ENGINE COVER INSULATION for 2.4

[marlboromike]

It has come to my attention that the engine cover insulation in a 2007 2.4 is different from the R/L....On the 2008 R/L engine there was a heat insulation shield on the engine itself and not in the engine cover....I am asking the 2008-09 2.4 owners if u have this on your car or if your insulation is paste inside your engine cover.
.
It is much richer looking in the R/L and probably works better.

[Dave@ddmworks]

Originally Posted by marlboromike

It has come to my attention that the engine cover insulation in a 2007 2.4 is different from the R/L....On the 2008 R/L engine there was a heat insulation shield on the engine itself and not in the engine cover....I am asking the 2008-09 2.4 owners if u have this on your car or if your insulation is pasted inside your engine cover.
.
It is much richer looking in the R/L and probably works better.

All 2.4L are the same that we have ever ran into, just the plastic cover with the insulation attached underneath to it.

The 2.0L's do have the plastic cover and also a thin black blacket that is form fitted to the valve cover.

Hope that helps,
Dave

[|V3nom|]

im too paranoid to run without the cover on since i dont have a coil pack cover to replace it. seems like water could get in the oil from the coil opening (yes its a very small, form fit opening, but none the less still seems like water could get in if you spray the engine out during cleaning.

[Dave@ddmworks]

Originally Posted by |V3nom|

im too paranoid to run without the cover on since i dont have a coil pack cover to replace it. seems like water could get in the oil from the coil opening (yes its a very small, form fit opening, but none the less still seems like water could get in if you spray the engine out during cleaning.

The coil packs have a very good seal on them, almost all of the cars that come here do not have the plastic engine cover and we have never seen an issue with water getting down in the spark plug holes. Even if some did, it would have to go through the threads of the spark plug to get down into the cylinder and even if it did that, it would get vaporized during combustion. We have hosed plenty of valve covers down when cleaning engines and never seen a problem.

Hope that helps,
Dave

[marlboromike]

Originally Posted by Dave@ddmworks

All 2.4L are the same that we have ever ran into, just the plastic cover with the insulation attached underneath to it.

The 2.0L's do have the plastic cover and also a thin black blacket that is form fitted to the valve cover.

Hope that helps,
Dave

Yes..it is that thin black blanket that I was referring to...I wonder if it would also fit on a 2.4. Would like to know if the cut outs are identical...although it is a 2.0 engine, it looks like it is doable

I was not going to run my car without the engine cover...just liked the appearance of that black blanket. I assume it absorbs heat significantly better than the garbage in the 2.4 engine.

[|V3nom|]

Originally Posted by Dave@ddmworks

The coil packs have a very good seal on them, almost all of the cars that come here do not have the plastic engine cover and we have never seen an issue with water getting down in the spark plug holes. Even if some did, it would have to go through the threads of the spark plug to get down into the cylinder and even if it did that, it would get vaporized during combustion. We have hosed plenty of valve covers down when cleaning engines and never seen a problem.

Hope that helps,
Dave

isnt there a slight opening into the valve train for it to breath?

[Dave@ddmworks]

Originally Posted by |V3nom|

isnt there a slight opening into the valve train for it to breath?

There are no opening on the boot on the coil packs, they seal completely to the valve cover.

[wspohn]

Originally Posted by |V3nom|

isnt there a slight opening into the valve train for it to breath?

That's nothing to do with the leakage issue into the plug wells. If you are worried about water in the plug wells, don't change your plugs when it is wet - any water that does get down there evaporates pretty quickly as a result of engine heat.

What you DO need to do is use an air hose to blow out the plug wells of dust and grit before removing the plugs.

Engine breathing to avoid pressurizing the crankcase is dealt with by a separate and rather elaborate breathing system.

If you are too nervous to remove the cover, don't do it, but nothing dire will happen if you did and the engine looks a heck of a lot better bare than it does with a cheap piece of plastic covering it up. Personally, I prefer the look without the accessory coil cover plate, but that's just me. Guess I am just used to classic engine looks.

[Rob the Elder]

I do not believe that the "insulation" is there to provide thermal control. Its to reduce upper end noise. The plastic cover is cosmetic primarily and functional only secondarily.

I ran without the plastic cover or acoustic insulation for a couple of years with no noticable difference in performance

[lllfly]

Dealing with the plastic engine cover .
Is the 2.0 more protected from high heat versus the 2.4 engine ?
LLLFLY

[Rob the Elder]

The engine cover is not for thermal control. It's to make the engine look better on the sales room floor, provides some added weather protection and reduces the acoustic signature somewhat. The challenge with a gas motor is heat rejection, not retention

[|V3nom|]

hmmm i might have to take off my engine cover and see how it looks.

can you polish the valve cover with it still on the engine or does it need to be taken off?

[TomatoSoup]

Originally Posted by |V3nom|

hmmm i might have to take off my engine cover and see how it looks.

can you polish the valve cover with it still on the engine or does it need to be taken off?

You can do either, but probably easier if it's off.

Here is a guy who did it in place: Polished valve cover (Almost Free Bling!) - Pontiac Solstice Forum

And here are some alternatives (DDM will sell you a powder-coated valve cover in your choice of color): Remove engine cover ? - Pontiac Solstice Forum

[newmsy1]

I agree it's for noise reduction, specifically the "ticking" from the HPFP. I put on the aftermarket foam HPFP cover and the "ticking" is still significant with the cover off.

[wspohn]

Originally Posted by Rob the Elder

The engine cover is not for thermal control. It's to make the engine look better on the sales room floor,

I remember going in to the showroom back around 2004 to negotiate a car for my wife (cheap and cheerful Pontiac Montana) and I looked at the first Cadillac super car, the XLR. It cost over $100,000 in Canada and while looking fairly nice, especially by the standards of previous Cadillac models, it was built in the same cheap and shoddy way the rest of GMs cars were. The interior was nowhere near the German quality standard and when I looked at the open hood, the first thing I said was where the heck is the engine, and then after I prodded the cheap plastic covers hiding the engine, I asked the salesman if you shouldn't expect a bit better quality for the money.

The bare Northstar engine would have been much better than that crappy cover, which had already been cracked from somone putting a hand on it. OTOH, the engine trim on the new LS V8s looks quite decent, so they finally smartened up a bit.