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valve cover question

cykaaro

NAXJA Forum User
Location
ontario, canada
Ok, I'm going to clean the engine, pull the valve cover, and throughly clean and put back, as it looks to be the culprit why there's oil all over the place on my newly acquired '89. This is the will be the first time I've done this, so want to get the procedure of putting it back on properly befvore I do it.
Is there any pattern to bolting it on? and any specific torque it has to be? or do I just need to make sure it's on nice and tight so it won't leak at all? The other big question, is how/what do I use to seal it to ensure it doesn't leak? When my '90 was done, they used some kinda of orange or red stuff that I woudl guess is RTV for high heat? Supposedly the gasket they put on it is reuseable, but being the age of the vehicle, is it really worth keeping it on? Just want to make sure I do this correctly.
Any writeups or pics would be of great help.
TIA
 
Write-up
Cover should probably be tightened concentrically(center out) to 55in-lbs.)

And, they will loosen over time.

PartSource has the FelPro cork gasket.
 
While you have it off you might consider upgrading to a H.O. one. I put a 93's on my 90, its got the bigger CCV holes in it. It really seems to help the heep breathe better.
Just my .02,
Collin
 
CollinM said:
While you have it off you might consider upgrading to a H.O. one. I put a 93's on my 90, its got the bigger CCV holes in it. It really seems to help the heep breathe better.
Just my .02,
Collin

Hey Colin!. So you're saying a '93 will straight fit on to a '90 then? That woudl be sweet. Finding one though would be the harder part.
 
Yo sorry I've been outta town. Here's all you have to do.

Go to a boneyard....around here the HOs are more popular than renixs. You can get the valve cover from any year 4.0 XJ(it will work) just make sure you pick up the CCV lines. In the 93's case I just used the elbows that came in the new one with my old lines. It was really an easy swap. I had it sandblasted and painted it chrysler industrial red too. Looks great. If I think of it I might post some pics or I could send them to ya. Let me know your preference. If you have any more questions let me know.
Collin
 
No worries. I know how busy life can get.
Will have to try to find when then Didn't think they'd fit at all. I do come across 91's now and again. Just have to keep an eye out for them. Definitely a good switch to do then.

Just changed the air filter. I had a problem where ther was some oil like liquid leaking somehow, and went to investigate. Seems that it was coming fron underneath the air box. I was like WTF? Well, I now know where som of my oil is going!. Cleaned out the box, and the tubing as best I could and then put a new filter in. Thinking I need to put the 'overflowbottle' in to limit the mess it's making, but don't know if there's a better way of doing it or not.
 
cykaaro said:
I had a problem where ther was some oil like liquid leaking somehow, and went to investigate. Seems that it was coming fron underneath the air box.

Nope, it's just from the CCV system. All that CCV tubing/rubber must be in A1 condition and the small orifice at the back of the valve cover must be clear. I've found the entire CCV tubing package laying on a shelf at Auto Zone for about $50. If you still have oil in the air box after renewing the CCV system your engine is probably just worn. How worn? If the air filter only get's a little oily on one corner after 5k-10k miles, that's pretty normal for older/higher mileage 4.0's. If it's pooling quite a bit of oil in the air box, the engine is likely in need of a rebuild.
 
The back CCV is fine. I replaced it only because the grommet was pretty worn and wasn't giving a tight fit. The front one is the one I still need to replace. I got the grommet end from the wreckers so it's not leaking as much from there, but still does. The side effect seems the oil getting to the filter.
 
I'm not actually sure if 91 is different than our 90s. I would guess 92 or 93 would have been the changeover year. I was lucky enough to find a 93 with one that still had the dealer sticker on it and was very grey inside(hardly any oil), hell I probably should have pulled the engine at the same time if it was as clean as it looked. Anyway do your best to find one I think it was a very nice, worthwhile upgrade. I still have a lot of blowby even after replacing my whole CCV system but my engine seems never to have run stronger. I have no idea how much longer it will last and dont have the means to do a compression test but the valve cover swap might help you out.
My .02,
Collin

Yo future reference, they did change it in 91 with the HOs, I was just browsing on ebay.
 
Last edited:
I put a 95 valve cover on my '88 motor. 91-95 should be the HO cast aluminum valve covers. The 90 degree elbows twist 90 degrees on and off. They are suppose to control the oil better. I also did the MAD XJ big CCV tube update. Look on the MADXJ site. I was pucking 1 quart a week before. Then nothing after. Also get a good seal on the valve cover to head. Any air leak and you get blow by. THe 99+ CCV tube is a bigger diameter tube. I think it cost around $10 from the dealer ship and you will need the new manifold fitting. I had to cut the new CCV tube in two or three places. The 87-90 location of the fitting to the intake manifold is farther forward. I used fuel line tubing to make up the length difference. I also used larger fuel line tubing to adapt the CCV tube and the front tube to the 90 degree elbows.
Tom
 
CollinM said:
I'm not actually sure if 91 is different than our 90s. I would guess 92 or 93 would have been the changeover year. I was lucky enough to find a 93 with one that still had the dealer sticker on it and was very grey inside(hardly any oil), hell I probably should have pulled the engine at the same time if it was as clean as it looked. Anyway do your best to find one I think it was a very nice, worthwhile upgrade. I still have a lot of blowby even after replacing my whole CCV system but my engine seems never to have run stronger. I have no idea how much longer it will last and dont have the means to do a compression test but the valve cover swap might help you out.
My .02,
Collin

Yo future reference, they did change it in 91 with the HOs, I was just browsing on ebay.

Yep, '91 is the changeover year. '90 is the last year for the renix system, as well as the last year the Pioneer was made. Will keep an eye out for a cover for sure. Don't want to rush to change mine as it was just fixed leak wise recently, but the '89 definitely needs to be done. SOmethning to add to my shopping list!
 
I was thinking of buying an alum valve cover. You can find them in black, red & yellow. $89.00
I have never liked the plain black engine scheme. Hides oil leaks real well.
 
I just went the sandblasting and painting with a high temp engine paint on mine. I think the ones that for example Quadratec sells would be harder to adapt to a Renix than the older like 93- or whatever. Im certainly not an expert I just know what I did and am happy with how it turned out. Has anyone run one of the Q-Tec ones on a Renix?
 
I kind of did a write up within another thread, but just to give an idea heres how mine turned out and what I did to change it.

ResizedVC2.jpg


ResizedVC1.jpg
 
I'm actually just saying I did a write up in your thread. In the picture. Okay its a botched write up but still...
 
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