Plastic valve covers are crap

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:47 pm

So I bought a gasket kit for the valve cover on my 2k neon which comes with the tube seals, I wanted to replace them anyways because I had a little oil on my spark plugs, well guess what?? those suckers weren't coming off

, I tried pliers, flat head screwdrivers, razor blades and I was able to get most of the seals off, but the part were the bottom of the seal makes contact with the valve cover its not coming off I think some1 used some sort of super/crazy/cement glue

, I used paint thinner, goo off/gone, and a number of other chemicals to get it loose but nothing works I let the seals soak for 2 days in the chemicals and........ nothing

, and everytime I try to use pliers or screwdrivers or whatever the POS valve covers either get chipped or deform or I get very small(tiny) amounts of plastic stuck to the left over parts of the rubber seal

.
Now I don't even know if I should waste anymore time with this crap since I've been only able to remove 1 full seal.
Any suggestions????

I thought about the junk yard, but I'm almost sure I'm gonna run into the same problem, plus the lady that runs the junkyard thinks she's running a dealership and charges ridiculous amounts for the parts.

I saw the mancini racing metal valve covers:
http://store.yahoo.com/chucker54/20lipovaco.html
But I read here in the forums that they were no longer available, its this a scam or can I buy 1 of those with confidence???
Any comments and input would be appreciated.

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:53 pm

A scam lol. That is mancini site. They are a mile or so down the street from me. Great guys

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:56 pm

great, I just placed my order

vampylestat · Post by **vampylestat** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:49 pm

woot, powdercoated valve covers ftw! saves me from buying used + painting myself

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:28 pm

is it okay that the pcv valve is not on the same side as the one before?

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:43 pm

I think they're a great deal and look nice, plus they are metal

, that plastic POS got me mad

and frustated, as far as fitting i'll let you know as soon as I get mine, but I know there's a lot of people here that have them, maybe they can tell us

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:01 pm

Adionik wrote:is it okay that the pcv valve is not on the same side as the one before?

?
The Mancini VC flts well I have no issues with mine The pvc valve was on the correct side. The tube seals should pound out they are a pain but unless someone put red loc-tite on them they will come out. I used a screw driver and a hammer and started them from the top, bent them and then pryed from the bottom. I thought for sure I would break it (thus the power coated valve cover, just in case) seemed like a good excuse...

Oh, almost forgot you'll still need to buy the seals/gasket as the mancini doesn't include them. But for $50.00 what do you want?
My Cherokee cost that much to fill and I don't get any perks there either!

Panhead · Post by **Panhead** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:13 pm

to remove the seals, you use a punch and a hammer. they are sorta a pain to get out but thats what i did.

Post by **jonnymopar** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:27 pm

Yeah, those tube seals are basically the same style as a main seal or an axle seal. You've just gotta get one edge, then you're set.

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:44 pm

My good friends, I tried the "punch and hammer" technique, also the "start from the top" technique, and I def used the "get one edge" technique, that 1 was my 1st one by the way,but some1 beat me to all of those by using the "red loc-tite" technique

, but do not fear I got one more up my sleeve, as soon as I get my new cover I will use the ONLY infallible technique "the sledge hammer technique", i'll take pics and keep you posted

.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:00 pm

Heat works well on loc-tite, but I don't think the plastic would likey.

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:49 pm

As promised, here's the pics of the evil

tube seals

And one trying to "gently" remove the seal:

Panhead · Post by **Panhead** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:53 pm

gently? whats this, a mercedes? pound that bitch out and stop being a wuss.

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:01 pm

And finally here she is:

Felpro gasket kit

I must say that the quality is great, I still can't believe it was that cheap, great finish, perfect fit but above all, its metal

Panhead · Post by **Panhead** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:02 pm

ohhh, thats purdy

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:08 pm

And lastly, side by side comparison

As you can see they're identical, one its just the ugly twin.

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:18 pm

Just like mine!

You definetly want to apply some anti-seize to the coil hold down bolts. Other wise there may be issues getting it off in the future! That's the nice thing about the brass inserts in the plastic cover; they won't corrode like aluminum.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:41 pm

I'm going to order one...not sure which color

=\

60trim · Post by **60trim** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:47 pm

I'm going to get black

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:55 pm

oh btw i made my previous pcv comment because i forgot that it screws in haha. i replaced mine yesterday...HUUUGE gains btw.

jmr · Post by **jmr** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:43 pm

That Black VC looks great.

Just kidding I bought the $39 Silver VC myself since they didn't have a Red ones.

aperson · Post by **aperson** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:30 pm

Damn, all you should need is a heel bar (ladys foot) and pry that out. Thats what I used on my GFs Breeze when I did the valve cover gasket and tube seals.

khronus · Post by **khronus** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:56 pm

It should've been a fairly simple process, but as you can see some idiot made it almost impossible