10 Apr 12 20:12, Mark Hofmann wrote to Roy Witt:  
    
    
    
   RW>> The Dexcool in my Z28 was orange...hmmm, could be that it was more  
   RW>> water than Dexcool.  
    
   MH> I seem to remember my Monte Carlo's antifreeze was the red Dexcool  
   MH> when I bought it brand new.  Later, it seemed to turn more orange and  
   MH> got the notorious "goop" formations in it.  Looked like a brown  
   MH> sludge.  
    
  I did a power flush with a system cleaner, so anything like that would  
  have ended up in the flush machine. Harry wouldn't have been a very happy  
  camper if that was the case.  
    
   RW>> I've never had a problem with it and the Z28 has never given me  
   RW>> anything to worry about in the cooling department. Early on, I  
   RW>> replaced the 195 degree thermostat with a 180 and that was the only  
   RW>> thing I've done to it in the cooling department up until the coolant  
   RW>> flush and change.  
    
   MH> I'm curious to know why some people didn't have problems with Dexcool  
   MH> and many others did.  There are so many factors, it is difficult to  
   MH> say.  
    
  The problem could have occured when people used tap water instead of  
  adding more Dexcool to the system when it was low on coolant.  
    
   RW>> Chevys have been famous for that. The old cork type of gasket would  
   RW>> shrink  
   RW>> with age and the 4 screws would come loose, allowing oil to seep  
   RW>> under the cover gasket. The rubber replacement gaskets were even  
   RW>> worse, slipping out from under the cover when they got a dose of  
   RW>> oil. I tend to stick with  
    
   MH> I think my 80' Malibu has the cork value cover gasket.  It has a slow  
   MH> leak for years, but not bad enough to make me have to replace it.  
    
  OTH, I would have fixed that leak when first detected.  
    
   MH> I did have to have one of the value cover gaskets replaced on my  
   MH> Monte Carlo just recently.  I saw some oil leaking recently, took it  
   MH> back to where I had the engine installed, and they replaced the  
   MH> gasket.  
    
  That's cool...  
    
   MH> They have been great with the warranty.  Both problems were minor -  
   MH> and both were gasket related.  
    
  If you spend a lot of money maintaining your vehicles with them, they're  
  going to take care of you as a good customer should be.  
    
   RW>> My 55 Chevy had a 30-30 Duntov cam in it. Adjusting the valves (.03  
   RW>> intake and .03 exhaust} with the engine running and the covers off  
   RW>> allowed  
   RW>> the oil to pump over the fenders. I found a set of rocker clips  
   RW>> (still have them today) that covered the oil hole in the rocker  
   RW>> which kept the oil in the engine, until it flooded the head and  
   RW>> overflowed onto the exhaust. I learned to do only one bank at a  
   RW>> time, shut it down, clean it up and re-install that cover before  
   RW>> tackling the other bank of cyl.  
    
   MH> I have never done anything like that, nor would be brave enough to  
   MH> work on the open engine while it was running.  
    
  There's nothing to be afraid of, there's just a bunch of rocker arms  
  'rocking' away opening and closing valves under those covers. With  
  hydraulic lifters and after the initial adjustment with the engine  
  running, there's no need to R&R the covers again.  
    
  For solid lifter engines, especially that 30/30 Duntov cam, required valve  
  adjustments about once a week; or after a hard run on race day.  
    
   RW>> That it will. Rather than service a PCV, I just replace them  
   RW>> periodically.  
    
   MH> Me too.  All that stuff in brand new in my Monte Carlo.  
    
  Same here.  
    
    
                  R\\%/itt  
    
    
    ... Only those who will risk going too far can possibly  
    ... find out how far one can go ~ TS Eliot  
    
    
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