Greetings all,



Last weekend I decided to try and replace the valve cover gasket on my M111 4-cylinder engine. I've done lots of repairs on many different cars over the years and figured this wouldn't be all that difficult, but I unfortunately ran into some unexpected problems and could use some help and/or guidance:



Problem #1:

The paint on the outside of my original valve cover was peeling pretty badly so I decided to bring it to a local machine shop to have them clean by using a glass bead machine. I plan on leaving it unpainted as I've read that painting magnesium (which is what the cover is supposedly made of) is a real job to do properly. Furthermore, the underside of the cover has some old oil and carbon build up that is starting to flake off like the paint on the outside of the cover. So, given all of the above, I asked my machinist to glass bead (i.e. clean) both the outside AND the inside of the cover.



After having it for a week, the machine shop called me to tell me that the outside came out really clean, but they wouldn't touch the inside due to the baffle that is attached to the underside of the cover (to protect the PCV valve breather system). The machinist was concerned that if even one glass bead got lodged somewhere and subsequently came loose, then my engine would be destroyed. Understandably, he didn't want to assume that risk.



Question #1:

How important is it to clean off the inside of the valve cover assembly? Again, the inside has old oil/carbon deposits that are flaking off like old paint. I'm afraid that if I don't clean it, one of these flakes might make its way down into the combustion chamber and ruin the engine.



One additional note: I am going to pick up the valve cover tomorrow from the machine shop and then take it to another machine shop to get a second opinion on the situation. I want to see if they could possibly figure out a way to remove the inner baffle on the underside of the valve cover so that everything can be cleaned properly. The only problem is that this baffle is held onto the underside by some sort of nibs that are molded into the cover.



Question #2:

Has anyone had any experience with this type of situation or experience with tackling this job?



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Problem #2:

While the cover was at the machine shop, my car sat with the camshafts exposed to the elements. Actually, I did cover the engine with a heavy gauge plastic bag, but that didn't keep the moisture from entering the area. As the attached pic shows, after only 1 week, the lobes on the camshafts are already exhibiting some light rust.



Question #3:

Assuming I can get the valve cover cleaned properly, how important is it to clean off all the rust that is on the camshafts and the lobes? And if cleaning is necessary, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I go about doing this?





Any help/guidance/advice/suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks in advance.


Rust on camshafts and lobes after only 1 week. Necessary to clean before reassembly and, if so, how?

 

Damn, I would clean off as much as you could with WD-40 and a rag. Seems to be really light rust maybe put some assembly lube on them before putting the valve cover back on. I wanna say but I could be wrong but that light rust should come right off and make its way to your oil filter.

 

First of all you picked the best person possible to do the bead blasting as they're doing the responsible thing. Second, simply clean it up as much as you can with whatever solvent you have on hand and properly torque that baby back onto the car..