EGR Valve and heat shields

[Nunyas]

Hi yet again,

Replaced the side cover gaskets today, and noticed that I had a fair amount of oil around the manifolds and spark plugs. I guess I found the "new" oil leak I've been having, I should be refering to myself as the DCO (dreaded current owner). Apparently I didn't fully seat my valve cover when I had it off last and it was letting oil leak out all over the place. Refit the cover and seems to be ok now... even the extra air that was being sucked in through the oil separator.

While I was under the bonnet, I decided to check for any other possible leaks. I found the EGR valve was sucking in air... not much but enough to make the idle wander a little. Anyone have a source for these that won't cost me a fortune?

I'm also looking for heat shield material. If I can get the stock bits for a '76, primarily the front part where the air filter intake connects to the heat shield, that'd be awsome. However, if I can't get that I'm not opposed to using "universal" plyable heat shield materials. I've decided that the missing heat shield parts are part of the problem I have with excessive leaness after driving a while, because the past few days have been really cool around these parts and my B hasn't even hinted at acting lean. So, I think putting in a heat shield to isolate the remaining parts of the exhaust manifold will help when the weather warms back up. Any one have a good source for this stuff?

Thanks all.

 

[mgbmedic]

what year have you got, I may have one for a 76.

 

[Nunyas]

a 76

 

[Bret]

Good job Nunyas! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Did you replace the side cover gaskets with silicone or cork? I replaced mine with the silicon ones Moss sells and haven’t had a leak from that side of the engine in years. The Cork gaskets get really hot next to the Cat and can crumble over time.

As for the heat shield – I agree that that was a wise move and will certainly help protect the carb’s fuel bowl from the heat. Also good catch on the EGR valve.

 

[Nunyas]

I switched to the silicon gaskets. Made sense to me to do it since there's a greater likely hood of me going into the rocker assy. area again in the future, and I don't want to have to order a new one everytime (e.g. if i stayed with cork) i do. I got my gaskets on eBay... the fit is a bit wierd with them. When I was trying to fit them to the covers the seemed a little large, but I was able to get them to sit flat finally with a bit of blue gasket sealer...

 

[Bret]

Yes the silicon gaskets seem to have a mind of their own when you first try to install them. I didn't use anything spcial to get mine to work but it almost seemed like I needed three hands to make them line up right. But once in place I feel that they are worth the investment.

 

[Nunyas]

Bret: How's the fit of your valve cover, and did you have to tap the cover yourself for the breather line?

I wonder about the valve cover because mine, which is supposed to be stock but after seeing some of the stuff I have so far I wouldn't be suprised if it came for a wrong model year car, doesn't seem to fit quite right. The cover bumps against the thermostat housing up front and the fitting at the rear of the head for the water choke. I didn't notice this until I was putting it back on today and noticed the cover was teetering. In the end I had to bend the edge of the valve cover in the two areas to allow it to sit flat and centered like it should.

 

[Bret]

Yes I do have to fiddle with mine to make it work. The one I got from VB didn’t fit just right and I had to play with the gasket while tightened it down. But I don’t recall any clearance issues with the thermostat housing.

But for the breathing tube I actually have two alloy covers one actually came with the breathing tube the other I modified myself (see attached picture) using a hollowed out PCV valve and a grommet. I also inserted a flat 1/8th” washer into the hollowed out PCV valve to control the ventilation. To make it all work, I just used a hole saw to make hole the size of the grommet. Also you will need to plug the little hole in the oil filler cap, I used a self tapping screw with a dab of gasket sealer. Worked pretty good.

 

[mgbmedic]

ok, i've got both the EGR and the heat shield, yours for free, just e-mail me

 

[Nunyas]

Here are the problem areas that I have with my valve cover.

Front thermostat housing area:

Rear choke fitting area:

 

[tony barnhill]

Is your valve cover warped?

 

[Nunyas]

I don't think it is. It teetered when the rear got caught on the choke fitting at the back of the head. Once I got it to sit properly there was no teetering, and it felt like it was sitting solidly on the head.

I sent you an email BTW, Tony.

 

[tony barnhill]

Nothing there, did you use: tony@theautoist.com

 

[Nunyas]

yes

 

[tony barnhill]

You might want to ry again...my server tries to figure ot what's spam & kicks some stuff into a folder for me to revew...I've gotten into the habit of just dumping it as most of them are...sorry if that happened...

 

[Nunyas]

ok... I just resent it.

 

[Bret]

Looking at your photos - isn't that a stock stamped valve cover? I thought you where having problems wiht an Alloy head.

Anyway I checked mine out this afternoon and they look to have about the same clearance as yours do with maybe a fraction of an inch more by the choke fitting. If yours fits that tight - a quick & simple fix would be to run a file or use a grinder to shave the edge of the valve cover to give you some extra play.

 

[Bret]

Follow up: The attached pic isn't the best view but you can see how close the valve cover is to the thermostat cover.

 

[DrEntropy]

Earlier cars without the bracketed t/stat housing had a radiused relief in the housing and gasket at the point where the v/cover "just" touches. Not a big chunk, less than 1/4" IIRC. When BOB (Big Orange Ball) shows up I'll pin a photo attachment on this.

 

[Nunyas]

yeah it should be a stock cover. When I originally removed it I noticed that some of the edges were bent in... I bent them back out so the valve cover would "look nicer". I guess I know why they were bent in now, because I had to bend them back in to get the cover to sit flat... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif