Valve Cover ReSeal

[Qdemption]

I have a couple of questions on the process of resealing the valve covers for a '92 Q.

I am doing both my valve covers. They are already off, the drivers side is ready but I still have some scrubbing to do on the passenger side. Anyways, I bought the red high temp permatex RTV.

Here is what I know to do from reading some previous posts...

Clean the hell out of the contact surfaces, making sure to not have any greasy substance on there whatsoever.

Follow the FSM on application of a liquid gasket. ie; the actually route, and making sure to have a continious bead.

Now what I am unsure of is the actual method of attack. What kind of time window am I looking at? What if I were to bump into something upon re-entry, should I scrub the launch?

Just from looking at it, putting the drivers side cover on without incidental contact looks extremely difficult. The pass side looks a little less intimidating, however.

What about jacking the car up a bit to get some clearance from other objects in the engine bay?

Well, I just wanted to get some feedback on how to perform this task with extreme precision. If it is one thing I have learned when working on a car is to expect ,at the very least, one thing that is going to go wrong. This is all part of the preparation for that "one thing".

BTW, I also have the plenum off. It is ready to go back on as well. I had planned on putting the pass side valve cover on first, then the plenum, and finish off with the drivers side valve cover. I think that is a good plan, but am open for suggestions on what order will reduce the most amount of collateral damage, ie; tools being thrown/smashed/broken from frustration.

I am shooting to have everything done and ready for ignition fire on monday. It is tentative, but atleast I have come to the point of establishing a launch date.

[Q451990]

I prefer the Permatex Gray since it says specifically that it meets Nissan standards, and looks pretty - but probably not a huge difference. On the drivers bank, be sure you remove the EGR tube - that'll make life a lot easier. I'd put the plenum on last, and stuff rags in the runners for now. It doesn't need to be removed for rocker cover work, but my bigger concern is all of those screws, clamps, fastners, etc... better to have the heads covered instead of taking a chance of dropping stuff in there!

As far as your question about bumping it against something - if you do, scrub and re-start. As you've probably figured out by now - it's not something you want to do again for a while! Also, be sure to replace and RTV the "half moons" at the front and back of each head, and at a minimum put a ring of RTV on the o-ring type washers under where the retaining screws go through the middle of the rocker cover.

Good luck!

Heath

[DAEDALUS]

Yeah, the red stuff will be fine. Nissan's own RTV is red too. Color is from 1-5% iron oxide added for improved heat conduction so there's less thermal distortion across the bondline. Attach cord to some coil screws at both ends of the covers for handles, and do a few dry runs before appling the sealant. It's likely you'll you'll hit something, but there will be squeezeout of the RTV and this should compensate. Make sure you fill the little groove when you apply the RTV and you should be just fine. You'll get the hang of the motion after a few dry runs.