HOW Do You Put OIL In The 81 Vette???

[rollsman4]

I just changed my valve covers to the replacement ones. I had a difficult time trying to get to the oil cap dur to the heater hoses lying on top of it. Is it possible the heater hoses are in the wrong place or is it just that difficult to open the oil filler cap? I appreciate any suggestions. Rollsman

 

[Copdogcorvettes]

Do you hace the rubber plug type or the twist on? My fill on the 80 was on the Driver side. Those rubber plug type are just a real pain to get off; That why I use the older style twist on type.


Gary

 

[dman]

or is valve cover with fill hole on wrong side ...???????

 

[Yoda]

or is valve cover with fill hole on wrong side ...???????

You mention replacement valve covers? are they GM or aftermarket?
Either way if the knockout for the oil fill is more toward one end of the valve cover that the other, then my suggestion is put the knockout on the driverside with the knockout end toward the firewall (Like the stock covers)

I love GM's engineering... oil fill and hood locking device are on the driverside, the oil check dip stick is on the passengers side :eek

 

[glaso81]

Sounds like your valve covers are on the wrong side...Just like mine, the mechanic put them on backwards and I haven't gotten around to changing them. So what I do untill I get off my lazy butt and change them back is use a long plastic funnel, you can bend the funnel just a little and snake it into the oil fill hole without taking off the air filter assembly, hoses, etc.- hope that helps.-Andy

 

[rollsman4]

Andy, I beleive you are correct. The oil fill hole where the twist oil filler cap is on the passenger side. I think this is the wrong side??? Does it matter or leave it alone. It took the mechanic 2-3 hours to replace them. I hope it wont cause any mechanical problems. Thanks, Rollsman

 

[DDLS3]

It shouldn't really cause any problems except that it is a PIA to put oil in. Valve covers are not difficult to remove or replace if you get hoses and brackets out of the way first. Total time to remove mine, clean, replace the gaskets, and re-install might have been an hour and a half. I purchased a spout that goes onto the oil bottle with a twist shut off inside at Walmart. Never spill a drop any more and its about 5" long so you can get in around hoses and such with no worry.

 

[rollsman4]

Dale, thanks for your help. Its ashame because I just had the mechanic take off the chrome ones and put the Replacement ones I purchased from Paragon. I think I will try to attempt to do it myself when the weather gets warmer. The mechanic put new valve cover gaskets that are rubber and steel on, he said these were the best ones and you can take off the valve covers on and off as often as necessary. I am not sure if I need valce cover gasket adhesive again when I switch them or just put them on . Any Ideas?? thanks, rollsman

 

[DDLS3]

rollsman4

I use just enough adhesive to stick the gasket to the valve cover only. That way if your careful not to hit the gasket on anything it should go back on without any problem. If you decide you need to change the gasket, the one you selected is a very good one. Before you start on the valve cover, loosen but don't remove, the bolt that holds the cable bracket on the left cylinder head. Push the bracket away from the head to allow the valve cover to come out from under it. The right side is much easier to deal with but make sure you have good clearence so that you don't catch on something. I seem to remember that I pulled the ignition shield off from over the distributor as well.

 

[KC-21]

Food for Thought:
I was rummaging around in my old truck stuff I had and found an oil fill extention that is mainly used for trucks but it was polished stainless steel and I figured what the heck, it's shiny, so I installed it in my valve cover. It sure makes getting oil into the engine a whole lot easier and it looks good too.
I think you can still get them at auto parts stores and they are about 5 inches long for the twist on cap. Just remove your cap, twist it in the hole and install youir cap on top of it. That just may work to get everything out of the way of the hoses if you want to let the valve covers as they are.

KC

 

[DDLS3]

Be very aware of the hood clearence. There isn't much room there, you could end up with a damaged hood.

 

[KC-21]

With the 5 inch extention it doesn't even come close to the top of the air cleaner, so clearance isn't even a concern.


KC

 

[chockey]

I hope you don't mind me jumping in on this post and I'm sure this was addressed already before but is there a major benefit to using synthetic oil over conventional oil. Again I appologize for the redirection of this post.


Chuck

 

[rollsman4]

Put the Oil in The dipstick tube using the 5' Funnel?

It shouldn't really cause any problems except that it is a PIA to put oil in. Valve covers are not difficult to remove or replace if you get hoses and brackets out of the way first. Total time to remove mine, clean, replace the gaskets, and re-install might have been an hour and a half. I purchased a spout that goes onto the oil bottle with a twist shut off inside at Walmart. Never spill a drop any more and its about 5" long so you can get in around hoses and such with no worry.

Instead of taking them off again can I put the oil in through the dipstick hole?
But then what happens when you have to get oil change???