I took my VC to get powder coated and found out they use glass bead to blast all the old paint off. I'm going to have to remove the baffles to clean everything really well, but I was wondering if I can just leave them out?

-James

 

The baffles help excavate gases all while keeping the oil still in the motor. They are essential in proper PCV and crank case releif operation.

 

I may end up in the same boat if I end up drilling mine for an fittings

 

Ahh glass bead on a valve cover.......

Sorry but throw the valve cover away and start over. You will never get all of the media out. They should have used a chemical to strip the cover.

The glass bead is a very hard material and when it finds its way into your engine, it will eat your bearings.


-Bink

 

The time and worry you will spend is worth a new one.

Some one on here recently had the same issue. People talk about cleaning it out but you have it get it all. If you don't that is an expensive oops.

 

I could be wrong but I really think the baffles are more to catch oil flying around the VC and dribble it down onto the the cams below. The baffles are open to ambient pressure within the VC and will prevent oil from going directly into the opening for the PVC valve and breather ports but won't change any pressure within the VC.

What about drilling them out, cleaning it and riveting it back on? Another suggestion is to Google an ultrasonic cleanig service in your area. you can send the VC out to just like you did with the powder coater.

I'm looking at the same thing myself. I actually galss bead blasted a manifold and throttle body I'm looking to get US. cleaned.

 

That sucks I'm gonna try taking it apart to get a better look at whats going on.

 

I just encountered this same problem. My friend drilled the baffles off and I am going to try cleaning it. I dont think Im going to be reinstalling the baffles though because Im deleting the PVC and I have a catch can setup.

I just cleaned a lot of it out with just some warm water and soap with a brush, tomorrow Im going to use something a little stronger and then blast it with a hose and see how that works. In a way Im considering starting fresh though just for peace of mind. There is so much sand in the valve cover its like thick soot when you wipe it with your finger.

 

lemme know how that goes^

running without the baffle will send a lot of oil out of the valve cover.

an ultrasonic cleaning might be your best bet, but once sand and such are in the baffle, it's extremely hard to get out. good luck to you bro.

 

Theres not as much oil pressure up in the head/valve cover though, why would oil pour out? Im not saying youre wrong because I do not know the answer. Just looking to learn why. As I said, I will still be running a catch can, just without a PCV valve this time around.

Here is pre cleaning and post cleaning. I still have the baffles. I really am considering just buying a new valve cover at this point just because while I got it clean, and I plan on hitting it with a wire wheel later on today and a few wire brushes, I just dont want a $350 valve cover to screw up my $4000 motor hahah. Im not going to get every grain out and thats what will bother me.

 

X2... I had my cover done and they left material under the baffle I never got it out. It wasn't worth me grenading my motor over so found another VC and had it redone correctly.

 

I am in the process of taking the baffles out and tapping the VC for them to go back in.

 

If you do it right, you can drill out the old rivets, clean it, and put in new ones

 

I just recently went through this too, the powder coating place said the vc couldn't be chemically cleaned because it's made of magnesium and it would melt.
They ended up sand blasting it and when I got it back, I let it soak in a bathtub filled with water and dawn dish soap. The dish soap actually pulls the sand to it and lets the sand wash out instead of sticking in the baffles.
I did this three times, for one day each.
Then sprayed more water through it, waited another day, and then blasted air through it, water again, and then let it dry for a day.
Finally, I used an inspection camera and could not find a single grain of sand anywhere I looked.
(I was in no rush because the motor wasn't in the car anyways)

I just did my first oil change on the new engine (where you pretty much let it run for twenty minutes or so and then drain it), and the oil came out looking brand new. The oil filter was clean too.

I left my baffles in for all of this, but I've seen threads on here where people drill out the rivets and then tap the holes for screws to re-attach the baffles.

 

I'm not sure what chemicals will make it melt but the AIRCRAFT stripper and the JASCO chemical stripper didn't melt anything....but it also DID NOT remove the paint more than a spot here and there. Does anyone know what to use in order to strip a valve cover at home? These things have a much more durable paint over a Honda VC