Hi Glenn
I think that is what these are. They look aluminum and they are finned. This was the standard cover that they put on the L82's.
The Valvoline oil that I'm using is called MAX Life, for engines with over 75,000 miles. Synthetic Blend, 10W-40. Valvoline part # VV150. My engine only has 42,800, but since it is 28 years old was why is I went with this oil.
This is a pic of the cover when I first started working on it.
Thanks for the help!
Glenn
I have owned C3's since 1982, 4 in all, L82's each one..2 have new owners now, the remaining two, a 1977 and a 1979 I will have until I die, the 77 I will be buried in..LOL
Since I have been MIA around here for so long I thought I better visit and help where I can.
The leaks and the emission sytems, on the L82's especially, were a work in progress by owners and mechanics continually and will always be until they fade away......but!...over the summer I had a breakthrough with the help of a lot of books and a lot of trial and error.
I have shared this info with local clubs, and I have become a hero of sorts to a few anyhow...when I joined the NCRS and ordered everybook they had on C3's, I discovered it in a judging section, where they deduct points for this and that, I am getting my 79 ready for her to win gold
The first suggestion from a friend to stop the leaking was to install the new Felpro valve cover gaskets that have metal molded into a clever ribbed rubber design, like a sandwhich, since I am a retired Engineer, at first sight I knew they would work as long as the covers were straight and the head sealing area was in good shape, the ribs are channels really, so the oil comes off the covers or elsewhere and runs down the slots and out the many openings in the inner one and falls back into the head cavity, prior to and right after each corner and near the mounting bosses for the covers..the gaskets are pretty much dummy proof against over torque, because the metal inside stops and crushing of the gaskets.............my cars have leaked for years and putting new gaskets was pretty much a bi-monthly thing and so far at least 16 of our fellow L82 owners have not leaked a drop all summer..not to mention 3 LT1 owners..
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Make sure all surfaces are clean and dry and as defect free as possible, then be certain there is no RTV sealant or any other thing remaining anywhere, these gaskets go on dry and need to be as centered as possible, even between my two Vettes there were substancial differences in the tolerances between cover and head, keep the gaskets centered on the head, you want as many of those oil channels protruding into the inside as possible..
If you seen how many old Felpro gaskets I have in my garage, lying there waitng there turn to be used, you would understand my elation, now I am sure we will hear failure stories once this gets to the masses, but I am certain it will not be because of the gasket, the only unknown is longevity, already they have outlasted all others by far in our informal test group.
Now onto your other problem, which I discovered by accident in the NCRS books, the L82's I will address but I am sure others are making this mistake, unless you have a truly untouched engine, you are probably running a low flow PCV Valve, for the L48s and other regular engines, the 1980 I am not sure, because I dont have my manual here, but I will bet you, like everyone else I ahve talked to this summer at every event, had the CC774C stuck in their valve covers, every Auto Parts store and dealership around here have been dispensing those for years and stopped carrying the High Flow valve required on the higher performance engine...the CV775C , Delco # 6487945, Echlin # 2-9246 but I am skeptical about Napa, the last three times they gave me the Low one even though they insisted it was for all 350's....but after I brought the four Delco Valves to them and showed them, then they went on a hunt and found me one in Kentucky...even the dealerships in the midwest here were convinced the valves were for all, and long ago discontinued stocking the 775C..Now I have four, from four diff areas of the U.S. and all were dusty dirty old boxes.
So all you L82 owners get a reserve, and replace the low flow, the high flow is very much needed and explains a lot about performance and nagging issues about carburation problems etc, I wont get into all the things I have found that are affected by a wrong valve, there are many really smart people here that can expand on that, ...from this owner am not exaggerating when I say both of my cars run like new, cold or hot, at all rpms and the engine internally is so much cleaner and so much more responsive ...and so on
Such a simple thing, maybe in the midwest here its a fluke and all you people everywhere have the correct valves and have never experienced being baffled by all the quirky problems a out of sync emmissions systems cause.
My 79 showed the most change because its original, paint, motor, interior..everything..except tires and wheels...the motor hasnt been breathing properly for 8 yrs that I know of. thought it was as good as it gets.....my 77 is a diff story, 383 stroker, mostly shorter trips with the carb flaps wide open..LOL...plenty of breathing going on, even that showed a marked improvement in the lower rpm range..
well, I have typed more tonight than I have in years, by now whoever was reading this is probably comatose, so I will go for now.............with one more issue that is valve related, the grommet that it sits in must be the wedge shaped type, so the valve sits level or parallel with the top of the motor, this applys to the finned L82 covers for sure, probably where ever this valve is used also, again in the our area I could find none, close, but only ones sold around here were for thin metal valve covers, not the thick alum ones, got one off a older Olds in the bone yard and 4 more new ones from a specialty store (Corvettes) in our area but it took him a lot of searching...that may seem meaningless to most, the grommet angle I mean, but again I found out the simple reason, valve doesnt work so good for very long sitting at an angle, the design was to be upright so not to drag on the sides, that was rather coldly relayed to me from a GM engineer
If you go to this high flow, and stay with stock breather element, check it often...as soon I get my Gold certification on my 79 I am changing to a better breathing setup.
A lot of talk to explain such simple things, it took me so much longer to find out why these slipped by so many brilliant builders.
7 months, and not a drop of oil on my garage floor, its a miracle. the wife actually rode with me a few times this summer, I even got the air working this spring after three years, all it took was a paper clip and 1 3/4 cans of refrigerant.
I hope I dont get banned for taking up to much space
Happy Holidays
Greg
