how difficult do you guys think it would be for me to replace my valve cover gaskets on my own?

 

What it looks like it for the front :remove intake, intake manifold and all the wiring crap then pull the cover. do you think there is anything special about pulling the cover i need to know? just pry it off right? for the rear: take off all the plug wires and pcv hose, fuel lines all that crap only thing im worried about is the fuel rail. how to get that off? well thanks for your input in advance.

 

VERY PAIN IN THE A$$.... do not do it if you're not supervised by someone who knows their ****.

Mine are leaking oil...arounf $240 to replace

 

it doesnt look to hard? as long i put everything back right? right? cuz i have to go get a new clutch and rear main oil seal ($550) timming belt and some oil gasket crap over there($350) and the right inner cv boot wich i know is alot so i need to save some money!

 

you have to take the upper intake off, the throttle body off, and THAT part is a pain.

If you're gona DIY...be supervised!! my $.04

 

i didn't think taking the intake off was much of a pain. what was a pain was dishing out the 60 dollars to get the gaskets for it. there is a pretty good parts store on the internet, i think www.expressautoparts.com they have great prices. i bought the upper and lower plenum gaskets, the top intake manifold gasket, the timing belt, and an exhaust gsaket for 60.05 including shipping. all orders over 75 dollars and you get free shipping.

 

whaaaaaaaaa? i got mine at auto zone for $15...

 

i went all of the way down to the heads.

 

I have the gaskets for the valve covers. i just want to make sure i can do this. whats so bad about taking off the throttle body?

 

the throttle body isn't that hard. noone of it is.. just time consuming really.


before you replace the gaskets, try this..

take a #3 phillips screwdriver and go around ALL the screws you can reach on the valve covers and tighten them. I'll bet you tomorrow's lunch money that most of them are so loose you can turn them with almsot zero effort.


then clean the engine up and see if it leaks later.

 

with those screws being phillips head wouldn't it be smart to change them over to a hex head so no stripping occurs? i hate phillips head screws and never seem to have luck with them, even with those things that you can break the screws loose with with a hammer. i can't remember the name of it at all.

 

Big ditto on what Matt93se said, same thing happened with mine, the screws were so loose they could have backed all the way out!!! It helps to have a quality screwdriver with a good tip and a long shaft to be able to get to some of them. I tightened mine down and no more leak. Good luck.
Steve

 

no. these screws shouldn't ever strip. they're only torqued to about 11 inch pounds. stuff you can easily do by hand.

 

thanks for all the input. i think im just going to replace the gaskets any way. i already got all the parts and it cant hurt to do them + with everything off i will be able to clean things really well.