i plan on painting my valve cover soon. just wanted to know if i have to put on a new valve cover gasket and whats the order in which i need to place the bolts back on. i read somewhere that they needed be placed in a certain order. and whats the measurment that i need to tighten them. thanks

 

Just clean the old gasket off and reuse it... unless it's brittle and not rubbery, or if its broken. The service manual says you'll want to put some liquid gasket on the corners where the two crescents are. (You'll know it when you see it.)

Go to http://hondatech.info/downloads/Auto/Manuals/Civic/ and find the manual for your Civic. They're in PDF format. They're free. Best of all, they'll tell you everything you ever needed to know about your Civic. (I hope you have a 1992-2000 Civic. Those manuals are the most easy to use as far as I know.)

 

I think there's a specific order, but if there is, it doesn't make much of a difference. On anything with a sequence you would go from inner to outer, so start at the most center bolt and alternate sides going in order outward

 

Here's the HELMS for a D16

 

Thanks for the info and display. Quick question tho. If the valve cover already has paint on it. Should I strip,sand paper, or just paint right over it? Thanks.

 

I like starting with a clean canvas. So, I use aerostriper (or any paint stripper) to get off all the old paint. Then prep, prime, and paint away.

 

Also be very careful not to over-tighten the bolts, they break easily. If you get oil leaks with the bolts properly tightened, take the cover off and redo the gasket.

 

yea the bolts were my main worry. thanks

 

You dont have to strip the paint. It just depends on its condition. If its all flakey then you might be better off stripping it. If its still in decent shape, just sand and prime.

 

yea. its actually in pretty good condition. no flaking. should i sand it with the 800 grit sand paper wet? or dry? i dont plan on priming since the paint on it now is black and i plan on keeping it black. but thanks for the input