Hey everyone. I have taken out the 8 bolts that hold the valve cover in place on my m103 1992 300e but I can't seem to pry it loose. Judging by a dribble of black rubbery stuff coming down from one corner of the cover, somebody had used a lot of gasket compound last time the cover was off. Are there any tricks to getting it loose? Or, more importantly, did I miss some screws or does the distributor need to come off? I am deathly afraid of warping the valve cover so I haven't tried prying it off though I did give it a few taps with a rubber mallet. I have also tried sticking my fingers in through the oil filler cap and pulling up for all im worth, but I think im just not worth enough. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Btw, I am pulling it off because the paint is flaking off in many places and I want to sand it down and give it a few new coats.