Help on valve cover removal.

[shanzhu1]

Hi,

I am trying to remove the front valve cover to replace the cover seal for
my 96 V6.

But after remove the v-bank, how do you remove the two bolt stems that
are holding a plastic wire holder on the front valve cover? I tried using plier
to hold the botton part of the stems and unscrew, but they won't budge.

That two bolt stems were also used to hold the v-bank (with two nuts that I
already removed).

The two stems seem to have a small hex head on tip. But even my smallest
socket (3/16) is too big to them. Plus, I am afread the tip will strip even if
I have a right socket for it since it seems too small.

Do I need some kind special tool?

Thanks,

SZ

[Nad1370]

Don't want to sound like a hack but.
Just cut out the the ears of the plastic holder and leave the stems alone.

P.S. You don't have to do this. You're also not hurting anything by doing this. Just saves you the headache trying to take it out.

[shanzhu1]

Any other idea?

Thanks,

[Hajoca]

You need a metric set!

[shanzhu1]

Tried 4mm socket. Even though it fits, but it tends to strip the
stems. I gave up the idea of removing them.

Following Nad1370's idea, I cut a hole on the plastic holder so that
I can reach one of the bolts below the holder.

Everything else went as expected.

Thanks,

SZ

Originally Posted by Hajoca

You need a metric set!

[zoni]

why the hell would you wanna take the studs out??? you dont need to... just take off all the 10mm bolts around the sides and the valve cover will come off.
the plastic wire holder comes off with the 2 10 mm nuts... what is the problem?

[zoni]

[ruoknow]

Agree!
the star shaped bolts don't need to be removed.

another question:
After installing the new gaskets and applying h-t RTV sealant at several points, how long do you wait until the sealant cures?

Last time, i wait for 24 hours. is that neccecary?

[zoni]

check the tube, it should say on there. i'd say 12 hours maybe...

[Nad1370]

Originally Posted by zoni

what is the problem?

The problem he had is that the injector harness is secured by these studs that is threaded in the valve cover.
Getting to the V/C bolts isn't a problem it's when he takes the V/C out the harness is still connected to it.
So he needed to get the studs out to free up the harness to get the V/C out.

P.S Some model years have different set-up.

[zoni]

there is no way the studs hold down the wire cover... they slip off from the studs, maybe they are rusted on there somehow???

[shanzhu1]

But for my car (96 V6), the plastic holder completely covers one of the 8 bolts that
secure the valve cover. If you do not remove the stems (therefore, the holder), how
to you reach that bolt?

I also tried to reach that bolt from the side, but it is blocked by other stuff.

May different cars are different on that?

SZ

Originally Posted by zoni

why the hell would you wanna take the studs out??? you dont need to... just take off all the 10mm bolts around the sides and the valve cover will come off.
the plastic wire holder comes off with the 2 10 mm nuts... what is the problem?

[shanzhu1]

I see your picture. But without removing the plastic wire holder, are you sure you can
reach the bolt under it? I tried different way and I can't reach it. What I did was I poked
a hole in the holder (after removing all wires from it) to reach the bolt.

By the way, the stems on my car are complete round except on the very top, it shapes like
a hex star. But it is so small. I tried using 4mm socket (right size), it tends to slip.

[shanzhu1]

The stems look like bell shape with the bigger side holding down the plastic thing. I even saw
two washers being used for each plastic hole. I did not try to pull out that though. But I
did try to shake the washers a bit but they do not even move meaning the stems are
pretty tight holding the plastic thing. Plus, I was not even sure the holes are open or not.

Interesting stuff.

Originally Posted by zoni

there is no way the studs hold down the wire cover... they slip off from the studs, maybe they are rusted on there somehow???

[shanzhu1]

No, you should not wait. I remember seeing somewhere mentioning you should
put back the cover within a few minutes after RTV is applied.

If you wait 24 hrs, the RTV has hardened and formed a bump. This will
cause leaks in the future.

SZ

Originally Posted by ruoknow

Agree!
the star shaped bolts don't need to be removed.

another question:
After installing the new gaskets and applying h-t RTV sealant at several points, how long do you wait until the sealant cures?

Last time, i wait for 24 hours. is that neccecary?