Valve Cover Oil Baffle

[brodster]

I am in the middle of a rebuild and I am cleaning and polishing the valve cover for my L20b. As I was cleaning around the oil baffle, all the sealant cracked off so I decided to clean it all and disassemble it all. What is that sealant, and what should I use to reassemble it with? Thanks

[Braden]

i woudl think some type of jb weld similar epoxy? i wouldnt get any type of quick set, the longer set time the better it will be. i vote for the original good ole jb weld. hey post pics of your polishing!!! maybe a write up on how to polish? do you sand 800-2500 grit?????? compounds? heavy med fien ultra fine?? rouges? air buffer? electric buffer? pedestal buffer?

[brodster]

i woudl think some type of jb weld similar epoxy? i wouldnt get any type of quick set, the longer set time the better it will be. i vote for the original good ole jb weld. hey post pics of your polishing!!! maybe a write up on how to polish? do you sand 800-2500 grit?????? compounds? heavy med fien ultra fine?? rouges? air buffer? electric buffer? pedestal buffer?

 

Well the valve cover is kind of already polished and I am no expert. But I did learn how to hand polish way back in high school. I think some people will default to 400 for aluminum to get some of heavier stuff. I have gone lower to try to smooth out rough castings, but sometimes a little file set is better. Unfortunately when you go that heavy of a grit, you have step back out to a finer grit to get a really smooth surface.

 

I know by hand I have worked all the way to 2000 or 2500 grit. That seems to get the surface really smooth, almost mirror like without polish. Then I usually get some mothers mag aluminum polish. This time I bought a home depot set for my drill gun. We will see how that goes.

 

I am sure there are more efficient ways and better ways, but again I am no expert. Electronics is more my thing.

[datzenmike]

I am in the middle of a rebuild and I am cleaning and polishing the valve cover for my L20b. As I was cleaning around the oil baffle, all the sealant cracked off so I decided to clean it all and disassemble it all. What is that sealant, and what should I use to reassemble it with? Thanks

 

The baffle is on the underside isn't it?????? :confused:

[brodster]

The baffle is on the underside isn't it?????? :confused:

 

Yeah, the plate the screws into the bottom of the valve cover where the vent line is. Both that and the vent line have a sealant on it. Not sure what is best. I am sure the JB weld would work, but that may be more permanent than I want.

[Master-O-Turbonics]

Yeah, the plate the screws into the bottom of the valve cover where the vent line is. Both that and the vent line have a sealant on it. Not sure what is best. I am sure the JB weld would work, but that may be more permanent than I want.

 

I would just use loctite 249 on the threads of the screws and not worry about gooping over the screw heads. If that JB weld breaks off it can make it to your oil pan and make bad things happen.

[datzenmike]

Just leave it alone, why polish the underside anyway. Some are riveted on some have sealant leave alone.

[brodster]

I'm not polishing the underside just cleaning everything up. I have noticed on many valve covers that the sealant or goop or whatever cracks away. I figured I didn't want that crap floating around in my new rebuild. Plus, to do a good polish on the top, it is much better to pull the little elbow vent piece. It threads right out, but has the same sealant at its base.

[brodster]

Have been searching all over the internet and found a few similar posts on other forums regarding this issue. It seems like everyone has no clue what it is but they have used a few different sealants. According to this thread Permatex #2 was recommended and used successfully. Someone else recommended JB Weld. That would probably work, but I am afraid of anything that permanent.

 

It seams like putting some sort of loctite or equiv on those screws is generally a good idea...for obvious reasons. Since this seems to be such an oddball topic that nobody really has any concrete answers, I will keep it updated. I am sure someone else will want to clean out all that gunk and crap under the oil baffle.