Tightening rear valve cover bolt question

[AndyG]

My ‘04 4.0 has the plastic wire shroud that is held on a steel riser from the back bolt and also is goes over the next bolt stud clockwise on the passenger side- the nut under that I need to tighten- Can anyone tell me how to raise the shroud without causing any damage- The injectors are so in the way.

Thanks
Andy

 

[DIYMechanic]

I just went through this with my '05 LJ last week when I replaced the valve cover gasket. It's kind of a bugger, even with the 3" body lift that's on my Jeep. I can't imagine what a pain it would be on a stock Jeep with no BL. There's a nut on a stud (or a bolt) on the opposite side that holds that horseshoe shaped harness down tight to the top of the valve cover. Remove that first, then the harness just pulls off the stud on the driver side. I also pulled the injector harness "track" off the suds along the side so I could pull everything up a little higher. You have to kind of wedge it up out of the way while you wirk under it to tighten the bolts on the back end of the VC.

I used a variety of different socket, extension and u-joint combinations, but I think for those, what worked best (as best I can recall) was a 1/4 drive, a 1" extension and a deep well socket. That's me going from memory, but the access back there is definietely tight. I hate to say it, but you kind of just have to feel around back there until you find what you need and do most of it blind, by feel.

Hopefully that's helpful. Good luck!

 

[Mike Z]

Andy,
You can manage to get a small ratchet and a socket back there with an extension and a wobbly. I have done that before. For greater access or to use a torque wrench, I have removed the wiring harness cover in that case. See video below (not me).

 

[txbemis69]

i just pulled the plastic cover off of the stud after removing the nut holding it in place and then removed the nut securing the valve cover. it’s a tight space back there but, nothing hard about it. valve cover gasket is one of the easier things i’ve dealt with so far.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I was geared up thinking I was gonna knock out a valve cover gasket job before changing the oil during an extended lunch break but the FSM took the wind out of my sails a bit.

Been looking around on here and YouTube and seems like people get it done without doing this but it might just be a different flavor of suck. That's basically the entire engine control harness, I stopped counting at 15 connectors before it runs down behind and below the AC compressor and goes to who knows where. Guess this is gonna have to wait until the next time oil change is due, fortunately it's not urgent, it just makes a damp spot on top of my bell housing.

 

[Mac57]

Just replaced my valve cover gasket yesterday and fought with this evil plastic housing contraption. First pull the snapped on top cover off as in the video above. If the wiring harness has never been removed from the plastic housing before you will find the wiring harness is taped onto the plastic housing, on the drivers side, right at the bottom, at the housing end. Carefully cut that tape with a small sharp knife. Once you have the wiring harness free gently pull it up and out of the plastic housing towards the front of the engine. Next there is a bolt on the housing on the passenger side holding down the left leg of the housing, remove that. The driver side of the housing has two legs, each just pushed down over a stud. Pry them up, they are tight, and the housing can now be removed. Some just toss it after that. Before I reinstalled my housing I took my dremel and cut off all three of it's legs. Then slipped it under the wiring harness and snapped the top cover back on. Leaves the wiring harness protected and eliminates fighting with those legs going over the studs and the bolt on the other side.

 

[txbemis69]

had no problems getting the valve cover off and back on with new gasket. just worked around the wiring harness.