450 SL - Valve cover seals
 

Is changing the valve cover seals on a 1974 450 SL a difficult job?

I have only done one other valve cover seal job myself....it was on my 1966 Mustang and it was easy.

Last (probably dumb) question.....do I need to drain the oil first?
On the Mustang I did not have to....these valve covers look deeper though.....

Thanks for your help!

Mike

Hmmm...let's see. Remove air cleaner assembly. Remove four 10mm bolts on each valve cover and lift.

Now comes the hard part. Peel off the old seals, which are probably hard as a rock and thouroughly clean the mating portion of the cover. Next thouroughly clean the mating surface of the head, be sure there is no oil what so ever on the mating surface. Pop the covers back into place.

Now the hardest part. Tighten the four bolts enough so they don't leak but not so tight as to cut the new seals. I don't know what the torque for the cover bolts is so I use a 1/4" drive rachet and just snug them up. Haven't had any leaks from the two V-8's I've been into.

No, you don't have to drain the oil. While you have the covers off you should check and adjust your valves while you're in there though.