Bl@@dy rocker covers!

[Chuffmeister]

I had them blasted and powder coated. I then read a thread today about some people finding sand trapped in the overspray, which comes loose with the hot oil and then damages the engine. It's been eating away at me all day, so I put the little one to bed this evening and went and removed them again. They're full out sand and paint trapped on the inside of them. Some of the overspray has also trapped old oil and sand, which has simply rubbed off. Back to the powder coaters tomorrow morning. It's bloody inconvenient, but also a damn good job I never ran the engine with these on!

A word of caution for all those powder coating in the future!

Edited by Chuffmeister on Wednesday 9th July 23:49

[phazed]

Found that on mine, beware, big time!

[SILICONEKIDOBHP]

Mine are only powder coated on the out side !

[phillpot]

When I had mine done the guy asked me to bring them in screwed to a piece of ply or mdf and then he would bung up all the other holes (oil fill, breather etc.)


Perfect job, no sand or overspray inside

[phazed]

SILICONEKIDOBHP said:

Mine are only powder coated on the out side !

So are mine and they still had millions of tiny beads lodged everywhere, even in the thread of the oil filler neck!

This was from a company that did loads of rocker covers and engine parts!!!! Beware.

[Chuffmeister]

Took them back this morning and he said he would clean them up. He said a scratch pad normally works well. Didn't fancy it myself as I've had white finger from scraping back the chassis (all painted now though! - should do a couple of years). The MDF tip is a good one. I'll suggest that when I pick them up.

This is definitely something that could catch out the unaware or those lacking in TVR OCD! A few horror stories about.

[spend]

TBH I've never found sand blasting very effective at cleaning the rocker covers (long soak in thinners has worked better for me), apparently bead blasting is better I hear. At any rate they need a good wash afterwards to remove any sand granules, then dried & wiped with solvent (and untouched apart from clean rubber gloves till coating) IMHO.

I lightly oil the insides & threads before coating (the coating wont adhere to that!) to keep them clean ally. Then again I've only bothered restoring & hole filling proper TVR covers so spent plenty of time getting rid of the plug lead retainer holes, polishing the insides and grinding so the gaskets fit snugly...... as well as clearance checks for rocker gear.

[jojackson4]

Just got some wallnut stuff for blasting mine will let you know what it's like

[phillpot]

phillpot said:

Perfect job, no sand or overspray inside

When I said "sand" I meant blasting media but sand is easier to type, does anybody actually use sand these days?

[phazed]

Silica beads?

[spend]

Various grits (they're sand in my mind), glass beads, water+ beads..... can be used - but.... I think it needs a fairly abrasive grit (with sharp edges) to get off the old coating, unlike nice beads that can render a nice smooth ally finish IYSWIM.

[Badgerchim]

Is it considered too risky removing the baffles to clean properly behind and risking screws loosening and dropping into rockers. If not was is the best compound to use when fixing back?

[Chuffmeister]

I removed my baffles before getting them blasted and coated. In fact, I'm just off out to pick them up do my Y piece. If you're concerned about them becoming loose, I guess you could use a bit of Loctite on the threads. Stuff falling into the engine is never good, however, I should imagine that they would rest in the recesses in the top of the heads in the unlikely event of them becoming loose... Or falling down the valley, past the cam and into the sump, should the manage to make their way into the gaps near the pushrods.

I'm not sure if this has happened to anybody before, but a worthwhile thing to consider???

Edited by Chuffmeister on Saturday 12th July 10:16

[phazed]

I've always just screwed them up tight.

It's a non moving part so don't worry.

[Twistygit]

Slightly off topic but is there a nack of getting the water pipe on without scratching the life out of them?

[gavgavgav]

Twistygit said:

Slightly off topic but is there a nack of getting the water pipe on without scratching the life out of them?

Don't ask me to help, I did the same!

[phazed]

Twistygit said:

Slightly off topic but is there a nack of getting the water pipe on without scratching the life out of them?

Throw the metal pipes away and run them under the inlet above the valley in rubber hose.

Edited by phazed on Sunday 13th July 11:17

[Twistygit]

I bought them shinny pipes so not throwing them,

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Twistygit said:

I bought them shinny pipes so not throwing them,

Is that shinny pipes for a leggy engine?

[Sardonicus]

Twistygit said:

Slightly off topic but is there a nack of getting the water pipe on without scratching the life out of them?

Masking tape then remove once that offside cover is in place, it is a pain though but saves gouging the finish.