, is there anything i should do in the mean time. cuz I set my cover back on just to cover the head, & but a rag over it. I'm i gonna have to do anything to the cams liek oil them or lube?

 

[troysevo16]

nope, good thinking on convering it back up, dont want dust and other things to get in there, that could cause your engine to go boom, just wait for the gasket if you have the valve cover painted. O and dont tighten the screws to tight when you put it back on, shows us a pic when its all said and done, painting the valve cover makes the engine bay look nicer.

 

[Defiant]

When you replace the cover, go slow and use a torque wrench for gods sake.

No, no, no, no, no.

If you don't have one calibrated in inch-pounds, don't go near a DSM cam cover with any kind of socket wrench. Use only a nut driver, and still, be very gentle with it.
The cam covers don't flex much, they just crack.

 

[98spydert]

I took a pry bar to mine because nothing worked. Pounded on it with a runner mallet, use a carbon scraper as a pry bar, tried everything. Finaly I didn't care because I was replacing it with a powder coated 1G cover anyways. Big a$$ Pry bar worked fine and didn't break anything

I'd recommend a new set of valve cover bolts if they look pretty bad. I like the stainless, allen head set from slow boy. Looks killer on a black pced cover

 

[J-Syght]

I have a big promblem now guys, okay I already put on the gasket lastnite put every thing back together. now when I try to start the car it doesn't work. It just dies out. Any ideas please!!

 

[DSMvroom]

ouch that sux! I dont know much about this sort of thing but could a leak in the seal cause that to happen?

 

[Strm Trpr]

Not to be a penus, or anything, but you did put in new sparkplugs gapped to .028" right.
NGK BPR6ES seems to be the plug of choice if you're not boostin over 16psi.

Make sure your firing order is correct, and all of your plug wires are installed tightly on the plugs.

I hope you replaced the Half Moon gasket and the 4 sparkplug well gaskets too, along with the main VC gasket.... they're all rubber, so I'll call them seals.

 

[J-Syght]

Thankz guys, I got it running.