Silicone on rocker arms

[drewbert41]

There is silicone on my rocker arms from PO doing a sloppy job putting on the valve covers. Should I try and remove this or just leave it as undisturbed as possible?

[swamp rat]

My thoughts are if you can do it get it out asap! all it takes is a piece of the stuff to plug a return galley or a bunch of it to partially plug the pick up screen on the oil pump... even smaller pieces that make it past the pick up screen and past the oil pump could create havoc in the oil ports feeding the lifters.. Can cause some problems.

[drewbert41]

Looks like it will come off in pieces. I guess I need to just make sure not to drop any.

[davepl]

Probably worth an oil change when you're done, if you're anywhere near due!

[summitflier]

At first I thought you meant silicon lube. I'm guessing you mean sealer.

[drewbert41]

Yeah black sealer.

[Daman]

With gasket technology these days I wonder why anyone would use silicone for anything on an engine except a dab to hold the water pump gaskets in place.

Maybe the front and rear of intake also. (A friend just replace his and it came with a small tube of silicone instead of the front and rear rubber gaskets)