Ham fisted rhino attacked my valve cover!! (1 Viewer)

[Mountainpassing]

So i have the new to me cruiser tore apart in my garage for some work thats been neglected and i found a mangled underside on the valve cover. Looks like some swell beast had a sweaty race to pry out the spark plug seals and gouged and tore the metal. There are all kinds of dents and burrs and bent metals and then the ape gooped some rtv in there to seal in some new seals at some point. Jeesh !

Im not sure i would trust this cover not to leak after reassembly so does anyone recommend a source for a replacement or have any ideas on repair? pics are hard to make out but uh--

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

valve cover

• Mountainpassing
• Nov 28, 2015

 

[Mountainpassing]

No takers... Well it looks like its just you and me bud, yes sir you an me will figure it out

 

[cbmontgo]

I'd post up in the Wanted - Parts section and get a better condition valve cover.

 

[Whileemptyheadsdream]

I can"t see real well but the damage looks like someone pried the tube seals out with great viggor. I think you can flatten out the metal and sand the aluminum to smooth the burrs out and they should seal back up. Unless I am missing something. Im tired and ready for BED. LOL I will check back In the A M. An all driven In between the seal and aluminum with a slight pry will loosen them quite nicely and then lever them out. I sent you a pm as well. Good Luck...!

 

[Mountainpassing]

cbmontgo yah i am not opposed to a used one from good source,thanx.

 

[LS1FJ40]

Contact Jason @ CruiserYard. He is @arcteryx on here. Stand up guy. I've gotten a lot of used stuff from him.

 

[Mountainpassing]

I can"t see real well but the damage looks like someone pried the tube seals out with great viggor. I think you can flatten out the metal and sand the aluminum to smooth the burrs out and they should seal back up. Unless I am missing something. Im tired and ready for BED. LOL I will check back In the A M. An all driven In between the seal and aluminum with a slight pry will loosen them quite nicely and then lever them out. I sent you a pm as well. Good Luck...!

i think i could do that fairly easily but there are some pretty deep ones so my concern would be that even if i smoothed it out i would probably need to rtv it. Im lookin into sourcin a new or good used one right now just cause i dont wanna have to deal with a stoopid leak a year from now. Im sure it could still be functional but right now im going after the crank seal,dizzy seal,oil pump cover seal and valve cover/grommet seals to then clean the motor and get a leak free unit so a leaking top would probably bug me after all that.

The toyota dealer here cant get a cover so im lookin around and hopefully should find one for not too much.

 

[DSRTRDR]

X2 on arcteryx/CruiserYard

 

[Mountainpassing]

Contact Jason @ CruiserYard. He is @arcteryx on here. Stand up guy. I've gotten a lot of used stuff from him.

ok thanx!- ive seen some of his posts so yah that seems like a good lead

 

[ton504]

I would smooth out the burs in the holes and call it a day. I don't see what the big fuss is about... I can understand if you found this under the valve cover of your LaFerrari.

 

[LS1FJ40]

I would smooth out the burs in the holes and call it a day. I don't see what the big fuss is about... I can understand if you found this under the valve cover of your LaFerrari.

If you aren't in an immediate need of having it running (like today), why not buy a good used valve cover and replace it? I would be pissed knowing that was going on under my valve cover. Plus from the sounds of it he has plenty of other work to do rather than waste time deburring and trying to smooth out someone else's damage. And then if/when it leaks afterward and he has to take it off and end up replacing it anyway. Buy a used one and be done with it.

 

[Mountainpassing]

I would smooth out the burs in the holes and call it a day. I don't see what the big fuss is about... I can understand if you found this under the valve cover of your LaFerrari.

Well with the average Ferrari blowing up at 115k or the frame rotting out from underneath it by 185k , I'm glad it's not a Ferrari, but I see what you're sayin. I think with a "make-do" attitude there would be a case for slappin it back up there but ,for today at least, i dont have that attitude. Someone more skilled than me would ,perhaps, know how to repair it.

I guess there is no real guarantee that it wont leak if i chuck it back on top and frankly i dont like leaks whether they are critical or not. I like my stuff to be as clean as possible so i can accurately detect future problems and keep track of the conditions under the hood as best i can.

No,i think im definitely gonna just replace it with another tho i acknowledge either way will get me down the road.

 

[slow95z]

I have one i could sell you, several actually.

 

[Mountainpassing]

Just wanted to finalize this thread..

I was debating back and forth between a used or new valve cover and found good sources for both:

arcteryx got a hold of me real quick when I messaged him and directed me to his killer website cruiseryard.com which has nice used covers for $50 plus shipping. (Definitely gonna be using this site in the future.)

I was going to go that route but then decided I might as well get a new one. However it turns out it's somewhat cumbersome to get a new valve cover lickety split for this motor. My local Toyota dealer couldn't locate a new one and the best I could find for new was from villagetoyotaparts.com for $359.34 shipped, which sounded great but on the phone the guy said there were none available nationwide and it would take him up to 2 weeks to source one from Japan..

I was just about to pull the trigger on that this morning and resign myself to a long wait, when Torfab got back to me and said they had a good used cover they could get to me by tomorrow, also for $50 plus shipping. This is the option I chose because they are right down the road from me (quick shipping) and I have an appointment with them early February anyway so it kind of fit.

And right after we ordered it, Beno got back to me (apparently he's on vacation) and has access to new covers for $373.20 plus shipping but also actually offered to sell me his used cover from his own rig if I needed it.

And finally, slow95z evidently has several for sale. (Thanks Slow)

So all in all it's good to know there are some good options floating around for new and used parts and that it shouldn't be too difficult to keep the vehicle serviced!

Appreciate the help.

 

[ton504]

I was going to offer to take the old one off your hands and then I took a closer look. LOL its pretty jacked. I didn't realize the gouge was that deep. I'm glad you didn't take my advice!

I may end up just powder coating my original one.