Chrome Valve cover XJ 97, where?
- Thread starter Oseberg
- Start date
wolfpackjeeper
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 500' and 500KCAS, RAF lakenheath
never seen one. Best bet would be to get one of the newer stamped steel ones and have it chromed, or chrome powdercoated.
- Location
- Columbus, In
That'd be the best bet i would think. Powdercoating is relatively cheap not sure on having it chromed. I tend to shy away from anything chrome on my Jeep. That reminds me i need to paint my center caps!
5-90
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hammerspace
Any particular reason you want it? Chrome is known for retaining heat, and the 242ci six runs plenty hot as it is. I'm not sure I'd want to make it worse (and the valve cover gets splashed with engine oil, helping to radiate heat from the engine...)
DanMan2k06
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Damascus, MD
Anyone ever thought of somehow engineering an aluminum valve cover?
BIGSLVRXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Des Moines, Iowa
You're kidding right?
5-90
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hammerspace
Are you aware of the fact that early valve covers (at least, the RENIX ones) were cast aluminum? Or were you thinking of stamping them?
stewie
NAXJA Forum User
mmmmm. biting my tongue. ive been told to be nicer on here lately. must resist. trying hard not to give in. chrome, i cant say it. chro, chrome wo, wo, wont get yyyyoou. must bight tongue
home.:fuse:
ok, i feel better now.
home.:fuse:
ok, i feel better now.
Edit: it would add some bling to the engine bay, but i would say it should only be used by someone who is OCD about keeping their engine bay clean. i think that someone who wants to put bling on the engine and then not keep it clean is like someone who poops but doesnt wipe.
Last edited:
Talyn
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Radford, Communistwealth of Virginia
OBD1 came with aluminum as well, maybe OBD IIs as well. Don't know what year they switched to the stamped steel though, but possibly 96 or 97. My 91 XJ, 93 ZJ and 95 ZJ have aluminum, while my 00 XJ has steel.
DanMan2k06
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Damascus, MD
You're kidding right?
Nope, acutally I wasn't? I was also not aware that they were aluminum at one point. But yea 5-90 I was thinking stamped.
Aluminum is lighter, doesn't rust, has better heat dissipation properties, why not? Maybe do a finned one for better cooling? Or am I just a complete moron?
souske
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The land of competition
the fins i could see
5-90
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hammerspace
A valve cover with "deeper" fins would help more with coolilng; however, chroming the aluminum cover would negate the advantage of using aluminum in the first place.
If'n ya wants shiny, you can try to stamp an aluminum cover and polish it. Stamping won't let you get the deep fins you're thinking of (not very easily, anyhow - you'll need too much "draft" in the stamping dies to get the fins made effectively,) and you may be better off using an investment or lost-wax casting instead. Upside - polished aluminum is going to transfer much more heat than chromed (although polished doesn't usually cool quite as well as the cast surface - less relative surface area.)
Ideally, it's a lot easier to use an engine oil cooler, probably coupled with piston jets to spray engine oil on the underside of the pistons to cool them more. That's an old turbo-man's trick, and it's usually fairly easy to add (although it can look hokey if you don't do it cleanly.)
JJacobs
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Fort Collins CO
You just described a renix valve cover.
Talyn
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Radford, Communistwealth of Virginia
It wasn't only renix that had the aluminum valve cover.
Just JB weld some heat sinks onto your cover and you should be good to go.
BIGSLVRXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Des Moines, Iowa
1987-1995 used aluminum covers with slight variations in 1991 and then again in 1993. 1996 was the first year of the stamped steel valve covers on any 4.0L.
JJacobs
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Fort Collins CO
He did describe a Renix cover. And 91-95 as well. I just went with Renix since it's the cheapest and easiest to find.
5-90
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hammerspace
I didn't know about the later ones - although I've probably still got a couple of RENIX covers in the parts bin.
Given the construction and surface, I think they're investment cast - the surface is entirely too clean, and the walls are too thick to be simply stamped. I haven't broken one to check the grain structure, but I very likely don't have to.
And the flange is entirely too thick to be a cast unit...
Given the construction and surface, I think they're investment cast - the surface is entirely too clean, and the walls are too thick to be simply stamped. I haven't broken one to check the grain structure, but I very likely don't have to.
And the flange is entirely too thick to be a cast unit...
blackdoutxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Temecula,CA
they sell aluminum finned ones on ebay for the 4.0's... i wanted a yellow one for a while but have spent the money else where!
DanMan2k06
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Damascus, MD
It was more of just curiosity, Looks like it's completely impractical. Oh and I wouldn't dare chrome anything on my rig. Except maybe some CHROMoly axle shaft 
Yea those ones on ebay are way too much...
Yea those ones on ebay are way too much...
