Removing the valve cover

[Carlwill]

I need to replace some seals and pull my valve cover and was wondering if it's bad to let the valve cover sit off the head with all the cams and parts exposed? Granted I will not be starting the motor and it will be in a closed garage so keep from minimum debree getting on the exposed motor but I was just concerned that it would be harmful for the motor to have the valve cover off and risk shit getting on my motor while swap out some seals.

[uno]

I need to replace some seals and pull my valve cover and was wondering if it's bad to let the valve cover sit off the head with all the cams and parts exposed? Granted I will not be starting the motor and it will be in a closed garage so keep from minimum debree getting on the exposed motor but I was just concerned that it would be harmful for the motor to have the valve cover off and risk shit getting on my motor while swap out some seals.
just put a rag over it, don't drop anything in there please.

[nissantuner22]

.......if your worried about getting stuff in there, cover it up.

[Carlwill]

.......if your worried about getting stuff in there, cover it up.

Obviously that was my concern and the whole reason for the thread. What can be used to avoid getting debree and particles in the motor.

[wootwoot]

a rag, sheet, washcloth, plastic...set the valve cover ontop of its position just dont tighten it down

[Andrew Bohan]

yeah, it's not rocket science.

[Carlwill]

yeah, it's not rocket science.

No, its not the most complicated scenario but I would assume I would ask / research before I start doing something I have never done before. I am sure you started out some where too.

[Jeff240sx]

Debris. Not debree.
-Jeff

[Dream240]

Okay first of all......NEVER use a rag when your engine internals are exposed!! Those red oil rags and regular t-shirts or common rags have lint and hairs that will come of and stick to your cams, valves, springs, etc... and it would suck to have a hair get stuck in your valve port and hurt the cylinders vaccum and sealing. you will need to buy the blue lint free paper towels that they sell at any autoparts store. Use these for any internal engine job reassembly.

Second, Just grab a black garbage bag and lay this over the top of the engine and make sure its secure then just close the hood. That's it.

Also a tip....NEVER reuse gaskets, I'm sure you have a new valve cover gasket set to put in once your done. The new gaskets have the cam end cap gaskets already attached to the new gasket pretty simple. Also make sure you torque down the bolts in the proper order and torque them to spec. The torque specs are 69-95 INCH pounds or 6-8 FOOT pounds. the foot pound spec is rounded up.
Here's the bolt tightening diagram.

Hope this helps.

[wootwoot]

You should really talk to the shops I have worked at and the shops I have seen rags used about stuff that then. But yeah, reusing gaskets isnt the best but some are acceptable to reuse. You sure love to be proper and all, most shops wouldnt go near as close to doing all of that. I know the disposable are the best, I know you should always use new gaskets, I know you should use proper torque specs, I know you should use the proper pattern, but you can get away and be fine without doing any of it. I'm probably opening up a can of beans here, but whatevs I dont care!

[270R]

just get Gladwrap and some tape. DOne!

[Dream240]

You should really talk to the shops I have worked at and the shops I have seen rags used about stuff that then. But yeah, reusing gaskets isnt the best but some are acceptable to reuse. You sure love to be proper and all, most shops wouldnt go near as close to doing all of that. I know the disposable are the best, I know you should always use new gaskets, I know you should use proper torque specs, I know you should use the proper pattern, but you can get away and be fine without doing any of it. I'm probably opening up a can of beans here, but whatevs I dont care!

(Climbs on soap box)
Consider the bean can opened....

You CAN get away with all that stuff but, would you like to chance getting a hair/rag piece stuck in a valve seat and wind up with bad vaccum which will lead to poor gas mileage, loss of power, poor performance, and leave you shaking your head as to why your car runs like shit.
Also go ahead and over torque those valve cover bolts and reuse that valve cover gasket, we'll see how your engine is running in about 15,000 miles. You'll have a over-compressed brittle OEM gasket that was never intended to be retorqued leaking at the seams. And if you think "oh it's only a little leak" well imagine what that leak is doing to your oil pressure. Yep a leak equals pressure loss. Sure it may not be extreme yet but in a while that low oil pressure will affect EVERY component in that engine that requires lubrication. Your cutting the oil flow to pretty much everything else in the engine. So go ahead and rev it to 5500 rpms for a while you'll need a new engine before long.
All this because you decided to reuse a 22.00 gasket and not torque it down properly. Worth it...? not to me.

Oh and remind me to never ask you to work on my car or any of those shops you are talking about. See shops like that should be put out of business. Cause cutting corners only gets them the return business when that customers car seizes up one day and the customer goes back to the "Good old shop on the corner" and gets it up the ass again.

Whew, thanks for opening up that can cause I think alot of newbies on here need to understand the severity and importance of doing things right the first time.

Don't take any of this the wrong way....just educating.

(steps off soap box....)

[Pank]

I agree with the poster above, while you CAN get away with it, for the amount of money and work it takes to do correctly (which is to say, not a lot at all) theres really no excuse to do it correctly in the first place.

[NismoDan]

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsaranwrap.htm

[Rusker]

I agree with the poster above, while you CAN get away with it, for the amount of money and work it takes to do correctly (which is to say, not a lot at all) theres really no excuse to do it correctly in the first place.

Agreed. Just do it right the first time. Cutting corners on shimple shit like this can really cost you alot in the end.