Arrived at work today, somebody noticed an oil trail. Took a look and this was the cause of it:


Broken valve cover by Erasmo..., on Flickr


Broken valve cover by Erasmo..., on Flickr

Turned out that I probably overtightened the valve cover after adjusting my valve clearance, and the pushrods smashed right through it!

Got it temporally fixed with some tin now, but it needs to be replaced asap.

So a good advice for everyone, buy a torque spanner! They're not cheap but you can prevent stuff like this if you use the right torque.

... didn't you hear the noise when you finished your job on valves and started the engine?

bit of liquid metal would be a almost perminant repair

Did some trips after adjusting the valves but no strange sounds...
A few drops of oil the first 2 days but after that nothing...

Anyway bought a new valve cover that I will fit tomorrow.

Erasmo,
before you fit it, maybe compare the depth of its 'dishing' with that of the undamaged cover which is on your car.

If that's been compressed, it's easy enough to knock it back into shape with a soft hammer and a sandbag.

Rather than using a torque wrench, I find that 'finger tight plus 2 complete turns of the nut' has always worked well for rocker covers...

ken

Ah so the correct term is rocker cover? I will compare them tomorrow before fitting.

Somebody on another forum suggested only three quarters of a turn, so I'm doubting between those two...

Hi Erasmo
here's a plan.

With that new cover and a torque wrench, tighten the nut to the recommended torque, counting the number of turns to reach the required setting.

If you can let us know what the result is, maybe I'll find out that I've been doing it incorrectly for the last 30 years...

ken.

( p.s. I usually check the depth of 'dishing' on the rocker covers of an engine which I've never worked on previously, especially if there are witness marks from contact between the valve gear and the covers.
The majority have been overtightened at some time in their history, but it's easy to knock them back into shape. )

Valve cover or rocker cover same thing depending which country you live in.

Also consider that new valve cover seals are much softer than old and stiff seals. Anything from one to max two full turns of the cover nut is plenty.

Erasmo,
got bored with welding today, so dug out the torque wrench and a spare cylinder head.

Might be an idea to advise the person who recommended 3/4 of a turn that they're on the low side, since it looks as though 2 full turns from 'finger tight' are required to achieve the minimum torque specified by Citroen.

ken


1 turn of the nut gives 2.6 Nm, 0.25 kgf m by slcchassis, on Flickr


2 turns of the nut gives 5.0 Nm., 0.5 kgf m. by slcchassis, on Flickr

Thanks for the advice all. I've got a replacement cover for now, it's not in the best shape but it holds. The other cover was also deformed and had marks, hammered it back and it seems to be fine for now.

Also sourced some fancy new covers, after a quick spray of black I'll put them on.

Ken, thanks for the info I shall give him a heads up.