So I am teaching myself about working on cars and dont know a whole lot yet. This is the first car ive done it with.

I have a 94 V6 3.4. I need to replace the valve cover gaskets and I need to know if its okay to take the bracket bolt of the accelerator cable line housing out or if its more involved than that. The Harveys repair manual doesnt say anything about it. is attached to the air intake plenum (that "U" shaped silver piece) by more than just that top bolt and bracket ?

also, if you know of anything "special" or more involved that i need to do please let me know. the only things the manual tells to remove are the battery cable, spark plug wires, EGR, drive belt, and alternator brace then move it to the fender wall. this is the only car i have at the moment and cant afford to screw it up. lol

thanks for any help.

 

yes you need to take the bracket and cables lose to get them outa the way.

 

 

Thanks for the info.

@craby : what book is that from ? looks a lot more detailed and intuitive than the harveys manual.

 

93 camaro factory service manual. the best if you know enough to be able to understand. yours is a two volume set 1994 Chevrolet Camaro / Firebird 2 Vol Set Shop Manual | eBay

 

So I replaced my gaskets this past weekend. Not a very fun job if its the first major car repair you have ever done. But I got it all back together and its running again.

I just wanted to ask some questions though.

When I first start the car after it has sat for a couple hours, there is white smoke that comes out of the exhaust for about 3-5 minutes. Then it stops and everything is back to "normal". Is this a problem ? If so are there any guesses on what it could be ?

Also, ever since I put it back together my coolant guage has been acting up. It just sits at the bottom even after the car has been driven for more than 10-15 minutes. It eventually goes up to normal and works after that, but it takes it way too long to get there. I just replaced the coolant temp sensor about 2 months ago so it should still be good. Any ideas ?

Thanks

 

most exhaust collect moisture when they cool and when you first start the motor it burns the moisture off showing as steam in the exhaust. make sure the plug to the temp sensor is not damaged. also check to be sure you have the right sensor. i show gm part number 25036979 airtex/wells part number 5s1018, standard motor part number tx3, acdelco number 21372

 

i understand what you're saying, but neither of these things happened until right after i fixed the valve covers. my car never had anything THAT white come out of the exhaust, and the sensor worked fine until now. i will check on the part number later tonight. as for the exhaust, it is unusually white, then after a few minutes it turns to the normal light grey steam you see on cold mornings. then after about 10 minutes driving its gone.

 

check connections on all sensors in the area around the valve covers. make sure the injector connections are good. does exhaust have a smell to it. if so what is it.

 

You handled a pretty nasty job for a noob. As you already know, removing that upper intake is a big PITA. Clearance between the top of the intake and the underside of the cowl is, well, TIGHT! It's what's preventing me from checking the valve lash adjustment on my 94. I have one that ticks a bit when i first start in the morning but it's not bad enough that i feel like pulling the upper intake.

As for the white smoke you have, that is totally normal following the first start of the day for the reasons that craby states. You gotta boil out the moisture in the exhaust. If the white smoke keeps coming and coming, well, then you might have a head gasket problem. Especially if the exhaust reeks and you're losing coolant. My 94 spewed a smoke screen when i bought it. The seller didn't want to take on a head gasket job.