I have an oil leak, and it seems as if it is coming from the back valve cover
gasket in the corner up from the power steering pump. Has anyone done this job before? and if so do you have any suggestions on how to accomplish the job the most efficient way. The oil is running down on the exhaust shield and burning off. ANY HELP IS MUCH APPRECIATED.......

It is a 91 Nissan Max SOHC 3.0L

tks,

Mark

 

Autozone repair manual in the stickies.

 

tks,

I did the job yesterday, took me about 2 hours for the rear bank. I will do the front bank when I get the chance.

 

When you do the front, be sure to get the gasket for the pleneum (or however you spell it). You have to remove the distributor as well, and more than likely you will have to go through the entire timing/idle procedure since you have to disconnect the TPS, etc.

 

I finished the job up yesterday, what a pain !!!!! I had to remove the air intake collector, but I guess it was worth it because it was nasty in there, and it needed a cleaning real bad, nothing that a little throttle body cleaner would not take of. The only real problem I ran into was taking it off after I removed the air intake collector, was getting the cover pass the distributor and some air con part. I was determined not to take the distributor off. After about an hour figuring out how to manuver it around, I got it. The only problem I ran into putting it back on was the phillip head screw under the distributor but I got it in the hole and was able to mount it flush. Car runs sweet, I believe cleaning it out in the process of doing the job was a bonus.
Another problem I have now is a small oil drip, my power steering pump is saturated with oil and the space is to cramped for me to see where the leak is coming from. I plan to hose the engine off in a day or so and hopefully I can spot some direction it is coming from. Any ideas???

tks

jay

 

Sounds like the rear cam seal. I just did the valve covers and cam seals in the last month. I'm not sure how hard it is to get the cam seal, I did mine with the engine out (replacing broken manifold studs...).

 

I was able to get under the car and try to locate the leak. It appears to be the oil pan gasket from the rear side, I believe the seal is still good, at least I hope it is, no oil is dripping from beneath it. I posted today requesting advice and how much should I pay in labor expenses.

tks

jay

 

recently i checked all my valve cover screws and they were really loose but i wasnt leaking oil
then i noticed all the air hoses going to the valve covers so i thought id tighten the valvecoverscrews to avoid air vac.leaks did em all good hand tite
days later i looked in my fsm and found out on a vg the valve coverscrews torque is like 0.7-2.2 foot lbs so mine are a little overtite guess ill just leave em there
i wonder why such low torque?no wonder they work loose themselves ?

 

MajorDan, how did you get a screwdriver past the distributor. I can't hardly get my finger under there! I've got a 94 Max SOHC and I'm changing the fuel injectors and decided to change the VC gaskets, but to have to remove the distributor is just plain crazy. Why cover one screw with the distributor???

 

I was lucky,

I would say get yourself one one those flimsy things that you can attach a phillips head too and go from there. I was able to get to the screw from the front side, I had to squat down on my knees for about 30 mins to get it done.
As far as torque goes just keep them tight. I rechecked mine for about three days after just to make sure. Real simple so sweat. Good luck !!!!!!

jay