Cam Covers??

NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
I am going to take my cam cover off tonight for painting.

is there anything i should know?

do i have to empty the oil?
are the screws to a specific tourque?
how do i protect the cams from dust while the came cover is off?
Will i need a new gaskit?


i need to know before i take the car apart...

Thankyou everyone :)
 
No need to drain the oil, don't know about torque settings but I would expect they just need to be tight. The gasket should be a big fat rubber one so you can reuse it unless it looks knackered. Hope that helps.
 
that's brilliant, thanks mate :)

so if i go to my car, undo the bolts and take the cam cover off, i'm not gonna have oil going everywhere ?

i suppose i can put cling film over the cams :)
 
just wondering what kinda paint your using to paint the rocker cover, im guessing normal paint would be no good because of the heat???
 
it's heat proof paint for manifolds,

HT paint from halfrauds,

doesn't need a primer and fairly cheap, i got mine in red and i don't think there are many colours but i know they do paint as well as spray.

i'm gonna paint the whole thing red and then highlight it with black.....
 
Not unless you take the cover off with the engine running! :p (Not recommended...)

Cling film would do, or a rag or something like that. If the bonnet's shut I wouldn't have thought you'd get much crap floating around...
 
that's a good point actually, i'm gonna have to let the engine cool so i don't get boiling oil all over me :glance:
 
i will b doing this soon aswell,

does any body know if ther is a torque for the bolts or a tightening sequence? or will it b ok jus to get em tight like herr_spl1f mentioned?
 
well from what i've heard it's just tighten them as much as posible. they are hardened so they shouldn't break off.



thank's dave,

i'll post pic's when it's all done :)
 
there will be an exact torque setting i would have thought but how important it is im not sure. just tight "should" be ok i would have thought, try asking ed as he has done this or simply refere to the haynes manual.

Dave
 
yea i'll check the haynes. but i think because it's not under any pressure or anything it should be ok.

if it was the head etc then the bolts have things fighting against them. the cam cover is just that, a cover :)
 
3 Nm, 2 lbf ft...

apparently :wow:

according to Haynes, you have to tighten the cover screws in a specific sequence... dunno if that really matters though? :)
 
i'll have to remember to check the haynes manual before putting it on.

i'm sure its just so you dont pinch the gaskit but doing one side up first. you probably have to do corner to corner or something.
 
Hehe, just going off what I know with the K10 & my bike. Bike has 14 bolts to hold the cover on and they're just done tight (around 15-20Nm depending on your size :) ) in a spiral pattern. K10 has 2 and I've never checked the torque for them, just bang them down :) 3Nm is less than finger tight, surely... fwn
 
the camshaft cover does need to be tightened down in a correct sequence.

if u imagin youre looking at the cam cover from the front of the car the bolt in the top left corner near the oil cap is number 8, then going clock wise the next bolts are numbered 1, 4, 9, 5, 7, 2, 3, 10, 6 then obviously back to 8 again.

They should all be loosely tightened down then nipped up to 3Nm in the sequence strtin 1 ending 10. if this is not done the cover will not sit properly and could warp and or crack.

hope this isnt too long winded!
 
na that's perfect. it's better to do things properly :)

i'll print this post out and take it up to the garage with me tonight :)

Thanks for all your help everyone,
 
U can use normal paint to paint cam covers, has been done many a time, just make sure u sand it down to get rid of all the oil and grease and give the paint something to stick to....
 
no bother!

If youre not gonna do it properly no point doin it at all, thats wat i say.

Why dont u get in chromed ill cost between 60 to 100quid but it would look unbelivable, especially with a red alluminum oil cap!

By the way how can i get a pic to come up by my name? im new on this evening and youre help would be much appreciated!
 
i'm not a fan of crome.... i like my red and black. i might even change my rims from silver to black :)

i didn't know you could use any paint but i suppose the cam cover doesn't get that hot.

click on the top right hand corner marked control pannel, :)
 
Ive sprayed quite a few cam covers, its not too hard but lots has been missed from this thread.

DEGREASE VERY WELL. If there is even a drop of oil or dirt on the cam cover when you spray it it will show. Dont use high temp paints they are generally horrid and often cannot resist oil or fuel at all. You will need a special undercoat suitable for alu since normal paint does not adhere to it very well. If you want to do it properly then add a high build primer and sand it smooth. Then put the colour coat on and if you want it to shine laquer it after.

If you do it right it will look like these:

[attachment=308]
K11 cover in nissan red

[attachment=310]
SR20DET cover in met blue

[attachment=309]
[attachment=307]

Red spectrum flec in red solid base K11 cover. Thess photos do not do it justice
 
no prob :) I do them on an exchange basis, and its £40 for normal solid (non metalic paints) and £60 for metalics and or flec pigments.
 
i know but why put the pictures up if the people concerned and asking about it are not official?
 
so will any paint do? or does it have to be resistant to slightly high temps?

if so then i'll use the can of paint i have that is the same colour as the car :)
 
normal paints
 

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Beachboy your questions are pretty stupid sometimes. Its an incentive for those who are not a member to join up. Nex, if you read back I answered that :)
 
but what was the point in linking the pictures if nex cant see them? could just advise that there is more info in members section.
 

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