Anyone have any advice on removing valve covers

[tta197]

Those of you who have removed the valve covers, how did you get the passenger side valve cover off???? There is no room between the valve cover and the heater core housing. I know it looks like a piece of cake but......there's just not enough clearance. Any input would be appreciated.

[TAF]

The passenger side is REALLY a tight fit..you're right. If you are removing them to have them polished/powdercoated...that's not the big problem...it's putting that passenger side BACK on, trying not to scratch your new finish on it that is the REAL challenge.

Just ask BADMK8 (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?u=1752) , he'll tell you how much fun it is...

[Petrograde]

Total PITA!!!

ya gotta loosen the engine mounts,... then drop the transmission cross member... and tilt the engine until you get the clearence. :rolleyes: It sucks! I'm glad I didn't do mine! But, I watched for 8 hours while the mechanics strugled with it. ;)

Tom

[rumble]

Total PITA!!!

ya gotta loosen the engine mounts,... then drop the transmission cross member... and tilt the engine until you get the clearence. :rolleyes: It sucks! I'm glad I didn't do mine! But, I watched for 8 hours while the mechanics strugled with it. ;)

Tom

Listen to Petro, he knows what he's talking about. The only thing he didn't mention was the 8 foot long pry bay. I was all set to do mine in the driveway when I had a conversation with Logan and he gave me the scoop. I had never in my life ever paid to have someone R&I a valve cover for me but this was the big exception.

[merc]

Yep that's the correct 411.

[tta197]

Well, you guys are right I tried pulling the right valve cover off completely and I couldn't. The reason I'm doing this was to retorque camshaft bearing caps (to try to eliminate valve train chatter my Marauder has). Anyway, I managed to get the valve cover up high enough to get a torque wrench in there. Would you believe I found several bolts loose (six required several turns to get them to the proper torque).

I have not had time to do the driver's side. I see the wiper support is in the way. Other than that, can I remove this valve cover without any problems?

[BADMK8]

Some input on the valve covers, as todd said I've been lucky enough to do 2 sets of powercoated covers. first let mesay the second set is no better than the first , but i did get them both in about 3 hours . first romove the entire wiper cowl and motor it really isnt hard then youll have lots more room to , the drivers side isthe easy one just remove the throttle body you do need to also remove the 2 master cyl nuts and swing it out of the way. the pass side i moved the coolant tube from the rear that runs along the bottom of the valve cover dont need to disconnect any coolant lines . disconnect fuel line from rail and remove the 2 10mm bolts holding the sheild over the egr valve . then you should be able to wiggle it out . for the reinstall first , downa couple of michelob ultras you earned them. then i foundthe reinstall on the pass side was made easy by grinding down the small ear inside the valve cover at the rear. if you try to reinstall it youll see what i mean its non structural and it will make life better. there was no need this way to lift the car or mess with the crossmember. 2 sets of powercoated valve covers and no scratchs. my last word of advise is DONT TAKE THEM OFF , EVER .

[Shankin]

Some input on the valve covers, as todd said I've been lucky enough to do 2 sets of powercoated covers. first let mesay the second set is no better than the first , but i did get them both in about 3 hours . first romove the entire wiper cowl and motor it really isnt hard then youll have lots more room to , the drivers side isthe easy one just remove the throttle body you do need to also remove the 2 master cyl nuts and swing it out of the way. the pass side i moved the coolant tube from the rear that runs along the bottom of the valve cover dont need to disconnect any coolant lines . disconnect fuel line from rail and remove the 2 10mm bolts holding the sheild over the egr valve . then you should be able to wiggle it out . for the reinstall first , downa couple of michelob ultras you earned them. then i foundthe reinstall on the pass side was made easy by grinding down the small ear inside the valve cover at the rear. if you try to reinstall it youll see what i mean its non structural and it will make life better. there was no need this way to lift the car or mess with the crossmember. 2 sets of powercoated valve covers and no scratchs. my last word of advise is DONT TAKE THEM OFF , EVER .Or if given the choice of being kicked in the nuts or putting on the valve covers take the kick!

[TAF]

Hey Guys...

Did I tell you I decided to go back to my old valve covers....

:lol:

[BADMK8]

i called no backsies, its a Ford term...

[MARAUDERCHICK]

i called no backsies, its a Ford term...
Hey,.....since Todd's gonna go back to his original covers......you can put his powder coated ones on my car!!!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[EbonyMarauder03]

:D Valve covers on the MM look like cake to doing them on a 97 Cobra...now that is a kick-to-the-groin job. The sad part was the only reason they had to come out was for the seals for the spark plugs. :eek: :down: :help:

[tta197]

Badmk8, how did clear the heater core housing for the passenger side valve cover? I tried everything to snake it past the heater core housing and finally just gave up. I even thought about taking it apart and removing it but decided not to.

Yes you guys are right, I'd rather get kicked in the .......

[BADMK8]

the reason i said to remove the bracket around the egr is you will need to roll the valve cover up towards the intake manifold, and if you dont want scratchs on it wrap a rag around the fuel rail port which you previously disconnected . with some tlc or a prybar it should come out with no damage. just remember about the part of inside lug you need to gring down some if you want it to go back in. if your not sure of what im saying you will be when you try to reinstall it. you can take it back off and youll see the marks inside the cover where its hitting the rear cam cap.

p.s. dont forget the beer, it could really help:beer:

[Petrograde]

Hey Guys...

Did I tell you I decided to go back to my old valve covers....

:lol:

Well,.. Todd,... your 'old' covers are blue now,... and I don't really want to take them off again so.... http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/a0/angryrazz.gif :lol:

Tom

[schuvwj]

Does anyone think we could just remove the valve cover bolts and re-torque the cam bolts without taking the covers completly off?

[TAF]

Bill,


I watched some of this painstaking process....and I'd say no, is the answer. It's kinda amazing, alot like the Turbo options that I investigated...as big as our cars are...there is NOT a lot of room in there.

BADMK8 could answer this more thoroughly though.

[Marauderman]

Those of you who have removed the valve covers, how did you get the passenger side valve cover off???? There is no room between the valve cover and the heater core housing. I know it looks like a piece of cake but......there's just not enough clearance. Any input would be appreciated.
The best answer: Pay someone else to do it...period...

[jgc61sr2002]

What Tom said.^^^^^^^^^^^^ :D

[schuvwj]

Well, you guys are right I tried pulling the right valve cover off completely and I couldn't. The reason I'm doing this was to retorque camshaft bearing caps (to try to eliminate valve train chatter my Marauder has). Anyway, I managed to get the valve cover up high enough to get a torque wrench in there. Would you believe I found several bolts loose (six required several turns to get them to the proper torque).

I have not had time to do the driver's side. I see the wiper support is in the way. Other than that, can I remove this valve cover without any problems?

tta197 did the valve train charter decrease with the retorque of one side?

Six bolts required several turns to obtain the proper torque!
That really sucks! Where was "quality is job one"?
Wonder when or if F/M is going to recall?

This company is forcing me to buy another brand!

[tta197]

schuvwj, I'm still in the process of doing the driver's side (I haven't had time to mess with it). I'll let you guys know if it clears up some of the valve train noise when I get done ( at the rate I'm going, it'll be May before I get it done).
Anyway, I do agree as much as I love this car, this will be my last Ford I ever buy. I haven't really posted everything I've had to fix, because it seems it just never ends. I'm totally convinced that Ford has no real quality control. Some of the items I found wrong should have been caught before this car left the factory.

[tta197]

Badmk8, how do remove the wiper arms from the attach points? I don't see how the cover plate for the wiper arm is held in place. Thanks...

[schuvwj]

schuvwj, I'm still in the process of doing the driver's side (I haven't had time to mess with it). I'll let you guys know if it clears up some of the valve train noise when I get done ( at the rate I'm going, it'll be May before I get it done).
Anyway, I do agree as much as I love this car, this will be my last Ford I ever buy. I haven't really posted everything I've had to fix, because it seems it just never ends. I'm totally convinced that Ford has no real quality control. Some of the items I found wrong should have been caught before this car left the factory.

tta197 my MM is going in the local F/M shop tomarrow to see if they can fix it. They said it would take 2 days. I will also post my results.

[LNYTUNS]

schuvwj, I'm still in the process of doing the driver's side (I haven't had time to mess with it). I'll let you guys know if it clears up some of the valve train noise when I get done ( at the rate I'm going, it'll be May before I get it done).
Anyway, I do agree as much as I love this car, this will be my last Ford I ever buy. I haven't really posted everything I've had to fix, because it seems it just never ends. I'm totally convinced that Ford has no real quality control. Some of the items I found wrong should have been caught before this car left the factory.
Now I can hear some valve train noise on my car but how much is "chatter". I am not sure if I have a problem or not. Should this motor be complete silent when I am sitting in the car? I just thought what I was hearing was a Marauderism.

[BADMK8]

Well, you guys are right I tried pulling the right valve cover off completely and I couldn't. The reason I'm doing this was to retorque camshaft bearing caps (to try to eliminate valve train chatter my Marauder has). Anyway, I managed to get the valve cover up high enough to get a torque wrench in there. Would you believe I found several bolts loose (six required several turns to get them to the proper torque).

I have not had time to do the driver's side. I see the wiper support is in the way. Other than that, can I remove this valve cover without any problems?maybe you could tell me what the caps should be torqued to. I had never seen them that loose or the cam making any sounds that you've come across. its something to be aware of in the future.

[tta197]

Torque should be 14 ft lbs or 168 in lbs. I had some that were at 80 in lbs.

[TAF]

So...BADMK8...you ready for some Marauders to line up at your service bay for some torquing??!!

[tta197]

Here's a post I copied from this link:
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7362&page=3
bigtay809
Junior Member
Member #: 1623 Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: burlington,n.j.
Posts: 7

possibly the answer to your noise! souds like a valve tap or diesel!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have an early 03' Marauder that had a very annoying noise: sounded like a valve tap or a "quiet" diesel. The noise would come in around 1200 to 2500 r.p.m. when taking off slowly,or under normal acceleration. it was best heard all windows up, and wasn't as noticible from outside the car. I realize it is an aluminum head,all aluminum engine & its going to be a little noisey(but this was not normal)& those of you that have it too(know what I mean)! Anyway, took it to the local dealer,& good news:they hear it too(I'm not nuts afterall) well? anyway,the bad news: they have no clue what it is after spending 2-days trying to figure it out!(suggest maybe its normal)? Got mercury REP. involved, he set up an appt. with me to meet with him at another dealership who sells more Marauders & has an S.V.T. sister store.They are very familiar w/ the engine + the svc. mngr. drives a Marauder himself as a demo! We meet & set up an appt for a month down the road to drop car off! Meantime they will try to gather info from Merc.& their "special engine team". Drop off car on 1-26-04 & told I will have my car back next week(for sure)with either my engine fixed or a whole new engine! But they are pretty sure they will find and fix my problem by 1-28-04! Fine w/me! They call me back(THAT NIGHT), we think we found the problem, merc rep. had given them some helpful insight. 1-28-04(COME & GET IT)! Your all done! "Very minor problem afterall" just a pain in the _______ to get to the bottom of it! Seems that a few Marauders had gone through the assembly line with the wrong torque specs on the "cam hold-downs", THE FIX: remove wipers,cowl,& motor mounts(just to get the valve covers off),then loosen ALL the "aluminum cam hold-downs"and re-torque them to the proper specs. (DONE)! Noise is gone! They treated me like GOLD,kept me informed the whole way, & put me in an 04' Town-car until my Marauder was done! Hats of to the whole crew over there! You know who you are! And special thanks to Drew Fennema,the Linc/Merc rep who got it all set up! Anyway,those of you w/ this noise: have your cam hold-downs re-torqued,all 48 bolts that hold down all "4" cams. oh well GOOD LUCK to all & I hope this info helps someone else! Tim Haas. 1-31-04

[tta197]

Well I finally finished installing the driver's side valve cover today. I took the the car out for 20 min test drive and to my surprise the valve train chatter the engine had at low RPM, is completely gone. The engine is as quiet as my 2000 Grand Marquis' engine that I recently sold.

I'll post a new thread regarding this subject so it gets more exposure, as this thread is dying or is pretty much dead.

[Petrograde]

[monty python]"I'm not dead yet"[/monty python]

[BADMK8]

[QUOTE=schuvwj]tta197 did the valve train charter decrease with the retorque of one side?

Six bolts required several turns to obtain the proper torque!
That really sucks! Where was "quality is job one"?
Wonder when or if F/M is going to recall?

This company is forcing me to buy another brand!http://www.fordtechservice.dealerconn ection.com/tpscontent/USENI4/A0017100.gifThis is a concern to me , first as a tech and second as a 4 valve owner myself. Im courious as to where the spec of 168 lb in came from . this is a clip from the 2003 Marauder shop manual. 89 lb in is the spec I found. not to junp to any wrong conclusions but further reveiw of this needs to be done to insure we dont end up with a whole web site with over torqued cams and even worse possible cam failures.

summary : double check the torque specs before anyone else attemps this unpleasant task of valve cover removal. it sounds like yours were at book specs.:up:

[tta197]

The torque spec was from a helm manual. Here's a link:http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7859

[tta197]

BADMK8, I also checked a 2003 manual at a public library to confirm this. In the text where it explains how to remove and install the camshaf bearing caps it clearly states 14 ft lbs which is 168 in lbs of torque. Now when I went to the SOHC section it says 89 in lbs for that engine.

[BADMK8]

BADMK8, I also checked a 2003 manual at a public library to confirm this. In the text where it explains how to remove and install the camshaf bearing caps it clearly states 14 ft lbs which is 168 in lbs of torque. Now when I went to the SOHC section it says 89 in lbs for that engine.FYI , cobra , marauder , mack 1 , crown vic , all have the same spec. 89lb in , i had a picture posted right off fords web site which to my suprise is gone now it shows torque sequence and spec. I dont know whos getting these specs for you but that not what all the FORD books say. over tightening to cam caps can cause lack of lubrication and yes failure. This is the last ill bother you with this as I dont want to be a pest.

[valleyman]

BADMK8 - tta197 got the torque specs from me. However, after reading your posts I went back to the shop manual and, to my surprise, there appear to be two different torque specs for the camshaft bearing cap assemblies for the 4V motor (the 2V spec is consistently given as 10 Nm (89 lb-in)).

The info I posted to tta197 I took from the '03 Helm shop manual from the "Torque Specifications" chart at the beginning 4V Engine procedures in the book,section 303-01B-3. It describes "Camshaft cap cluster to cylinder head" and lists the torque as "19 Nm / 14 lb-ft" in the chart. But after reading your posts I double checked (I was right) and then, just to be sure, flipped forward to the "Disassembly and Assembly of Subassemblies" where they discuss the cam and valvetrain procedures for the 4V.

Big surprise. In section 303-1B-88, there in diagram #4, showing the top of the head with the camshaft cap assemblies is the torque spec "10 Nm (89 lb-in)". The torque spec is not mentioned in any accompnying text; it is just included in the diagram which gives you the tightening sequence for the bolts. The diagram accompanies the text, "Install the camshaft bearing cap asemblies." So unless the "camshaft bearing cap assemblies" in the diagram are different from the "camshaft cap cluster" listed in the torque spec chart (and they don't appear to be), there seem to be two different specs for the same bolts.

Can anybody clear this up? Or at least somebody else with a Helm manual double check to make sure I'm not giving out bad information?

[TAF]

BADMK8 - tta197 got the torque specs from me. However, after reading your posts I went back to the shop manual and, to my surprise, there appear to be two different torque specs for the camshaft bearing cap assemblies for the 4V motor (the 2V spec is consistently given as 10 Nm (89 lb-in)).

The info I posted to tta197 I took from the '03 Helm shop manual from the "Torque Specifications" chart at the beginning 4V Engine procedures in the book,section 303-01B-3. It describes "Camshaft cap cluster to cylinder head" and lists the torque as "19 Nm / 14 lb-ft" in the chart. But after reading your posts I double checked (I was right) and then, just to be sure, flipped forward to the "Disassembly and Assembly of Subassemblies" where they discuss the cam and valvetrain procedures for the 4V.

Big surprise. In section 303-1B-88, there in diagram #4, showing the top of the head with the camshaft cap assemblies is the torque spec "10 Nm (89 lb-in)". The torque spec is not mentioned in any accompnying text; it is just included in the diagram which gives you the tightening sequence for the bolts. The diagram accompanies the text, "Install the camshaft bearing cap asemblies." So unless the "camshaft bearing cap assemblies" in the diagram are different from the "camshaft cap cluster" listed in the torque spec chart (and they don't appear to be), there seem to be two different specs for the same bolts.

Can anybody clear this up? Or at least somebody else with a Helm manual double check to make sure I'm not giving out bad information?

I'll clear it up for ya....

My $$$ is on BADMK8, who knows more about this engine than anyone I know. Don't believe me? Just ask the 15 Marauder owners that will ONLY let HIM touch their cars. :up:

[tta197]

Valleyman, I saw exactly what you just explained in the manual at the library also. The text says 14 ft lbs, while the picture shows 89 in lbs. So, I asked this question over at flatratetech.com and one of the Ford SVT Techs says it's 14 ft lbs, here's the link:http://flatratetech.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f =13;t=003541. At this point I don't know what to think about this, but I'm going to leave mine where I set it since it fixed the problem. And if in the future if something happens I'll deal with it. Bottom line is I'm never going to take those valve covers off again.

By the way, I've put 500 chatter free miles on the car this weekend and I couldn't be happier with it.

Thanks for the help guys (Badmk8 & Valleyman).