does anyone have a tipr for breaking a valve cover loose i went to put my chrome covers on today and i couldnt get the damn black ones off is there like a liquid cleaner solution i can use for thisor is it safe to pry it any help is appreciated

 

oh yea i forgot to mention that they are center bolt if that means anything

 

Sounds like someone put em on there too tight. They are only supposed to be at 12 lbs/ft. Well, if you could care less about the old covers then just rip them off of there best you can. If you wanna keep them then take a flat head screwdriver and GENTLY (esp. if you have alluminum heads) pry from between the gasket and head. Work a little section at a time so as to not warp the valvecover. Prying too hard can also break the tip of the screwdriver if they really are that tight and then you will have lots of fun finding it if it falls down an oil return. Once you get one side loose the rest should be fairly easy. Also as a side note... I don't like to use cork gaskets anymore because of the cleanup when you remove it. I've found that the NAPA composite gaskets are much MUCH better. THey are more expensive, but this is one of those things where you get what you pay for. I've never had a NAPA gasket leak either... just my 2 cents.

 

damn, never heard of that problem before. i say just pry a lil with a screwdriver...

 

huh... i thought the center bolts only came with the neoprene rubber gaskets. Could be wrong but the cork gakets are a thing of the past. 1mean92rs, are you sure your using the right ones?

 

i got the bolts out with basically no problem they were barely tighter than finger tight i just wonder if it is because they are so old and bonded so welll and also i did buy the composite seals from napa with the metal center and high temp composiseite cover or whatever so i was in the right there already thanks for the help ill have to try that tomorrow

 

Next time just remember to grab some wood and

WHACK OFF!!!!!!

 

AJ's got a point... I almost forgot that once I used a 2X4 placed longways against a valve cover and a rubber mallet to do the persuasion. You can give that a try too.

 

I used rubber mallet on mine. Works great..

 

Rubber mallet and a little elbow grease and BAM they come off. Trust me.