Chevy 2.8 valve cover gasket replacement-- tips/tricks?
John Yang
The 2.8 MFI V6 in my dad's trusty '87 Chevy Celebrity has finally
developed its first oil leak, at the valve cover gasket. Any
tips/tricks
for doing the job? Anything else we should check out while we have
the valve cover off? The car has 104k miles on it and still runs really
well.
My dad has replaced a valve cover gasket before, but that was on
a Buick 3.8 a long time ago.
Thanks!
John
yan...@biomed.med.yale.edu
John Yang
Should have added: both the front and rear valve cover
gaskets are leaking, although the front worse than the rear.
DMaster
and I actually replaced the front valve cover gasket on it. My back one is
still leaking, but it's to hard to reach for me. Time to call the mechanic,
after I fix that other problem (Yet again, in the other post.) The first
time I tried, I got it all wrong, but this last one I've done seems to have
done well. I have never replaced a gasket before, and didn't know what I was
doing. The first try failied probably because I took the cork gasket (Which
I got from NAPA, I can get you the part number if you want) and sandwiched
it with RTV sealant on each side. I found out later on that not only are you
not supposed to use the RTV sealant, but that I put hard setting sealant on
it. Well, that seal lasted about 2 weeks, then started leaking like usual.
The next time I tried, I went at it a bit more knowledgable and made sure I
used a gasket cleaner to get the surface nice and clean, and then put only
the cork gasket in it. Tightened it down by hand (You can torque it if you
have a wrench and the attachments to get into those tight spots, but I
don't.) And it hasn't been leaking since. Hmm, there's a good thing to
check, I do still leak oil but I'm pretty sure it's comming from the back
valve cover. There is a useful guide on replacing gaskets on NAPA's website.
www.napaonline.com
Since that's the only work on gaskets I've ever done, by all means look into
it further, but that's my experience. Maybe it'll help you out a bit. I'd
like some feedback as well, because I still have one more to replace. Which
I don't want to do until I fix my other engine problem.
I'm curious, has your car been pretty reliable? I've considered mine quite
reliable, but when almost every mechanic I talk to finds out that I have the
2.8L engine in the Cavalier, they litterally tell me "Oh, the engine from
Hell". I actually saw an article from motorweek or some other magazine that
had that title for the engine. I'm going to try to find that article so I
can read over it. It's real strange because the name doesen't fit my
experiences with the car.
---------------------------------------------
"John Yang" <yan...@biomed.med.yale.edu> wrote in message
news:39D94393...@biomed.med.yale.edu...
Robert MacNab
getting a good seal with RTV is that both surfaces must be free of oil and
old rtv. Paint remover will dissolve the RTV and naphtha or alcohol will
degrease the surfaces.
I've tried cork gaskets on that engine but I've had better success with
just RTV, like the factory does it.
Bob MacNab
On Mon, 02 Oct 2000 23:24:37 -0400, John Yang <yan...@biomed.med.yale.edu>
wrote:
:Hi,
:Should have added: both the front and rear valve cover
:gaskets are leaking, although the front worse than the rear.
:
:John Yang wrote:
:
:> Hi,
Eugene D.
use a ball peen hammer on the inside of the covers to bend back the spots
where the bolts go thru the covers
also use a hi heat RTV sealant on the valve covers and not on the head
itself
use aircraft sealer between the head and gaskets.
"John Yang" <yan...@biomed.med.yale.edu> wrote in message
news:39D95175...@biomed.med.yale.edu...
: Hi,
:
John Yang
So that I don't get confused, could someone give me a list of the
exact parts that I need to pick up at the store? I don't want to
accidentally forget a sealant or anything. Another poster also
mentioned picking up a distributor O-ring, most likely available
only at a dealership.
Re. the question about the vehicle's reliability: I've been very
pleased so far. 104k miles, and still runs smooth and strong.
Parts are always cheap and readily available, including
at the junkyard.
It's a shame that GM doesn't make these (Celebrity) wagons
anymore, otherwise I'd buy another one when this one
wears out.
--John
Robert MacNab wrote:
> I think the engine uses RTV (only) to seal the valve covers. The secret to
> getting a good seal with RTV is that both surfaces must be free of oil and
> old rtv. Paint remover will dissolve the RTV and naphtha or alcohol will
> degrease the surfaces.
>
> I've tried cork gaskets on that engine but I've had better success with
> just RTV, like the factory does it.
>
> Bob MacNab
>
> On Mon, 02 Oct 2000 23:24:37 -0400, John Yang <yan...@biomed.med.yale.edu>
> wrote:
>
> :Hi,
DMaster
gasket cleaner I got from NAPA to get the old gasket residue and oil off.
Then, the rubberized cork gasket I used. NAPA has the gasket for the valve
covers on that engine as well. Now the other people are mentioning RTV
sealant, and I'm not sure about it being better or not. If you do use RTV
sealant, make sure you get the right type for the job. I accidentally used a
hard setting sealant on my first seal which broke within two weeks. It
seemed to have set too hard and did not have enough flexibility. Instead of
flexing, it just cracked an leaked. But then again I used the cork with the
sealant on each side, which I found out later was not what you were supposed
to do in the first place. Another option in RTV sealants is what they call
"Oxegen Sensor Safe" mixes. There are many types of RTV sealants, so just
choose carefully if you do decide to use one.
Another thing: with a RTV sealant is that it can get messy. Especially since
there is little room to maneuver on even the front valve cover. Getting the
cover in place with a good bead all around the seam and not everywhere else
might be tough.
As I was researching how to get the seal right on my second try, the
impression I got was: "If you can get a gasket made for that engine, use it.
Otherwise you can use the RTV sealant. But that RTV sealant was not going to
be as good in any case." It could be down to a personal preference. What I
would do before deciding on whether to use the rubberized cork gasket or a
type of RTV sealant is go down to the GM dealership or a mechanic you trust
and asking them what they would use for that specific application. I don't
mean of course actually taking your vehicle to them for service. They give
out tips like that for free (At least they should in my opinion.). If not,
they really need to work on thier customer relations.
Anyway, I have the rubberized cork bought from NAPA for that specific valve
cover in it right now, and it definately has not leaked like it used to. I
keep forgetting to check and make sure I have a complete seal. It leaked so
bad before that I still have some residue to get off the exterior of the
engine (Making it hard to tell what is old or what could be new.). I haven't
taken the time to sit down with a can of degreaser and a toothbrush(Cleaning
around the electronics is a delicate process.). My car does still leak oil a
bit, but I'm 99% sure that it's comming from the back seal, which I haven't
touched yet.
That raises another point. I wonder if that can of "Electronic safe" engine
cleaner is really safe or just something expensive to fry your electronics
with. Anyone know that product I'm talking about?
"John Yang" <yan...@biomed.med.yale.edu> wrote in message
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