I had my 97 Nissan Maxima GXE in the shop the other day to have some brake work done. After completing the brake job, the mechanic told me that my valve cover gaskets are leaking a little and that they will need to be replaced some time in the future. I am unable to view the How to section of the forum with the link listed. Is there a step by step process to doing this myself besides following the mis - informed Chilton manual? Has anyone done this at home? Are there any pitfalls and things that one needs to be wary of when changing out the gaskets?

Thank you for any advice.

 

Did he specify if it is the left(front) or right (back) cover ?

Front is easy to replace, take out the ornament cover, ignition modules and unscrew the bolts holding the cover on (order and torque are important, otherwise you might distort the aluminiumium cover and if you real unlucky the head itself) - if you decide to do it I can probably find it for you).

Rear is more complicated, you have to remove the upper intake manifold, which means disconnecting throttle cables, removing intake tract, taking coolant lines off the throttle body and maybe taking out the TB itself, removing whole bunch of emissions tubing, disconnecting EGR etc. All that adds up to it being a good time to do a MEVI After the upper is off - it is as easy as the front.

 

The shop said that both gaskets are leaking a little and that both will need to be replaced.

MEVI?

 

Middle-Eastern Variable Intake Manifold - popular albeit pricey mod (read the FAQs for more).

Doing the back is not a job for a novice, its not aufully complicated but can be intimidating wiht all the tubing and wiring...

Dooes you car consume a lot of oil? Do you notice drips of oil on the ground or smell burning oil while driving ? If its not very noticable and you're not going through oil like a leafblower - then there's really no point in doing it for the sake of doing it, it'll be easier to add a quart of oil every couple thousand miles. Get some quotes from the shops and see if its worth your while.

 

The rear is the biggest pain in my ***... The front is childs play...

Trust me, that rear, take a whole day off for that one..

 

I did the rear one... never again will i do that.. it took a good 5 hours
read on this http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=368115

 

I got both of my changed today at a mechanic, the total including labor was $268

 

No...my car is not yet dripping oil anywhere...I can see what the mechanic meant though...there is some oil residue/film around the area...but it is not gushing or dribbling out all over the engine. I believe I can wait a while but the gaskets will have to be replaced some time.

Why Middle Eastern...why not Japanese?

Thanks.

 

This thread will help ya. It's safe to say that your situation isn't as bad as this guy's but yours is probably heading that same direction.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=368115