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changing rocker cover gasket

18K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  EAtom 
#1 ·
Hi would someone be able to give me a step by step guide on how to change the rocker cover gasket? i got quoted for 100 to change the rocker cover gasket and im pretty sure its a very simple job.

There are a few things i saw that im not sure whether i should touch it or not. theres these two cables that run across the engine bay over the engine, they arent the ignition leads so what are they?

and also in the back of the engine theres a tube bent in a U-shape and thats going into the top of the rocker cover what does that tube do? i say that ill need to unplug that to get the rocker cover off?

While the rocker covers off i thought i might give it a coat of black paint since the old paint has worn away, what type of paint would you guys recommend since i think it needs to be able to withstand all that heat.

umm thats bout it i think ...
 
#2 ·
im pretty sure the two cables going over the top of ur motor iare your accelerator cables and the u shaping thing ur talking about should be comimg from the throttle body which is going to your air box.... easy to take off... not to sure about taking toe rocker covers off only caus ive never done it but it doesnt look that hard
 
#3 ·
i just purchased a rocker cover gasket its called a valve cover gasket, i presume they are talking about the same thing. Anyway on it it said that the EA26 engines was not originally desgined to use valve gaskets and that ill need an adhesive to put it on. is that for my engine? i have a 89EA fairmont ghia 3.9 mpfi.
 
#4 ·
did your kit come with 2 half moons? And is the gasket rubber or cork? Corkies need a little gasket goo


pull off your plug leads from the spark plug side and toss them over to the inlet side
undo the accel cable and cruise (those 2 black cables you were unsure of) linkages at the throttle body and then sling them out of the way
Pull the breather off the back right hand corner, then undo the 4 dome nuts and it is off

Use some VHT black for a quick freshen up, it is heat resistant
 
#5 ·
Bumper paint will do, it doesn't seem to get hot enough to worry ordinary paint.
I'd recommend you use some silicone to seal the gasket regardless of whether it's rubber or cork, as rubber can leak too. It's because of the extremely small sealing area.


Alex
 
#7 ·
$30 for the gasket plus an hour of labour is about right. Remember most places will charge for an hour, not half an hour, let alone the 10 minutes it takes.
 
#8 ·
Just a word of warning though, when you remove the ignition leads, mark them. The last thing you want, is to go to putting it back together, and find you dont know where each lead goes. Had that happen before. Not fun lol. As for spraying the cover, give it a light sand, a wipe with wax and grease remover, and spray it with vht high temp spray paint. Worked a treat for me.
 
#9 ·
tibbo said:
did your kit come with 2 half moons? And is the gasket rubber or cork? Corkies need a little gasket goo
What happens if i dont put the gasket goo on? shouldnt the rocker cover sit tight enough for it not to move around. and the packet said to tighten the cover to 10 nm of torque. i believe ur need a torque wrench to do that right? is it really necessary to use it or just normal rachet or spanner will do
 
#10 ·
ok

1. Label spark plug leads ( or just make sure they are in order in the little plastic holders ) push them to one side

2. pop the acc cable and kickdown cable out of the little plastic clip, dont bother undoing it at the throttle body, its not necessarry and creates more work

3. pop the breather hose off both the top and the very back of the cover

4. use a 13mm spanner and remove 4 retaining nuts

5. lift cover up to clear rocker gear and withdraw from front ( there will be enough slack in the cables so as I said, they wont need to be removed )

6. clean off old gasket

7. replace gasket with rubber item, no silicone needed

8. fit rocker cover back into place

9. IMPORTANT do NOT overtighten the nuts!!!!! do them up finger tight and then another full turn ONLY

10. replace all leads, hoses etc where they came from

11. start engine and run til warm, switch off and nip up the nuts another half turn

12. go for a drive and check for leaks

13. go buy a carton of piss with the money you saved
 
#11 ·
The neoprene (rubber) gasket shouldn't have adhesive used with it and they are best to use. If its not too late see if you can swap the cork one for a neoprene one as they are easier to fit and seal better (their only problems is they tend to harden with heat and age and will need repalcing every few years). The cork ones do tend to slide (even with goo) as originally they designed the engine not to have valve cover/rocker cover gaskets but they soon found the leaked without them. If you use adhesive on a cork gasket make sure you let it tac dry 1st or the adhesive will act as a lubricant so the gasket will slide out when you tighten the cover.
 
#12 ·
six_in_a_row

thanks for the step by step instruction. its very detailed.

aussieblue

ill try to go for a swap im not sure if supercheap stock the rubber ones i cant find one when i went maybe they were sold out of it? Im sure repco has one ill just a refund or something i havent opened hte pack yet
 
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