LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

Hey all,

So I'm currently halfway through a valve cover gasket job where my gaskets are so old and heated that they are stuck in the grooves and are like brittle plastic, forcing me to chisel them out carefully. (see pic below)

I was able to get the RH (passenger) side off and replaced ok, but currently the LH (driver's) side is unbolted and does not have enough clearance to come out of the engine bay. :mad:

While browsing other threads, I saw some people have either lifted one side of the engine or slid the engine over slightly. My question is which mounts do I loosen in order to move my engine around on a jack?

Hopefully someone can answer ASAP as I have to bum rides from a friend today as my SVX sits in my garage. :(


https://dl.dropbox.com/u/37735806/1114121833.jpg

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

Slide underneath the car with a flashlight. You will see, to the rear of the oil pan, the subframe, and you should also be able to see the motor mounts. The motor mounts rest on top of the subframe, and each has a stud that goes through the top of the subframe, and a nut threads on from the bottom, through 2 holes in the underside of the subframe. The nuts, IIRC, are 14mm head.

If your motor mounts are starting to go, there's a decent chance you'll finish them off when you raise the engine even after taking the nuts off. Also you might have to disconnect the dog-bone mount, which connects the top, front of the trans to the firewall. I'm not too sure how high you'll be able to lift it before that mount starts to be a limitation.

I would caution against lifting up the engine with the front of the car jacked up. I would jack the car up, put jack stands or something for safety, undo the motor mount nuts, and then lower the car back down, then jack the engine up (the oil pan should be plenty strong) and do your work from the top. As you raise it up, be careful and proceed slowly to avoid pulling on any hoses, wires, etc. Just lift it up until the motor mount studs clear the subframe (just a couple inches), and then you can shift it to the side to get the valve cover off.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

It's doable with the engine at its normal height, I did my VC gaskets with the engine in the car once upon a time. As I recall it takes a bit of finagling to get in there, but it does go. I have vague memories of dropping it in farther back so it clears the cam gears and then sliding it forward. Have you removed the battery and other stuff in the way?

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

When I was with Old Tom doing my valve covers, he had a pretty nifty idea of using a ratcheting tie down to pull the engine from one side to the other. Obviously removing the battery is going to give you the most access, and should allow for the cover to slide out.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

I'm not sure how bad they are, but they're probably the originals.
Also, looking at the prices on Subaruparts.com, if they did break when I took them off then I would have to wait a while since they are $360 for both. :eek:
I would definitely have to drive around with broken ones until I got the money for them...

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

The problem is that I need about another inch of clearance between the side of the engine and the engine bay in order to pull the cover out.
Also, I tried sliding the cover back to clear the cam gears, but then the cover gets stuck on something and I can't pull it up.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

I've done VC gaskets on 3 different SVXs and in all cases I removed the nuts from the motor mount studs and jacked up the motor a few inches as described. It's really not that hard and I couldn't figure out any other way to do it. Removing the battery is a "must" too. I didn't have to disconnect the dogbone and if you've got a little oil leak (like most of us do) then chances are some oil has seeped down around the motor mounts and they'll slide out with ease.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

There is a cheaper option of using Group N STi motor mounts, which are cheaper ($100~$120). You re-use the SVX motor mount bracket, by oval-ing one of the holes for the two bolts that hold the mount to the bracket, and adding ~1/4 inch of washers between the mount and bracket (or 1/4" steel plate welded on would be better, but welding is usually a technology that DIY-ers lack ready access to). The Group N mounts are stiffer, so they will affect NVH a bit, but not too bad that it's not worth the hundreds of dollars in savings.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

Oh, well that's awesome. I love when upgrades are cheaper than stock (like $7 iridium plugs vs $12 double platinum stock plugs). :D
Are these cheaper through somewhere other than Subaru? Also, are they all the same or do I have to get a specific model year (05-07, etc)?

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

http://www.oakos.com/Merchant2/merch...gory_Code=3115

Get the part numbers from there, and you can use google to probably find a better price.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

I've done quite a few VCG replacements,and on none of them needed to jack up the engine. I've pushed the engine sidways slightly by hand on a couple to get them out, but for the most part, just have to finagle it out just right. Also, I usually disconnect the injectors as it prevents the harnesses from being damaged and gives just a hair more space that's needed.:)

As for mounts, just get stock impreza mounts. They're only about $75 a piece from the dealer. No need for the Group N's unless you have a 5/6 spd swap, and even then, the solid rubber impreza mounts will still work.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

Just so you guys have a clear idea of what extra space I need.
As you can see, I need another 1/2" to clear the cam brackets
EDIT: I was able to squeeze it out but at the cost of f*cking up the gaskets on the way out. Not sure how'll I get it in without messing up the new ones.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37735806/201...2015.01.03.jpg
Sorry, I can't resize it to something smaller. :S

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

I was able to do them on my svx twice without moving the engine, but on my wife's svx I could not get the driver side off until I jacked the engine up a bit.

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

Ok, so I got the cover all cleaned and put back on. Undid the bottom mounts (which were still good, oddly enough) and jacked up the engine. Valve cover went on easier after that.
Torqued everything back up and put in Mobil 1 and a matching filter. Put in some NGK Iridium IX's while the valve covers were out.
So far everything is good. Thanks for all your help, guys. :D

PS: My friend was looking at this forum while I was working on my car, and he said you all are too nice compared to regular forum people. :p

Re: LH Valve Cover, how to remove from engine bay?
 

Right, so I too had to lift the engine up to get the LHS cover off - unfortunately I also cracked the seal on the A/C pipe on the compressor so that's going to have to be redone, and yes all the gas is now gone...

But more importantly, the bloody engine mounts cracked right through the middle when I lifted the engine up. I removed the two(?) bolts that attach the engine mount to the engine, but still the bugger lifted up with the engine and cracked. Did I miss a bolt?

So I guess I now have to replace the engine mounts, I'd like to go original if possible, I don't like the idea of cutting/drilling to put new mounts in.

Thoughts?

Matt