fxct

Hi folks, plenty of threads out there in VCG installs, which helped me tons, thanks. A few things I ran into on my 93 Grand Cherokee 4.0L that weren't noted on other writeups...

I numbered the bolts 1-up starting from the top, the bolt hidden in back, going clockwise. Some folks recommended using a joint to crank it; I was able to get to it with a 3" extension and a lot of small movements. A little grease and a magnetic tool fetched any dropped bolts/studs.

#14 on my ZJ -- top left corner -- was actually a stud, with a hanger plate over it which held a wiring conduit in place, and a nut on top of that. Another stud further "down" on the passenger side was attached to a plastic thing holding some plug wires in place. So these two studs were left hanging while the rest were plugged into a bit of cardboard to keep track of placement.



#14, top left rear, stud w/ plate and nut -- remove the nut to get the plate off...

I also read some sad stories of PCV elbows being broken off. So I had spares on hand, but did not need them; as it turns out the elbows come out easily when turned 90deg counter clockwise... after you separate the tubes from them by pulling them out. The rear tube was stuck; I took a metal file and put the edge of it up against the rubber and tapped it until it was workable to remove by hand. The front one came out with a little wiggling, pretty easy.

Hung the throttle cables and such up from the hood with a ziptie.






Throttle hung... valve cover off, cardboard handy for keeping track of bolts and studs. The two missing from the cardboard are the aforementioned studs that hang from plates holding wires.


My old gasket was a wreck.




Yeah.. that's a dead gasket. And a lotta gunk.

I decided since I had the cover off, I'd slap some paint on it after cleaning it up.. during this time I utilized a patented technology to keep dirt and gunk from getting into the valve housing while cleaning and letting paint dry.



Kept the cat from leaving any paw prints in the valve housing.


Should have used more paint, but I was not feeling patient. Anyway, its done, and I'll report back on whether it leaks or not.

I used a felpro and no sealant. Hand-tightened, criss-cross, because no-one seems to agree on the appropriate torque... and the bolts were so loose when I started, I could turn them by hand (this ZJ is a very recent aquisition).




All done. Hint of the blue felpro visible on the right.