PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

Greg in Oz · #8 10-12-2004, 05:30 AM

I have re-finished the valve cover in my 190E 2.3 Sportline with engine enamel spray paint and it is surviving well so far. The time consuming part was removing all the old coating. Despite the fact that much of it was flaking, much of what remained was thick and stubborn, even with the use of a bead blaster. Once I had it all stripped, it was a simple matter of degreasing it and spraying it with engine enamel. Since I was not so concerned with originality, I decided it, along with the air filter lid, looked better in this colour scheme http://www.benzworld.org/gallery/pics/W201_49666.jpg

Also time consuming was fabricating a new oil separator for the underside of the valve cover from sheet steel. The original plastic one was cracked and falling apart. Unfortunately, the late versions in plastic are not available as a separate part and the early metal version will not fit. My valve cover had also warped and was leaking which necessitated the use of black silicone sealant as a gap filler in the groove for the gasket (not both sides of the gasket so as to avoid the above-mentioned difficulty of removal). Whilst the whole exercise was time consuming, the cost of a new valve cover ruled that out as an option. To date the results have been very satisfactory. Whilst the valve cover was removed, I also fitted new hydraulic lifters to silence the intermittent ticking during warm-up.

Having tested my valve cover re-finishing technique on my 190E, I am now considering doing the same on my 300TE, although I do want it to look very original since it is a concours class-winning car. Its valve cover is still pretty good but does have a few blisters and cracks starting to appear. It currently looks like this http://www.benzworld.org/gallery/pics/W124_56190.jpg