Valve Cover Mod

[sinisterdom]

Hey guys, I've searched and everything...I can't seem to find anything about the Valve Cover mod...other than people telling people to do it. So, is there like, a tutorial, to tell me how to do it? Thanks!

[gradyc]

Basically what you do is get rid of that too small vent pipe and drill for a 3/8 pipe thread which gives you a 5/8 hose for a vent.

[doug1984]

Tempforce sent me a procedure, but I deleted it after I completed it. Base upon memory,
1. Remove valve cover.
2. Hacksaw off the the little bitty vent pipe.
3. Take a 9/16th drill bit and drill out the vent hole.
4. Thread in a 3/8" pipe nipple.
5. Use some parts washer fluid or carb cleaner to remove any metal chips.
6. Re-install the valve cover
7. Buy some heater hose at Auto parts and hose clamps.
8. Cut heater hose to length and clamp it to the air intake and valve cover.
9. Note: I don't remember if I put some JB Weld on the 3/8" nipple threads. But I probably did since I love the stuff and I don't ever want the nipple to vibrate out. It hasn't. Ask Tempforce to approve the procedure.

[tempforce]

sounds good, except the step to remove the inside parts before drilling, and to polish the cover while it's off.... ;D

[vincebooth]

Would one of you guys mind posting a picture of the finished valve cover mod? I've been reading all of this over the past few days and the thought of boring out a fat hole in my engine frightens me, though the alleged benefits are alluring.

Because I too have about a thousand oil leaks. When I bought the truck, an 82 b2200, at 244k thousand miles, it leaked a little bit of oil. I might not have realized the full extent of it because it was real grimy under the engine, and because I was parking on gravel. Five thousand miles later, and now parking on asphalt, and having gotten a pressure washer under there, the quantity of oil leaking is absurd.

So I ordered the front cover seal and the crankshaft seal, and the mazda dealership I ordered them from also ordered me a valve cover seal, so I got that, too. It's also leaking a little bit from the rear main seal, but I don't know enough about mechanics to do that. I've only replaced the valve cover seal because that's the only one that has arrived so far, but it was barely leaking from out of there, if at all really, so the total oil leaking is about the same it seems.

Now I'm reading all this about the valve cover mod stopping most oil leaks. I plan on changing out the front cover seal and the crankshaft seal regardless, but I was wondering, what is the valve cover mod doing? As far as I understand it, a fatter blowby hose will reduce pressure in the valve cover...and so, the whole lubrication system? And so, this decrease in oil pressure exerts less pressure on the seals. Does this decrease in pressure have any other effects, good or bad? Were the seals just better when all of our trucks were younger and so this higher pressure was okay, or is there something getting worn out that causes the pressure to be above normal? If this increase in oil pressure has happened relatively recently, should I be looking at tuning up or replacing something else? I know the MPG goes down over time, and so is there more unignited gasses, aka more blowby, which would mean more pressure? That seems sensible...

I just want to better understand whats actually going on before, like I said, I bore a fat hole in its side. I don't know much about much regarding mechanics, though I'm trying to learn, and you guys seem sensible.

Alright thanks a lot for your help.

Vince

p.s. My clutch slave cylinder was leaking a little fluid, and as I was ordering gaskets, I just ordered a new slave. Replacing it, bleeding it, the clutch feels great now. I was wondering though, could I have easily overhauled the old one? Does the piston cup, or whatever you would call it, just need to be replaced? It's not as if the cast housing broke down or anything. Is this something people do? Again, thanks.

[tempforce]

the valve cover vent mod. allows more volume of blowby gases to excape the engine, thus reducing the internal blowby gas pressure. it does not change the oil pressure. as a engine wears it creates more blowby. just follow a high mileage gas engined vehicle without a catilitic converter.
if the blowby on a diesel engine gets extreme, the engine will refuse to shut down, until it runs out of oil.
common with high run hours on generator plants... of course we would just leave it in gear and letout the clutch, while holding the brake to kill the engine, if we found ourselves in a situation like that.
you can rebuild brake and clutch cylinders, but be carfull to do the correct honeing procedure.