So, in other words - It is supposed to be like that, yes?
Want to be sure the dealership didnt forget to reattach something... Thanks

 

Ala_Xfire - we bought ours while living in Huntsville, Alabama. We sure miss living there where we can drive the Crossfire year round!
Here in MI, it's a seasonal car.. but at least we live near the Woodward Dream Cruise. I hope we are done in time to cruise.

 

Got it - that's exactly what I was talking about thanks for the info

 

MikeR and everyone out there -

I've purchased the new bolts and lock washers from McMaster-Carr.. Now that we have taken the engine cover off - I see the bigger (hex headed) bolts as shown in MikeR's photos.

There has been a lot of discussion about the bolts being one-time use. Are these larger bolts also one-time use? Need to know before we completely tear the car's breather covers off. Anyone that can answer - much appreciated and buy you a beer at the Woodward Dream Cruise if you'll be there!

2006 3.2L V-6

 

Unfortunately, MikeR is no longer with us, he passed away last year.
Those cover bolts you see in my photos are from Rob at Needswings .....
The 'one time use' bolts are the small aluminum ones in the breather covers, if they are hex-headed, then they are most like not aluminum - hit them with a magnet.

 

__________________________________________________ __________________________
First, my condolences. I'm sorry to hear that the board has lost a friend and contributor.

I will test them with a magnet - based on what you say here, I'm fairly certain they will not be aluminum and can be re-used.

Appreciate your quick reply to my plea for information.

 

Not to throw a monkey wrench in here, but as an ole' tight *** I have re-used the bolts over and over with the different mods of mine and they have never leaked. Just don't over torque them. On the breathers, I use high temp RTV, and let it set up, before re-install. Forms a nice gasket that way. Take your time, do a good job of cleaning them up, go with the gaskets and the right amount of RTV, and you should do well. I am taking them all off again this winter when I am back on my feet and having them buffed out. I could never see the VC's warping, but I guess everything is possible...good luck

 

Mine has just started to leak a bit. Thanx to this great site, I have known this is one of the minor issues with our cars. No problem. However, I guess I always assumed that the issue is the whole valve cover gasket. After seeing all these posts, it looks like I have been wrong. The problem is the little cover that bolts to the big cover. Am I correct on this?

Thanx
Butch

 

Correct - The majority of so-called "valve cover leaks" are from the Crankcase Breather Covers mounted on top of the valve covers.

 

Thank you!

 

After going thru this thread, I decided to attack the pesky little seep of oil I'd noticed on our new (to us) XF. The leak was very small, just enough to give a whiff of burnt oil once in a while, too small a leak to even show up on the garage floor, and on the right (passenger) side of the engine. Found this out by just spotting some burnt oil on the exhaust manifold. So, cleaned her up good and pulled off the coils and decided to try just the breather cover first.

Not being one to use wire brushes on alloy parts, I found that some nylon neck cleaning brushes from my gun cleaning gear were a perfect size to clean the bolt holes and an AR-15 bolt brush, narrow end, fit the little grove perfectly. These brushes are impervious to solvents so I doped them up good with aerosol brake cleaner and in a few minutes I had a totally clean surface to apply the sealant to.

From my experience in trying to seal the stator covers on one of my late Harley V-Rods I decided to use GM Engine Sealant. It's grey in color and was the only thing that worked on the VR. GM part # is 88861417. I just squeezed enough in to slightly overfill the little groove, doped up the bolt holes and bolted it up. I used a nut driver handle on the Torx and hex bolts just snug "plus a little". That left a neat 1-2 mm bead of sealant squeezed out. After an overnight cure we took a little 300 mile road trip and the leak is gonzo.

Sure glad I consulted this thread before starting this simple job or I'd not have know about the aluminum bolts, light torque, etc. Great forum, thanks to all!

 

Please I need your help... I followed the procedure and I believe the problem is the small valve cover in passenger side. My problem is, I guess the previous owner used RTV .. After remove the 4 screws, I am not able to remove the valve cover.. it is very hard and considering it is aluminum I am afraid to break it.. Did you have similar problem ?

 

No, I didn't have that problem at all. I inserted a phillips screwdriver in the outermost holes, the ones the steel bolts came out of, and wiggled it a bit and it popped right off. You can't use any force here, if it doesn't pop right off, don't force it. Hope this helps.

 

I really do not know what to do.... I tried with screw driver... I warped it and the is not sign of valve cover moved a little bit.. I really do not know how to remove it.. desperate..

 

I'd like to repeat this post, because I'm having the same issue. A few months ago, I attempted this repair and could not get that freaking breather cap off! I ended up giving it a few good whacks with the rubber mallet until I get it loose enough to remove. The repair seemed to hold up for a few months until recently - now it's leaking even worse than before. I'm concerned that my mallet method may have warped the cap.

Before I re-do the repair, I'd like to know - how the heck do you remove that cap without warping it? It's practically glued on by the RTV. Thanks.

 

The secret is.. insert a screwdriver in one of the holes but instead to shake keep a uniform force in one single direction... up for instance.. and keep the force constantly. . Same force to avoid damage the part..it will work

 

Whatever was holding mine on looked to be OEM and did not have the appearance of RTV. It was not very flexible at all and actually kind of brittle. Like I said, a close fitting screwdriver in the outer most bolt holes, a little wiggle and it was off. Definitely don't use force or a hammer. Might come off easier if the engine was warm. I've driven mine quite a bit since I did the repair I described earlier and so far no problem.

 

Who knows what size the longer bolts are in the valve cover replacement bolt kit? Im getting ready to do the breather covers and I can't beleive that the longer bolts do not play a role in holding them in place. I would like to prepair every bolt for replacement incase I find something needing attention.

Oil is coming from everywhere around the breathers and valve covers so I may do them both once the breather covers come off. Gaskets are cheap enough so, the small bolts I found at Home Depot, I just need to know about the long ones.

Let's post both here in the latest reply. Thanks!

 

Along with sensor safe RTV sealant, a total of five aluminum M5 x 0.8 mm x 16mm bolts are used, two on the passenger side and three on the driver side, to attach the breather covers to the two valve covers to hold the breathers in place while the valve covers are in the parts bin. On the engine, the RTV eventually degrades and the seal begins to weep oil. The aluminum bolts are not expensive, a new engine is expensive, treat it with respect. ENGINE. Complete. . "Build To U S Market Specifications". Required: 001 $17,394.00
Valve cover complete, left and right are $170.00 ea.

 

Rob stocks them at :
Valve Cover Bolt Kit 3.2L