Detcord

hey have any of you ever pulled your valve covers? I have mine pulled and noticed a crusty buildup on the baffles...the side that faces up when installed. I drilled out the aluminum pins that had it peened in place and pulled the baffles off, they were coated evenly in a hard crusty almost sand like coating. Very interesting find I might say....wonder if I might have had some oil go bad or something.

Thanks
Steve.

Detcord

ok, no one is replying, starting to feel lonely here....bump bump!

ztrahp@bellsouth.net

yea, i've pulled mine and see the same thing. wondering if soaking in purple cleaner a couple of days, then power washing would loosen and wash away the crust...

misterzee

Caution ! I made a 5 gallon soak-tank of purple cleaner, one of the 'victims' was a valve cover. That purple stuff EATS alloy for breakfast. The whole assembly developed a white crust, and I think the only way to rescue it is a bead-blast job. I don't think that'll be worth it. Glad I have spare valve covers... :-) I spray it on wheels and use it cautiously as a degreaser, again, it attacks the alloy parts in your engine compartment....

ztrahp@bellsouth.net

i've made one of those tubs myself. have soaked, cautiously, many parts, mostly cast engine parts in diluted purple.

your point is well taken. doesn't sound like a good idea.

SRB

Having had a number of v8 engines apart what you see is normal in any engine. I believe it is just a by product of oil being trapped in an area an drying up over time. The baffles do not have any flow to them....

ztrahp@bellsouth.net

my biggest concern is the pcv valve inlet which is located on top of the valve cover. i'll apply some air to it to ensure that there's still breathable space between it and the baffle.

thanx for your input!

mkgarrison5

is that baffle the black thing you can see under the oil cap? if so i have sand type grit on mine. my cousin's 350 chevy does too. i can stick my finger in the oil fill hole and the tip of my finger to wipe out some of that sand type grit.

INFINITY

the baffles are so that there is no oil flinging straight up to the pcv valve. or so the pcv "only" allows the vapors from the crankcase to be sucked into the intake mani.

mkgarrison5

what is the black piece that you can see through the fill hole for the oil? i have a build up of deposits on it.

ztrahp@bellsouth.net

so that's what the baffles are for.

it's crudded up pretty good under the pcv grommet, but, there's still room for more buildup before it can't breathe.

yea, i think the baffles are what you see under the oil filler cap. at least that's the case with mine.

i think i'll plug the pcv holes, turn the covers upside down and soak them in some degreaser, then pressure wash.

thanx for the responses.

the_gunslinger

would there be a market for fabricated aluminum valve covers?