Paint valve covers peels off?

Originally Posted by Aurora40

You saw he's in the Netherlands, right?

I just did some work from a guy in Spain.


Cenobyte, post some pictures of the engine and I'll see what I can tell. It almost sounds like they have been painted in the past, as the factory finish doesn't "peel off".

[Cenobyte]

Hi Jeff, nice website you have there. If I was in the States, my choice would be easy

Below are some (very large) pictures. The car is very clean, especially the interior, but the engine bay is still a mess. I never started detailing the engine, because of the valve cover problem.

http://www.cenobyte.nl/pictureparkin...alvecover1.jpg

http://www.cenobyte.nl/pictureparkin...alvecover2.jpg

http://www.cenobyte.nl/pictureparkin...alvecover3.jpg

[tccrab]

The cam covers are much darker than the plenum, they may have been spray painted sometime in it's past.
Jeff, you got any ideas?
Looks like they're going to have to come off to fix 'em right.



TomC

[GOLDCYLON]

Originally Posted by tccrab

The cam covers are much darker than the plenum, the may have been spray painted sometime in it's past.
Jeff, you got any ideas?
Looks like they're going to have to come off to fix 'em right.



TomC

I agree TC and Jeffs the guy to do it. Hmm maybe time for a stainless bolt upgrade while hes there as well.

The spots which are bad on your valve cover (The recessed edge) tend to hold in a liquid, which in your case was a very caustic chemical. The cam covers were machined and therefore have a very smooth surface, whereas the plenum and injector housings were a sand cast and very porous. The bite the factory powder has a on a smooth surface is not very good, which is one reason why you can scrape it after it is smooth.

That being said if your finish is soft and scraping off, the spray paint suggested further above is garbage. It needs a good base like everything else to stick. You're only option is to remove everything, degrease and start over. Which doesn't look like it will be a bad thing since you want to clean up your engine compartment.

[Cenobyte]

It needs a good base like everything else to stick. You're only option is to remove everything, degrease and start over. Which doesn't look like it will be a bad thing since you want to clean up your engine compartment.

I was afraid it would come to that, I tried a couple of things already, leading me nowhere. Since you confirm my thoughts, I'll stick to the plan of removing the stuff and getting it done thouroughly.

There is a small problem: sending over a complete car or engine to the States will be as expensive as the job itself I guess, so I'll need to find somebody that knows his way around (dis-)assembling an LT-5 without messing it up. But can you disassemble all parts that need cleaning? Just beneath the manifold, there's a piece of the engine visible and with all the cleaning jobs over here on the forum they are cleaned and sprayed as well?

Best thing would be if I found a shop that I could just take the entire job off my hands, since I have two left hands myself Unfortunately these shops are hard to find over here...

Removing and reinstalling is fairly simple. I've got a couple of write ups documenting it. You should be able to send the parts state side once you get done (if you want). If you have any questions just ask.


http://pnwzr1.net/LT5_tear_down.htm

http://pnwzr1.net/LT5_tear_down2.htm

[Cenobyte]

Originally Posted by Jeffvette

Removing and reinstalling is fairly simple. I've got a couple of write ups documenting it. You should be able to send the parts state side once you get done (if you want). If you have any questions just ask.

My first reaction after reading it and looking at the pictures was:

But I'm shure I could follow the procedure when I look at it. Reassembling would be a whole other story

[tccrab]

If you take your time and take lots of pictures it shouldn't be all that difficult to put it back together.
Of course, you could always offer to buy Jeff a plane ticket, I'm sure he's never been to Holland...
I hear that there are things you can do in Amsterdam that you can't do anywhere else (legally).......


TomC

[bobbyhi]

Originally Posted by Cenobyte

My first reaction after reading it and looking at the pictures was:

But I'm shure I could follow the procedure when I look at it. Reassembling would be a whole other story

I did it last winter and if I can do it anyone can Of course there was quite a few phone calls to Jeff for guidance and help The toughest part was getting the brake booster out. Reassenbly went fairly easy also.