Upper 60k Questions

[lithy]

Do you guys get tired of answering these threads? If you did, would there be anything else to talk about? Did my best to get as much info as possible from the search.

Anyway got my new 92 SHO home this week, I've very excited and the only thing I would like to address soon is this problem described by the seller.

Valve cover oil leak. Not a surprise, I know. There may be other gaskets/seals leaking, but it is a slow leak that leaves minimal residue on the ground.

I've yet to take a real good look at it but I'm assuming an Upper 60k with the valve cover gaskets would take care of this. But I have a few questions

Plugs and wires are fairly new, so I don't think I'll look to replace them, but if there is oil in the plug wells should I consider it, or will just cleaning that up be enough to let the plugs and wires keep working. Thermostat is also new but a 190 degree not 180 degree, does this hurt anything, should I try and find a 180 degree?

Ok so then on to the gaskets, I'm going to be doing the valve cover gaskets for sure if that is where my leak is. Should I just go ahead and do the intake manifold gasket set and plug well seals while I'm there? SHOPP says its not always necessary, but if its easy, they're fairly cheap so why not is the logic there I guess.

Next part is the 02 sensors, on my 93 Vulcan, these are easy to get at without removing anything, is this true for the SHO? Can I just do these at my leisure some other time or will they be far easier to do while the intake is off.

Last thing I promise, other than price differences, is one gasket set better than another and what's the best place to just go and get everything all at once AutoZone, RockAuto, somewhere else?

I appreciate all the help. Hoping to finish this before it gets much colder out

I knew I forgot something, I was going to say I don't plan on doing the shims, guess I will at least measure them to see if I'm way out on any of them, but how often do people actually find that these need replacing when they do a 60k?

 

[NoFlipping]

Congrats on the new ride.

O2's on my MTX took about 4 minutes each to replace from underside. I've heard one of them on the ATX is harder.

If you've got the valve covers off, just replace all gaskets. False economy to not do it while it's open. If they haven't failed yet, they will. Time is money after all. I got my gaskets (felpro) at AutoZone - something like 60 bucks.

My plugs were soaked and was causing timing issues as they were craked. IF they're cracked, you should replace the wires. Otherwise, clean em off and see if they work alright as is.

Thermostat - I don't know about temp, but I remeber seeing someone say it can adversly affect the mixture.

Good luck!

 

[jedhead]

If you had any oil in the wells the spark plug wires get damaged pretty quickly. When I did the upper end on my SHO, I went ahead and did the valve adjustment. I also took the intake apart and cleaned it out along with the EGR nostrils. I found out that I had a few leaks from the couplers that were taken care of with new couplers. All this took a day over a weekend and the SHO ran much better.

Bob

 

[LOUDSHO92]

SHOBros has most of what you need and we will have the shim kit up tomorrow probabaly.

 

[lithy]

Here is what I have the only thing is it also lists an Intake Plenum Gasket but I'm assuming that's the same thing with a different listing name.

Lastly anyone have any better or worse experiences with ROL over FelPro?

Is this all my Upper 60k gaskets and everything I need assuming I won't be doing the plugs and wires which if they look bad I can grab from the parts store across the street. Also I might rent a shim kit set but at the very least I'll measure them.

Intake Manifold Gasket FELPRO MS94831 $0.00 $32.99 $32.99

Valve Cover Gasket FELPRO VS50378R $0.00 $71.99 $71.99

 

[CerberuS]

Gasket wise and sensor wise go here : http://home.earthlink.net/~rcm_automotive/index.html

lowest price , great products.

BTW most of the SHO gaskets ARE fel pros. its prolly the only company that still does them for an affortable price.

 

[Paul]

So ya got oil in the plug well. Thats bad. very bad for perf. Ya need to pull the intake, pull the valve covers & reseal the oil well inserts. You also need dry plug wire boots and plugs that don't have corbon tracks or rust on them.

 

[lithy]

Done

Phew, well that rear valve cover sure is a PITA, but it took me about 6 hours today to do a simple upper 60k, I know I'm pretty slow.

Changed the two valve cover gaskets, spark plug well seals, cleaned everything up, emptied a bit of oil from the plug wells, and put it all back together, started first try.

Special thanks to the SHO Phoenix Project writeup, made life easy.

I know I didn't check the shims, call me lazy or just that ignorance might be bliss for now, I didn't bother renting a shim kit or measuring them. Save that for another day, just had to fix the rear valve cover oil leak first. So after running it it doesn't seem to be smoking at all, should know after a good hard day of driving tomorrow whether or not I did everything right.

This was my most involved car project so far, never been so deep into an engine, I only wish there was about 6 inches of room on any side of that SHO engine, my hands are hurting.

Anyway just rambling because I'm excited and need to say thank you to all the forum members older topics that had plenty of good tips.

 

[CerberuS]

GJ keep the SHOs on the roads damnit