For those of you who've upgraded to the red valve cover...

[JHansen]

... . and have one of the silver ones from the 98. 5/99's sitting around-want to sell it? Silver would match my truck better than the black-and it would be something a little different than what I have now. I've never been high on underhood detailing-living in the country you see a ton of dust (or mud when it does actually rain here ) which tends to nullify pretty quickly any attempt at detailing. However I notice lately I seem to be opening my hood more and more often for people to look at my Espar, E-brake or various other goodies that I've added. So I might as well do something to upgrade the looks.



If you don't want to post on here you can PM me or e-mail me for that matter.



Thanks in advance!



Jason

 

[JHansen]

Still looking....

... priced a new one at the dealer-$225 Canadian. Not that bad in the big scheme of things-but I'm gonna be modding it a little anyway so I might as well find a used one. If anybody has one burning a hole in their back pocket you know the man to talk to!



Jason

 

[JTroiano]

Does any body know if the black paint would come off with zip strip? I think if I could get the paint off I could polish it and make it real nice.

Jon

 

[JHansen]

I think (and that in itself is kinda spooky ) that the black paint probably would come off pretty easy with paint stripper. Have you seen the pic of John's valve cover? Can't remember exactly what he did-but pretty sure he milled the ribs/lettering etc. off the top-and then polished it to a mirror image. Looks great! But my attention span's too short for that... . . Seems to me that Steve St. Laurent polished on his too. Maybe one of those guys'll jump in here.



I want one that I can modify at my leisure and then swap the next time (and hopefully last time ) I change injectors. And they say the silver one is beefier than the black one-although I was pretty impressed with how sturdy my black one was when I pulled it for injector swap # 1.



Jason

 

[Archive]

Hopefully Steve L will chime in here and let us know what he used. I polished the lettering on mine (and the intake horn) and the black paint started to chip off, I think it is pretty flakey. . once it starts to come off, it will not be too hard. . but around all those letters is going to be a real pain. And my water really spots the AL. . Afraid a clear coat would dull the shine... So fill us in guys. . but did you use to get the paint off???

Bryan

 

[John]

Originally posted by JHansen

I've never been high on underhood detailing-living in the country you see a ton of dust (or mud when it does actually rain here ) which tends to nullify pretty quickly any attempt at detailing.

Rain?. . Rain?. . Rain? No kidding! I live in the rain capitol of the world... Western Washington State. He!!, I feel waterlogged right now! As I also live out in the country and down a gravel/dirt road, I know exactly what you are saying. My Ram was so dirty I decided to wash it anyway on Saturday... in the rain and heavy wind! That said, I also spent a half an hour (in the sanctity of my garage) detailing all the chrome parts under my hood... modified Cummins ("red") valve cover, Banks High-Ram intake manifold, PDR Super Turbo compressor housing just to name a few.



You see, a little time spent here and there is all that is required to stay on top of things.



... and if you don't there'll always be some moron writing smiley faces in your dusty chrome..... right Cliffy?



BTW, I just sold my OE style '00+ black valve cover (which was not OE on my Ram). Sorry, but I'm keeping my flawless '98. 5 silver/red valve cover in case I decide I want to sell my Ram..... no way that trick chrome valve cover is going anywhere.



Jason, you are on the right track though, the OE '98. 5/'99 silver/red valve cover is quite a bit better than it's later counterpart..... the silver/red valve cover weighs 7. 6 lbs. whereas the black '00+ valve cover weighs a scant 4. 3 lbs.



... where's the beef?

 

[JHansen]

Actually John it was one of your posts that enlightened me to the difference between the 2 . So I can't take any credit for intelligence-just persistent memory... . I haven't priced the Cummins one out from Cummins Alberta yet-but I'm as proud of the Dodge part of my truck as I am of the Cummins part-so it's not really an option for me.



I've gotta get myself more motivated to keep the underhood as nice as the outside. It absolutely kills me to let the outside get dirty... . unfortunately my job requires me to motor through places that most people would have brains enough to stay out of . And the mud right around here is pretty much gumbo... . nasty nasty stuff. That said, this may be the year that I actually buy myself a pressure washer. Lots easier to get motivated to wash the truck when the washer's in your yard, not 1/2 hour away in town. Although for this 6 month period of the year, it wouldn't help much. Dayuunnggg (just watched Joe Dirt again ) I need me a big heated shop...



Jason

 

[John]

Originally posted by JHansen

but I'm as proud of the Dodge part of my truck as I am of the Cummins part-so it's not really an option for me.

I hear that! My Ram is also my first Dodge which is also the best 4x4 I have ever owned.



BTW, I prefer the non-badged monochromatic look, that's why I modified my Cummins "red" valve cover, Banks High-Ram and PDR/Holset Super Turbo (compressor housing), and other smaller parts the way I did... remove all lettering, casting lugs, ribs and anything else I deemed nonessential or non-aesthetically pleasing ( ) to give it a clean, billet look.



Proud Cummins/Dodge owner? Yes (but not receiving any sponsorship to display any company logo so I made it the way I wanted it )

 

[JTroiano]

John, can you post a picture? I want to see

Jon

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Here's a couple of pictures of my polished valve cover:



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Jason, I still have my original '98. 5 cover but I won't be ready to let it go until spring. I need to pull my polished cover back off and clear coat it over winter. I didn't clear coat it when I put it on (actually I did and screwed it up - long story) because the clear coat has to dry for 30 days to have full heat resistance and I had a show coming up. If you haven't found one by spring email me and I'll get it to you. BTW, I paid $86 US for the one I bought from Cummins.



As to stripping the paint and polishing one, just one warning - it's a LONG tough job, I spent about 60-65 hours on mine! If you decide you want to do it here's what I did. I used a chemical paint stripper from eastwood products ( http://www.eastwoodcompany.com/cgi-bin/sgin0101.exe?T1=34069+Z&UID=2001120412200017&UREQA=1&FNM=20 ). Brake fluid would most likely work fine too - just brush it on and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes and wipe it off. Once the paint was stripped I used an 80 grit greaseless buffing compound to smooth the surface (the '98. 5 valve covers have a rough cast surface) - that took about 60 of the 65 hours. Once that was done I used Tripoli to polish the surface and then White Rouge to bring out the mirror shine. You can find the greaseless compound and the buffing compounds here http://www.eastwoodcompany.com/cgi-bin/sgsh0101.exe?SKW=COMPOUND&UID=2001120412200017&FNM=20 . One thing that may be a problem with the newer valve covers is that you generate a LOT of heat when grinding and polishing and it might be enough to cause a bit of warping. Someone with more experience polishing than I may be able to weigh in with their opinion on that.

 

[Archive]

Steve. . U HAVE to polish that intake horn to match your valve cover!!!

Bryan



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Can anyone get photopoint pics to post?? can someone post one of these pics for me...

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Planning on it - was just VERY sick of polishing after doing the valve cover!! I'm hoping to find someone with a stock intake horn lying around that I can polish and then send them back my stock one once it's done and the clear coat is dry!



-Steve

 

[JTroiano]

Thanks for the pictures guys. I have a twenty foot aluminum jet boat that has polished sides. You think a vavle cover is a bi***, try twenty feet times two and then all the little pieces on top that need to be polished. When I polish rough aluminum, I use a DA and then wet sand then polish by using a rag under a electric orbital sander. Thanks again.

Jon

 

[John]

Originally posted by JTroiano

John, can you post a picture? I want to see

Jon

I will do my best. I need some help (again ) so it may be a few days before I'll be able to post them.



..... you know, old dog, new tricks. . blah,blah,blah