Removing Cam Cover Bolts

[bobbyhi]

Originally Posted by Scrrem

Man, I am getting ready to pull my cam covers for refinishing. You guys really got me worried about this job. Is it really that bad getting these bolts out?
Rich

When I did mine I took the brake booster off. The only way of taking that part off is by laying on your back and taking off the 4 bolts from the inside of the car. The driver seat has to come out for more room. I was lucky that my neighbor is a small mechanic guy and could fit down there and get his hands under the steering post. The 4 bolts are in a difficult position but doable..........Just takes time and patience....

[bldavis11]

Crap... and I'm 6'4"!

I don't have a lift, and fitting under the car to undo c-beam bolts and motor mounts is going to be more than a challenge, especially with how I have the car parked.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Originally Posted by Scrrem

Man, I am getting ready to pull my cam covers for refinishing. You guys really got me worried about this job. Is it really that bad getting these bolts out?
Rich

Rich,

I only know that with mine I survived getting all of them out, but did have a new Snap On torx bit and definitely need the impact driver for sure to break them loose. I was swapping over to stainless hex head bolts, but would not reused some of the bolts as they got damaged from removal. You'll be fine if you take your time and use the right tools.

[Ccmano]

The passenger side is a snap once you remove the heater panel. There is a way to do the drivers side without removing the booster or raising the engine. I've done it twice now, on a 90' and a 94'. It requires making a tool of sorts to work in the tight space to loosen/tighten the bolts. I bought a set (3) of these ratchet wrenches from Sears. You actually only need the one where bit goes to the outside on one of the angled ones.



I securely attached (rather crudely) a metal handle extension (from an old gasket scraper) to give me the leverage I needed.




I cut down the allen and torx bits so that they were as short as possible. This gives the max amount of working space.




So with this tool you can get in there to loosen/tighten the bolts. You must absolutely make sure you have proper alignment and purchase on the bolts (especially the OEM ones) to make sure you don't strip them. Clean out any dirt that might have gotten in there. I have found that firm constant pressure on them will loosen most. A sudden hard twist attempt will probably strip them. It's a craps shoot on the OEM bolts.

There's just enough room to loosen the bolts completely, but you wont be able to remove the bolts without removing the cover at the same time. In other words you remove the cover (and replace it) with the bolts in place. It takes a little wriggling to get it out (and in) but they do come out. Just be careful not to scratch the cam lobes or cam bearing surfaces with the bolts while installing or removing.

As for tightening, the is no way to get a torque wrench in there. I use an angle torque and "feel" method based on the how many degrees the others must be turned with a torque wrench once you get them snug. Just pay attention to the regular ones when you torque them. Then turn the back ones by the same amount of degrees with your tool. You'll be able to feel if your close, at least I can.

If your a purist your probably aghast by now but this does work.

Good luck and don't be surprised if you strip an OEM bolt when you try to remove them. It will one that you think will be no sweat, ask me how I know.

H

[Scrrem]

Thanks for that great posts!! I'll go out and start gathering the needed tools!!
Rich

[pantera1683]

Originally Posted by Ccmano

The passenger side is a snap once you remove the heater panel. There is a way to do the drivers side without removing the booster or raising the engine. I've done it twice now, on a 90' and a 94'. It requires making a tool of sorts to work in the tight space to loosen/tighten the bolts. I bought a set (3) of these ratchet wrenches from Sears. You actually only need the one where bit goes to the outside on one of the angled ones.



I securely attached (rather crudely) a metal handle extension (from an old gasket scraper) to give me the leverage I needed.




I cut down the allen and torx bits so that they were as short as possible. This gives the max amount of working space.




So with this tool you can get in there to loosen/tighten the bolts. You must absolutely make sure you have proper alignment and purchase on the bolts (especially the OEM ones) to make sure you don't strip them. Clean out any dirt that might have gotten in there. I have found that firm constant pressure on them will loosen most. A sudden hard twist attempt will probably strip them. It's a craps shoot on the OEM bolts.

There's just enough room to loosen the bolts completely, but you wont be able to remove the bolts without removing the cover at the same time. In other words you remove the cover (and replace it) with the bolts in place. It takes a little wriggling to get it out (and in) but they do come out. Just be careful not to scratch the cam lobes or cam bearing surfaces with the bolts while installing or removing.

As for tightening, the is no way to get a torque wrench in there. I use an angle torque and "feel" method based on the how many degrees the others must be turned with a torque wrench once you get them snug. Just pay attention to the regular ones when you torque them. Then turn the back ones by the same amount of degrees with your tool. You'll be able to feel if your close, at least I can.

If your a purist your probably aghast by now but this does work.

Good luck and don't be surprised if you strip an OEM bolt when you try to remove them. It will one that you think will be no sweat, ask me how I know.

H

This is awesome information.

[pantera1683]

So what's the size for the stainless steel replacement bolts?

[bldavis11]

Originally Posted by pantera1683

So what's the size for the stainless steel replacement bolts?

Jerry has them with the necessary dowdy washers as well. That's the route I'm going.

[bldavis11]

Originally Posted by bobbyhi

When I did mine I took the brake booster off. The only way of taking that part off is by laying on your back and taking off the 4 bolts from the inside of the car. The driver seat has to come out for more room. I was lucky that my neighbor is a small mechanic guy and could fit down there and get his hands under the steering post. The 4 bolts are in a difficult position but doable..........Just takes time and patience....

Well that's good news. I'm going to fight with the passenger side this evening and see if I can get this evaporator cover/box off. I'll get the seat taken out by the middle of this week hopefully. I am shooting for everything off the car by Thanksgiving, but I only have an hour or so when I get home from work to tackle this project.

[A26B]

If you haven't yet rounded up everything you need, here's a couple of links to "kits" for different levels of LT5 maintenance. Of course, we offer everything individually, but you can use the "kit contents list" as a sort of reference.

Top End Refinishing Kit
http://jerrysgaskets.com/store2/root...roducts_id=473

and

SS Bolt Kit
http://jerrysgaskets.com/store2/root...roducts_id=444