Valve Cover Off

[OwnerCS]

Once in a while you get a break -- mine arrived last night. Last night, removing one of the valve covers was easy. Here are some pictures for all to see. I was surprised to see the condition. Ya'll take a look below..

[Q451990]

That's one clean looking engine!

Heath

[lino]

I wasn't able to see the pics yesterday for some reason, but I'm glad I can today! How long did it take you to take them off? How did you clean them?

[OwnerCS]

Since I already had the plenum off, I wanted to go ahead and take care of the valve covers. I think it took about hour to remove. I was worried about the EGR pipe being hard to remove, but the fitting seemed to be hardly more than finger tight. To me the EGR pipe removal was the real break. Those EGR fittings seem to be candidates for the copper (high heat) anti-seize on reinstall.

Once I removed all of the cover bolts, I took a rubber mallet and gently tapped around the outer edges and the whole cover just popped loose.

The previous owner changed the oil and filter at 2,500 mile intervals using 5W30 (fall) 10W30 (spring) service center bulk oils. The car was for 800 to 1,000 mile road trips in the ArkLaTex area – with any town driving occurring as part of those trips. I could not find oil sludge under the valve covers.

I’ll clean up the cover tonight using a mix of kerosene and carburetor cleaner. The kerosene lets the CC go further. I’ll post pictures once the cover has been cleaned.

Do the cams and what you can see of the chain look ok?

I think I saw in a post where using some longer (straight end) bolts as temporary positioning guides for the cover on reinstallation is recommended to keep it in alignment for a smooth landing. I’ve got some Permatex Ultra Gray RTV for sealer.

Any tips on setting a good RTV bead?

[Q451990]

Don't forget to either put RTV on those rubber gaskets that sit on the standoffs where the bolts under the coil covers attach - or replace those... T3 just put RTV on mine on the last reseal. I like the bolt idea but never used it. The FSM specifies an alignment tool that doesn't exist and was apparently never created by Kent-Moore.

I noticed full sized tubes of Permatex the last time I visited NAPA. Maybe it would be easier to get a good bead with a regular caulking gun? I think the critical steps for getting a good seal is making sure both surfaces are perfectly clean, and letting the RTV set up for at least 8 hours before starting. The dealership resealed mine on my old Q and gave it back to me as soon as they got it back together. Plucking strings of wet RTV off of the exhaust manifold didn't make me happy - and it didn't seal very well either.

Heath

[OwnerCS]

Cleaned up the VC tonight. It took a while to clear out the RTV grooves.

Here's the pic below.

[lino]

Wow! . It looks like a whole different color now.

[Q451990]

I'm going to start sending all of my parts to you for cleaning! I doubt one fresh off of the shelf in a parts warehouse is any cleaner!

Heath

[OwnerCS]

I'm just itching to replace the timing chain guides as part of this operation..

My gut based (anal, methodical, maniacal) plan is to finish the injector job, make sure it is running good, then start the guide replacement.

Ya'll -- I've never had the engine over 3,000 RPM because of the current guides..

I think once I get it all back together and I hear it purring like a cat, it's going to be really hard to resist the temptation of letting it loose to run.

Opinions?

[qship96]

chain guides should have been FIRST on your list, even before a simple wash/wax !!!!!!!

[lino]

The chain guides are supposed to be on the very top of the list, just like qship said. Everyone seems to feel the same on that point. I guess it's a risk.

In Canada, every dealer I spoke with said they never heard of replacing the guides. It wasn't something that was common, but that can be because they never sold a lot of Q45s in any year in Canada. Only one dealer said "That's a problem in the US because of the all the high speed highway driving and extereme heat". That was his opinion.

Have you read the Chain Guides (CRITICAL for 1990-1993) :

http://q45.org/techhelp.html

[OwnerCS]

The chains have always been a priority. I knew when I bought it that I would be replacing the chains as a DIY project. Also, I budgeted $3,000 just for "first year" replacement projects - with me doing the work. If it was a case of me having to buy labor hours to do the upgrades, I wouldn't have purchased the car.

Before I forget, the main objective with this Q car project is to have a project car where my two teenage boys learn about working on cars. I grew up working on cars around family mechanics. I actually got a job working on cars and pumping gas when I was 14 years old.. By the time I was 17 and graduated from high school, I had some varying experience on everything from a Rolls Royce to a VW.. My sons can't have that experience today -- nor would I want them working in a shop at 14... Computer science for me was incredibly easy -- so that has been my industry for the past 30 years.

My original plan was:

1) Buy the car
2) Learn about it -- determine what it needs.
3) Get my tool kit updated -- take advantage of sales.
4) Wait for September weather to arrive before starting the timing chain guide job.
5) Until September, do minor upgrades (most were all nighters) after dark when the outside temperature drops below 90 degrees.
6) Timing chain job + New Water Pump + Valve Cover Seals + Any Other Engine Related
7) Power Steering Rack Boots
9) New hoses (not included in #6)
9) Suspension Upgrades
10) CV Boots and Brake System (Preventative Maintenance Items)

I was moving along according to plan and then two injectors fail. So I didn't want to put Q under the knife for the timing chain job when it was running on six cylinders. So since the injectors were not part of the "early days" plan, I've tried to make the best of it and go on with my enhancements according to a different schedlue. The Q will never be a daily driver -- so I can take my time about making corrections.

Now that the weather is cooling, I 've started ramping up.

I've been working with Joe's guys to get all the parts to do a nice job.

Here's a listing of the parts identified. I'm trying to track down or find a way to maybe see a picture of the part -- so at least I don't order the wrong items -- and incur a 20% restocking charge...

The prices are list price. Naturally IOS prices are much less as you can see below.

Parts totals:

Parts List Price: $3,307.57
Total Parts Discount: $826.75
Net After IOS Discount: $2,480.82









I need to finish up on verifying the order -- to get the parts on the road.

[Q451990]

I've never had the engine over 3,000 RPM because of the current guides..

That is amazing! If I ever have a hot daughter that needs a place to sleep for the night in Arkansas, she's coming to your house... your restraint is amazing! Not that this will make you feel any better, but my guide failure on my first Q occured at low RPMs pulling away from a stop light - so I don't know that your theory of driving it slowly is going to accomplish that much. Can't hurt though...

4) Wait for September weather to arrive before starting the timing chain guide job.

Living in SC, I couldn't understand better. I actually bought a portable A/C for my garage a few weeks ago and ducted it through the side with a 6" louvered vent. It's nice but it doesn't cool things down very quickly... guess I'll look into insulating my metal garage door next.

[OwnerCS]

Thanks Heath!

You know this Q project reminds me (on a much smaller scale) of restoring an old house in a historical preservation district. There are all the city mandated guidelines to be followed for keeping the original "period" look and steps that you must take to make all interior components blend with the exterior.

But sometimes you just need to replace all of the bathroom or kitchen pluming, wiring, and fixtures. Otherwise it will be a never-ending battle of temporary "band aid" type fixes that end up costing more over the long run.