Well I have another post for this car up, but this is my plea for help. I am an Oregon resident and need some help or advice on tearing down the engine (specifically the valve train) on my '90 RS. I am not sure if the problem is a rod, rocker arm or lifter but I know that valve cover needs to be taken off, and being that I have never opened an engine up I thought I would ask around here for some tips, advice or maybe another owner nearby who could give me a "teachers" helping hand on my first internal repair. I love my car and want to do the restorations myself to save money and bond with the car, and it seems no one I know has "time" or knowledge on the subject. Anything helps and I appreciate and look forward to any responses.

Cheers!

 

What seems to be the problem?

 

Please do not go tearing off your valve cover. Unless there is catastrophic damage under there, you wont 'see' anything. Tell us first exactly what its doing, and your previous attempts to fix it. How many miles, when it does problematic behavior, etc. Dont be afraid to say things like 'it goes 'tap tap tap' or 'ping ping ping'.....telltale noises give away several different things.....

 

hes got another post in the third gen section. All problems point to either rocker , rod, or lifter

 

Of those 3, on an assumed stock engine, what is the usual suspect? Ive never seen a rocker go bad, Ive only bent a pushrod when a lifter was bad. Either way, I dont think a simple pull of the valve cover is going to tell him anything. What is the gist of his problem?

 

if he has a loose rocker he at least knows where his problem is.

 

I once had an old Impala with a rough running engine and a lifter noise. Pulled the valve cover to see........the pushrod pushed it's way through the rocker arm. Gee, I wonder why it was running so rough? You never know what you'll find if you don't look.

 

Hey guys thanks for all the replies so far.

@ScottD - I can understand why you wouldn't advise someone (especially me) to just start digging around in the valve train, but like stated before by 350rs I have explained the problem a little more in depth in a previous thread. for reference here its a click/tick coming from (at the loudest spot) I would go with the second cylinder from the front on the passenger side valve cover. The noise itself is repeated about every half second or so while the engine is running and does not get much faster under acceleration but does get noticeably louder. Oh and I need a alternator, battery, starter and ignition lol. {END @ ScottD }


Since I am going under the hood anyway this weekend (thanks to my job) what can I leave OUT of the engine compartment when I put it back together? I wanted to pull the A/C pump and all the wiring I can, I know I need 3/4 caps to block the hoses off any surprises I should know about?

 

Why do you guys always want to RIP everything out from under the hood. Why not just fix it? Are you trying to save weight? Make it go faster? If it's a DD it sure is nice to have everything work. I bought my 92RS with a blown motor, put a long block in from Kragen and haven't had any problems with it since, been 4 yrs now

 

If it's not a daily driver and just a hobby car, It's nice to open the hood and see all that space. My friend has a firebird with a 305 in it that he gutted all the nonessentials in. So much room in there you could sleep in the engine compartment. :P