Valve Cover - Cam Half Moon Inspection

Whenever you get the cam half-moons out during a typical valve cover gasket replacement job, it's worth it to look at them closely.

This one had a bent ear and when I went to push on it a little, the ear completely broke off, and it was facing the inside. Probably wouldn't have broken off but hate to think what could happen if by some kind of repetitive thermal expansion, it dropped into the valve train area.



The other end (top right corner) also was showing signs of cracking. Given that I've only done the typical 'wiggling' them out with a pliers, they seem pretty weak. We used to call this 'pot metal' because it's the cheapest cast metal out there.

On the rest of the half-moons, I found that you can use a large flat blade screw driver from underneath the inside lip and use a piece of wood a few inches away so you don't damage the gasket surface when prying the half-moon out. Worked well and nothing scratched in the process. The new one was around $13 bucks at the local dealer.

 

Thanks for this. Great tips.