One of the most popular upgrades to the 911 engine is the installation of the 911 turbo valve covers. The valve covers originally installed on almost all 911's from 1968 through 1977 were manufactured out of magnesium. The magnesium was originally used to cut down on the overall weight of the engine. Unfortunately, the magnesium covers were a poor match for the 911 engine and its stressful environment. It is very common for the magnesium valve covers to warp after many years of temperature cycling in the normal operation of the engine.

As the valve covers leak, the oil will spill onto the tops of the heat exchangers, causing the car to smoke a bit when driving. You may also notice the smell of burning oil as the heat from the exhaust burns away the oil on top of the exchangers. If oil is dripping from the cam towers, then chances are your valve covers are indeed leaking. If not, then you might have an oil leak coming from somewhere else.

If your 1968 and later 911 is equipped with the original magnesium covers, then you should definitely upgrade both the upper and lower covers to the later style Turbo aluminum covers. For cars manufactured after 1978 and later, we recommend that you replace your lower valve covers with the reinforced Turbo ones. The upper valve covers on these 911s were already cast out of aluminum.

Ready to do the swap? You can review and purchase both upper and lower covers here:
Turbo Valve Covers For Your 911

Install instructions can be found here:
Upgrading to Turbo Valve Covers

Mark/Pelican Parts