Ok, I saw a few people do this and the results turned out really nice. Seemed easy enough, so I gave it a shot. here is what it took:
Materials:
10mm socket
12mm socket
4+" socket extention
torque wrench (10ft-lbs)
600gt wet/dry sand paper
degreasing cleaning solvant
high-temp paint
masking
To Remove:
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Step 1: Take the hose off of the clip of the spark plug cover. Take the oil cap off. Use the 10mm socket to remove the 3 bolts holding the cover on. Remove the cover.
Step 2: Also with the 10mm socket, take off the bolt on each of the 4 spark plug harnesses. Note the pressure, because when tigntening these, you dont want to over do it. I couldnt find any torque settings for them, but it really shouldnt be a big deal. Just get them tight enough to keep in place.
Step 3: Unclip the wire harness from the rear of spark plug harness. Just push on the tab and pull. Carefully take the plugs out and put them in a safe place.
Step 4: With the 10mm socket, Remove the 2 bolts holding the wire rails to the back of the valve casing.
Step 5: Pull the two air feeds (one to the right of the front portion, one near the back center of the rear portion) off of their nipples. Remove these from the engine side, not the source! It may take a bit of tugging, but dont worry too much about hurting them. They are tuff
AND
Step 6: Using the 12mm socket, LOOSEN but dont remove the two upper bolts on the black plastic cam-gear casing (i think thats what it is) to the left of the valve casing.
Step 7: Using the 10mm socket, remove the 3 bolts holding the front of valve cover. Do the same fo rthe 3 bolts on the rear side of the cover.
Step 8: The cover should now come loose with a little giggling. Move the hoses and harnesses out of the way and work it away from teh cam gear casing by lifting on the right side and sliding it to the right. It should come out without much trouble.
Preping:
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Step 1: With your solvant, spray down the top of the cover only. Dont worry about the inside, as you dont want to paint it. Wipe the solvant clean after a few mins. Do this as many times as it takes to get all the grime off.
Step 2: Use a slightly wet soaply cloth to clean the top of the cover. Dry.
Step 3: Use the 600gt sandpaper to sand the cover. Make sure to work on the little groves, as if they are not roughed at all, they may start to chip/peal. Also work around the corners of the mivec and mitsu logos.
Step 4: Repease steps 1 and 2 again to get rid of the sanding dust and dirt. Dry VERY well and let it sit for a bit.
Step 5: Mask off all the screw holes and openings. You dont want ANY paint inside the valve cover. Also, tape off the valve stems that the air hoses were hooked to.
Step 6: Remove the rubber gasket seal from the bottom.
Painting:
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Step 1: Find something clean and flat that you can paint on. Its best to do it inside, as the wind WILL dirt on the over while the paint is still wet.
Step 2: Just sit the valve cover flat and go to town! DO NOT LIFT THE COVER OFF ITS BASE WHILE PAINTING. This will help keep paint off the inside.
NOTE: If you dont want to paint the mivec or mitsu logos, be sure to wipe the paint off those parts right away. Be careful though, its not easy. I decided I will just paint them another color later, instead of trying to keep cleaning.
Step 3: Let it sit and try according to the directions and repeat to get as many coats as you want.
Step 4: Let the final job sit as long as possible.
Reinstalling:
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After the paint is dry and you are happy with the results, just take off the masking tape and see how you did!
If you had any overspray or leakage, try lightly using some 800-2000gt sadpaper to clean it up. You may want to lightly sand the finish with a 1500-2000gt paper, depending on the texture you want.
Just reverse the install steps, pretty much. Use a torque wrench to torque the 6 seal bolts to 10 ft-lbs. If 10lbs is one of the lowest settings on your wrench (like mine), you MAY NOT feel the click. I didnt feel it and I snapped a bolt. Just be careful. If you try this without a wrench, just dont tighten to the point where you have to put any weight into it at all. Incase you do this, its a 6mm 1.0thread. Make sure you get hardened steal. Dont over-tighten anything, as this is a pretty stationary part of the car. It just has to be able to handle the vibrations.
Enjoy!
Mine isnt done yet, as I am going to paint the emblemns and a bit more. Here it is so far.
Painting Valve Covers
