cleaned my engine over the weekend. it was downright filthy and I discovered to my horror that almost ALL of the rubber tubing going everywhere is original and very stiff. figured I wouldn't mess with it too much so I just wiped the dust off them with a damp rag. the lettering on the valve cover was so dirty it looked black. took me a good 3 hours to clean the whole thing. I don't pressure wash the engine bay cause it seems like it pisses something off everytime ive done it in the past.

 

I also stopped water wash my engines years ago as washing the engine compartment tends to do more ills than goods. My engines do not mind that they are dirty, but absolutely resent even small traces of water in certain places.

 

Well I hate them I want to see whats going on in there. Could go for some chrome ones though!

 

I believe they also act as a heat shield to help protect the paint on the hood from getting damaged from the engine heat. I think that's one the primary purposes of the covers.

 

Oh well looks like you just saved mine from a trip to the dump lol. Thanks

 

I don't believe the LS 400 / 430 engine covers actually provide much of that heat protection. They're mostly cosmetic, unlike some modern engine covers, like on the Audi RS7.

 

What about the ES models?

 

From what I can tell, it's pretty much the same case at least until 2000. Probably still continued to be the case for the 3rd gens.

Example 1998 engine cover. Nothing special underneath; just a molded plastic cover:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Engine-Cove...8/323330847867

If I had one, does this mean I would toss the cover?.. Probably not. I would at least keep it in case I sold the vehicle in the future.