The Truck of Doom: An Occasional Build Thread

[ArdWrknTrk]

So...update time.

I'm doing three separate but related jobs right now: cleaning & repainting the valve and pushrod covers, regasketing/resealing those covers, and replacing the valve stem seals.

Today I finished up with the pushrod cover. I got it stripped, primed, and painted yesterday and I thought it came out real nice:

After discovering that my vintage tube of blue RTV was a solid block of rubber, I decided to do a little research before buying some more. I ended up with a tube of Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant instead - I've never been a fan of RTV; because of how slippery it is, I've had gaskets get out of place without my noticing it in the past, requiring me to go back in afterward. A thin bead of this stuff let me glue my gasket to the inside of the cover, and another thin bead smeared across the other side of the gasket let me glue the whole assembly to the engine block without problem, even to the point of staying in place on its own while I futzed with the bolts and bushings. I got it all snugged down, gave it a few hours to set up, then went for a test drive. When I got home the outside of the engine was dry as a bone, so for now I'm happy. I'm curious if other people have used this, and if so what your experience was.

Now that the truck is back in the garage (I also pressure washed the engine again (above is a photo from after the first wash, but before the second), and since I had the plug wires and coil off for that I just kept going and did the pushrod cover in the driveway. If I'd been thinking I'd have gotten it into the garage before doing the cover, but oh well) I can start on the valve cover. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get that off, maybe start on the stripping, cleaning, and painting, and start exploring what lies beneath. The last time I was in there was 2011 or so, and there was a LOT of sludgy buildup. Since then I've been dumping Seafoam into my oil occasionally over the years, and I'm hoping that a lot of that buildup has since dissolved away. If it has, great, and if not, well, I'll have some cleanup to do while I'm in there.

Back in the day (decade?) of cork composite gaskets we were taught to glue them to the tin with Indian Head and lightly grease the surface that would meet the casting.

This always seemed to work well on valve covers and stuff where you were in there for an adjustment every few weeks. (Porsche/VW, BMW bikes)

The High Tack (in my mind) is only there to hold paper gaskets in place while you struggle with a more complex stack up, that might need helical gears slipped into proper time, or shims swapped for proper mesh.

If I wanted a gasket sealant that would never set up, I used Hylomar.

If I wanted a case sealant that was fuel & oil proof I used Yamabond, or whatever the equivalent Threebond brand product was.

[Gary Lewis]

Back in the day (decade?) of cork composite gaskets we were taught to glue them to the tin with Indian Head and lightly grease the surface that would meet the casting.

This always seemed to work well on valve covers and stuff where you were in there for an adjustment every few weeks. (Porsche/VW, BMW bikes)

The High Tack (in my mind) is only there to hold paper gaskets in place while you struggle with a more complex stack up, that might need helical gears slipped into proper time, or shims swapped for proper mesh.

If I wanted a gasket sealant that would never set up, I used Hylomar.

If I wanted a case sealant that was fuel & oil proof I used Yamabond, or whatever the equivalent Threebond brand product was.

And why not Permatex #2? I did many valve cover and pan gaskets with it, and never had leaks. Oddly enough, Permatex says "Suggested Applications: Valve cover gaskets, and oil pan gaskets."

[ArdWrknTrk]

And why not Permatex #2? I did many valve cover and pan gaskets with it, and never had leaks. Oddly enough, Permatex says "Suggested Applications: Valve cover gaskets, and oil pan gaskets."

Over Hylomar?

Probably because I was into Norton's and BSA first, and their manuals recommend the same product as used by Rolls Royce! 😏

I tend to use anerobics to actually make a gasket. (with primerN, or T) depending on what's called for.

[Gary Lewis]

Over Hylomar?

Probably because I was into Norton's and BSA first, and their manuals recommend the same product as used by Rolls Royce! 😏

I tend to use anerobics to actually make a gasket. (with primerN, or T) depending on what's called for.

We've hijacked the thread, but....

Yeah, if you are into the Brit bikes you need extremely good sealant. I was into American iron, like Chevrolets & Fords, and a Honda or two.

[ArdWrknTrk]

We've hijacked the thread, but....

Yeah, if you are into the Brit bikes you need extremely good sealant. I was into American iron, like Chevrolets & Fords, and a Honda or two.

Some of those castings were as pourus as a sponge.

Bake the oil out and then brush Loctite 29000 inside before multiple layers of Glypthal.

[Dorsai]

Back in the day (decade?) of cork composite gaskets we were taught to glue them to the tin with Indian Head and lightly grease the surface that would meet the casting.

This always seemed to work well on valve covers and stuff where you were in there for an adjustment every few weeks. (Porsche/VW, BMW bikes)

The High Tack (in my mind) is only there to hold paper gaskets in place while you struggle with a more complex stack up, that might need helical gears slipped into proper time, or shims swapped for proper mesh.

If I wanted a gasket sealant that would never set up, I used Hylomar.

If I wanted a case sealant that was fuel & oil proof I used Yamabond, or whatever the equivalent Threebond brand product was.

The games continue today!

First, a quick reference photo. I like to take lots of pictures before I start tearing things apart, for the inevitable time when I forget how something goes back together. Plus, this will make a nice 'before' image for the valve cover paint job:

And with that out of the way...it's time for the big reveal:

Crusty! Looks a lot like it did in 2011, I'm afraid.

I need to do some more research and find a nice labeled diagram of exactly what I'm looking at here - can anyone tell me what the circular depression in front of each pair of springs is? I hope to God they aren't oil return passages of some kind, because they're all packed solid. I've not probed them yet, for fear of shoving crud further down into the engine if that's what they are.

In the meantime, I'm going to start cleaning the valve cover...inside and out:

 

[salans7]

The games continue today!

First, a quick reference photo. I like to take lots of pictures before I start tearing things apart, for the inevitable time when I forget how something goes back together. Plus, this will make a nice 'before' image for the valve cover paint job:

And with that out of the way...it's time for the big reveal:

Crusty! Looks a lot like it did in 2011, I'm afraid.

I need to do some more research and find a nice labeled diagram of exactly what I'm looking at here - can anyone tell me what the circular depression in front of each pair of springs is? I hope to God they aren't oil return passages of some kind, because they're all packed solid. I've not probed them yet, for fear of shoving crud further down into the engine if that's what they are.

In the meantime, I'm going to start cleaning the valve cover...inside and out:

I've seen way worse than that. But we'll wait to see what others have to say.

[85lebaront2]

The games continue today!

First, a quick reference photo. I like to take lots of pictures before I start tearing things apart, for the inevitable time when I forget how something goes back together. Plus, this will make a nice 'before' image for the valve cover paint job:

And with that out of the way...it's time for the big reveal:

Crusty! Looks a lot like it did in 2011, I'm afraid.

I need to do some more research and find a nice labeled diagram of exactly what I'm looking at here - can anyone tell me what the circular depression in front of each pair of springs is? I hope to God they aren't oil return passages of some kind, because they're all packed solid. I've not probed them yet, for fear of shoving crud further down into the engine if that's what they are.

In the meantime, I'm going to start cleaning the valve cover...inside and out:

Those are screw in core plugs, they are Allen style plugs that take a big Allen wrench to turn. The oil on those engines drains back down the push rod slots.

[Gary Lewis]

The games continue today!

First, a quick reference photo. I like to take lots of pictures before I start tearing things apart, for the inevitable time when I forget how something goes back together. Plus, this will make a nice 'before' image for the valve cover paint job:

And with that out of the way...it's time for the big reveal:

Crusty! Looks a lot like it did in 2011, I'm afraid.

I need to do some more research and find a nice labeled diagram of exactly what I'm looking at here - can anyone tell me what the circular depression in front of each pair of springs is? I hope to God they aren't oil return passages of some kind, because they're all packed solid. I've not probed them yet, for fear of shoving crud further down into the engine if that's what they are.

In the meantime, I'm going to start cleaning the valve cover...inside and out:

It doesn't look bad at all. I don't think there's anything to fear.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The games continue today!

First, a quick reference photo. I like to take lots of pictures before I start tearing things apart, for the inevitable time when I forget how something goes back together. Plus, this will make a nice 'before' image for the valve cover paint job:

And with that out of the way...it's time for the big reveal:

Crusty! Looks a lot like it did in 2011, I'm afraid.

I need to do some more research and find a nice labeled diagram of exactly what I'm looking at here - can anyone tell me what the circular depression in front of each pair of springs is? I hope to God they aren't oil return passages of some kind, because they're all packed solid. I've not probed them yet, for fear of shoving crud further down into the engine if that's what they are.

In the meantime, I'm going to start cleaning the valve cover...inside and out:

Pffff, have a look at a VAG 1.8t from 20 years ago.

Those things would literally fill their valve covers with paste that looked like black beauty mixed into molasses!

And -somehow- they still ran.

You'd pull the oil pan off, start scraping and chipping, and flush everything out the bottom with diesel.