Strange Valve cover question.

[fanatic26]

I took my car into the shop recently because I was putting in 3 quarts of oil a week into my 90 Laser RS to get to work and back. It turns out my valve cover was warped. The problem is, the owner of the shop tells me that there are different valve covers that he can order and he must find a serial number somewhere on the engine that will tell him which one to order. (no, not the VIN number or engine code)

Personally I think this is kind of strange since i have known people that swapped valve covers with no issues. My car has been in the shop for 12 days now because he cannot find this mystery number to get a valve cover on my car.

Can someone shed some light on this, either confirm or deny what hes saying. If it is confirmed is there any other way to tell which to order. I am currently driving his 92 Accord and the 120hp less for the same gas milage is killin me. I want my car back!

 

[98EclipseTurbo]

I unfortunatelly do not have the serial number for you. I think you should go to a local junk yard find a dsm or a hunday that has the same type of a volve cover and buy it at a fairly cheap price. I have never heard of a valve cover warpage and how in hell can you loose so much oil like that ?. I think what you need is a volve cover gasket. Bring it back home and do it yourself.

 

[jongreene]

HAHA either this guy shouldnt be running this shop or hes giving you the run around.

Probably both.

I can only think of one way a valve cover would be the cause of that much oil loss...a severe crack in which oil would spew out of.

junkyard or plenty of VC's in the classifieds.

 

[fanatic26]

I have worked on the car myself and I am completely stumped as to how its leaking the oil. I saw no cracks in the mani and the gasket is 6 months old and still looks like new. Any time under boost it just sprays oil out tho, after a good pressure wash and a trip around the block with no boost its nice and clean. Take it around the block a second time up to about 14 psi and there is oil all over the injector assembly and over the top of the tranny. I have 0 time to look for a valve cover myself for the next 2 weeks or I would have brought him one already. 12 hour work days and im leaving for LA tomorrow so no way to get a VC until next sat on my own.

I personally think the guy is 100% full of crap but I wanted to double check and make sure before I called him on it. It looks like its gonna be a while unless someone has a 2G-T they are willing to sell me for a $1500 down payment, its taking me too long to save up for one

 

[Talesin]

He's full of crap. All 4G63s use the same damn valve cover, including the ones in Hyundais. And if you mean 'Los Angeles' by LA, I have a couple spare VCs.

My guess would be either a cracked valve cover (the cracks can be pretty small), a warped outer edge gasket, or that your valve cover bolts may be loose or over-tight... either of which can cause seep, from not a firm enough seal, or overtightening distorting the seal. OEM torque spec is 32-36 in/lb (3ft/lb max!) but a lot of people will just guesstimate, or make it a little on the snug side.
Your vent hose may also be blocked if the VC is pressurizing enough to shoot oil all over the intake manifold, and you'll want to check to make sure your PCV valve is working correctly. Have you done a compression test? You might be getting excessive blowby as well.

 

[fanatic26]

Yes I mean the Los Angeles area. I am staying at a friends house in Santa Clarita but I am going to a show at the Key Club in Hollywood Sat. night. My best bet is to just bring him another one, put it together, and drive it leaking oil or not. I havent done a compression test yet, but I will do everything listed as soon as I get the thing back in my care. The only reason it went to the shop in the first place is I dont ever have time to work on it, but it looks like I must make the time. So much for my project car, gotta take care of the DD first.