After Market Valve Covers

[IowaEagle]

Mine is a 1983 Wagon.. Does that require the tapping?
I do have taps and drills so that's no problem. ALso hving a history with eaky Corvairs and stopping leaks I prefer Permitex #2. This is tough is you ever have to remove anything but really works its way into groves and warps. Stays plyable but the only downside unike some other gasket sealers this one doesnt like gasoline.

  No rhyme or reason as to which of the holes on the head were drilled and then tapped.  You will just have to look to see what you have.

[Viscount02]

Does anyone have the torque spec's listed for this? I never did get a definitive answer for this one.

[Smitch]

28 inch pounds

[bigdog56e]

 All the holes in my '82 Eagles head were drilled, only had to tap them.

[Javelin Man]

I need some help.  I got the new Collins valve cover and am trying to size it to the block, but part of the body right below the wiper motor is blocking the cover from going all the way back.  It's just thin metal sticking out but should I just hammer it back out of the way?

Also, in reference to the bridges, the directions say to replace the two tapped bridges.  Which are those two?  It looks like a couple are different from the rest, but they are all the same size and really no different from the two replacement bridges.

I was able to tap the two holes on the driver's side.  The valve cover came with five 5/16's bolts and two 1/4" bolts.  Two of the old holes have helicoils in them making them 1/4" so I'll need to make a trip to the hardware store tomorrow.

The old cover wouldn't let me get a socket on the back nut so I did what any frustrated mechanic did; I just broke it off and pulled the old cover off which gained me easy access to the back bolt.

Thank you for any help.

Javelin Man

[jim]

It is a common problem for the firewall to extend over the back of the valve cover.
If you will do a search you will find what others have done.
Some have used a flexible 1/4" extension, and someone advocates drillng a 1/2" hole above the back bolt and putting in a rubber plug when you are finished.

[Javelin Man]

Thank you for the reply.  I used extensions but a part of the old valve colver kept the socket from getting on the bolt.  At least that problem has been solved.

My problem is trying to put the new valve cover on.  I push it back and it hits the body, not the firewall.  After struggling a while, I took it off and found the back of the new cover all scraped up where it hit the metal. Dad always taught me not to force anything, just use a bigger hammer.  I'm about to that point.

[Jurjen]

Don't get the BFH out yet. You can gain a little more access by removing the wiper motor.
It is a two minute job: four screws, a plug and a retainer ring.
Position the valve cover with a fingertight bolt on either side (diagonal) so you can still shift it a bit, now try to get the last one in.
If it still hits the fire wall, I think it is time to inspect the engine and tranny mounts.

[Javelin Man]

Yes, it's an automatic.  I didn't remove the wiper motor, but did take it out of the firewall and it's hanging up out of the way tied to the rook rack.  I like the idea to check the motor mounts and will do so after a spot of coffee and a crumpet.

The cover isn't hitting the firewall, but the sheet metal below the wiper motor. The BFH is on my workbench just a couple paces away.

Any suggestions about the valve bridges they suggest replacing? I'm not too sure they haven't already been replaced since they all have the same dimensions.

[Javelin Man]

Oui, it does start and only in park and neutral.  Occasionally more often at stop signs than it needs to, but that's a different story. It had a plastic cover which I removed then then I was able to get that last irritating bolt out.

Did the old switched rockers have a part in trying to hold the original cover down?

[Jurjen]

My plastic valve cover was only held down along the sides, and did not have the rocker bridges either, so I did not have to change anything on the rockers.

[bigdog56e]

  My plastic cover was held by two nuts on studs in bridges and 1/4" bolts in front and back, I use a flex 1/4" extension to get the rear bolt, I had to tap the side bolt holes. I would check the trans mount, seems the engine/trans has sagged in the rear causing the cover to hit the firewall. If your car is an a/t the parts books will not show a trans mount, just use a straight drive mount and remove the syuds welded in it. Been there and done that.
                                                                                      Eddie.
PS: I too, used the Collis Bros' cover.

[Javelin Man]

Thank you for the #411 on the rocker bridge studs.  I am satisfied that I don't have any problems with those since I see no studs (besides myself! ) sitting in the valve area.

I went the BFH way and knocked the sheet metal back a bit, then squirted some trim black paint on it to thwart the rust.  I've applied the Ultra black RTv sealant and put the cork gasket on.  I put the bolts and and will let things set up for a while. We'll see what happens after lunch or later.

[Javelin Man]

Pushing the sheet metal back bought me the extra 1/4" I needed to get the valve cover on.  It still scraped a little of the paint off that I had just put on, but I'm not concerned about that. 

I only have a few extra parts now that I'm done.

I didn't drill the driver's side holes any deeper so the bolts bottomed out.  I, of course, thought about checking this after I put the air cleaner and all vacuum hoses back on.  I pulled those two bolts and put some washers under the bolt heads which should be just right.  After fighting with the back driver's side bolt for too long, I remembered I had a socket with a 6mm head. What I argued for a half hour before took 10 seconds with the right tool. 

I'll let everything sit overnight and start it up in the morning.  I am hoping not to leave my mark everywhere I park.

[TLC87Eagle]

Pushing the sheet metal back bought me the extra 1/4" I needed to get the valve cover on.  It still scraped a little of the paint off that I had just put on, but I'm not concerned about that. 

I only have a few extra parts now that I'm done.

I didn't drill the driver's side holes any deeper so the bolts bottomed out.  I, of course, thought about checking this after I put the air cleaner and all vacuum hoses back on.  I pulled those two bolts and put some washers under the bolt heads which should be just right.  After fighting with the back driver's side bolt for too long, I remembered I had a socket with a 6mm head. What I argued for a half hour before took 10 seconds with the right tool. 

I'll let everything sit overnight and start it up in the morning.  I am hoping not to leave my mark everywhere I park.

Nice to hear it finally went on there. I had some clearance issues when putting mine on too, but I just took the wiper motor off to make clearance and put it back on once I got the cover on. You might have had a trans mount issue like mentioned early causing the need to the firewall recess. But as long as it fits now. I believe I read in my 1980 service manual one time, that it was required to dent the firewall in a few inches to get the engine out of a Pacer, so your 1/4" isn't bad at all.  Also, my bolts bottomed out too, so I went out and got a bottoming tap, and I was able to get 3-4 more threads in the hole. But after I converted mine to the aluminium cover, mine hasn't leaked a drop, and hopefully yours will do the same.