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Hummer H3For the Hummer driver who wants the rugged look and off road capabilities of the Hummer, but in a smaller size and with a more fuel economy friendly engine.
2008 H3 Luxury with 114,000 miles. Found some oil in the second spark plug well from the front a while back and just now getting to the gasket replacement. There was only oil in that well so I assumed it was the gasket. Finally got the intake manifold and valve cover off (PITA thanks to GM's wonderful placement of the bolts) and I noticed a fairly significant difference in the top of the valves that are in the front compared to the ones toward the back. In the pictures below, you can see the discoloration on the front two, with the one in the very front closest to the fan appearing to be rusty. Can anyone explain what might be causing this to happen?
I am going to reassemble everything over the next few days but I wanted to check HF for any insight before I do that. Also, any recommendations for cleaning the valve cover and/or trying to remove the rust from the one up front?
Looks to me like a pretty basic case of 114K miles of motor crud. Not that bad. If the front springs are bothering you, wipe them a bit with a shop rag. I would avoid any cleaner etc... so it stays out of the motor.
On the underside of the valve cover use some engine cleaner gunk or the like, spray, let it soak, rinse, repeat, scrub, repeat kind of thing. Make sure all that cleaner and water is off of it, before reassembly.
Looks to me like a pretty basic case of 114K miles of motor crud. Not that bad. If the front springs are bothering you, wipe them a bit with a shop rag. I would avoid any cleaner etc... so it stays out of the motor.
On the underside of the valve cover use some engine cleaner gunk or the like, spray, let it soak, rinse, repeat, scrub, repeat kind of thing. Make sure all that cleaner and water is off of it, before reassembly.
Thanks Doc. I think I was just interested in anything specific to use/not use when cleaning the track for the gaskets. Guy on YouTube says he used "alcohol" to clean the surface. But I'll definitely get after that buildup underneath the valve cover.
Pull the drain plug and filter...clean away. Btw, a pressurized dispenser is more effective. I prefer the gallon, yet if you don't have a pressurized fluid dispenser buy the cans to clean.
You know, I totally forgot about Seafoam.......... the miracle elixir for vehicles, fixes everything without a wrench, puts hair on a bald head, prompts weight loss, and makes your wife look 20 years younger.
You can clean with that stuff and drain it through. Good point.
Well I just went out to purchase some Seafoam, considering I have a mostly bald head so let's hope this works! But will post some before/after pics of the valve cover and manifold to document the results.
You know, I totally forgot about Seafoam.......... the miracle elixir for vehicles, fixes everything without a wrench, puts hair on a bald head, prompts weight loss, and makes your wife look 20 years younger.
You can clean with that stuff and drain it through. Good point.
Before I put all of this back together, anybody have an answer for why 3 of the 5 separation points in my intake manifold (image below) are not fully connected? Highlighted 2 in green that seem to be fully connected but the other 3 are not. Are they supposed to be? I looked around at a few intake manifolds that are for sale on eBay and other parts stores and saw both: one manifold was fully connected and another was not. Just want to be sure there's nothing I should do before I get it back on. Any advice always appreciated.
Valve Cover Gasket Area Question
