Why's it so hard to get my Valve Cover off?

[jay]

Jeez. Did I forget something? I went by everything the Haynes manual says. Except for the part where it says "lift off valve cover." That's not working out so good. I've gone through the other posts where peeps have removed theirs, and they make no mention of any difficulty... Why's mine so hard?

I just can't get any leverage to get it off. Suggestions? Please?

Thanks!

[87pimpsterdocious]

some people have to hit it once with like a rubber mallet to loosen it up. Is this the first time you've taken it off? If so, mine stuck too. Try that (tap lightly, don't want to warp the valve cover) and see if it works.

[Jims 86LXI HB]

If the gasket sealent is still doing a real good job, it's going to be tuff to take off. Mine was real tuff. I had to walk it off by carefully prying up with a very wide standard screw driver. Slowly I managed to get it off. Dang all I wanted to do was put my painted valve cover on.

[POS carb]

just get a bunched-up rag and bang the cover on the corners a bit, prying with a screwdriver isn't good for the head cuz it makes scratches where it can seep oil but if you can't get it off i guess u just gotta be careful and reach for that flathead

[jay]

Okay, got it; thanks. After banging it around a bit, I still couldn't budge it by hand, so I stood on the radiator mounts and hooked the claw of my hammer around the hose connection and pulled until the seal broke.

The rest was like a 10 minute job. It still leaks, a bit, but it's much better.

Thanks all, and Jared, whom I pestered on AIM about this.

[ACCORD EX]

after installing the new gasket ( like i did ) put some " gasket maker " stuff on it ! now i have no leaks at all !

MIKE

[DBMaster]

I never use, nor have I ever used any sealant on mine. Since I do the valve adjustments every 15K miles and replace the gasket I have not had any leak problems.

[jay]

Originally posted by jay
It still leaks, a bit, but it's much better.

Now that I've looked at it again after a long drive, it appears the leak is gone, but I still get a lot of smoke from old oil sludge that's still trapped down in the exhaust manifolds. Thanks again, guys.