I'm getting ready to replace the front and rear gasket on my 98 Maxima but have a question regarding the hoses involved.
I found a couple of videos where the poster says to just cut the two coolant hoses that connect to the upper intake. Are these hoses preformed and a dealer item or can I cut 5/16 hose to fit? Also, does the hose that connects to the front valve cover just behind the oil filler cap connect to the plenum? I ordered the hose because it is very brittle, but didn't know if I could proceed with the rear gasket replacement. In the how to vid the poster just cuts the hose under the plenum to remove the plenum. Is this the hose that I ordered?
Thanks. Hope my thread makes some sense.

 

When it comes to hoses that have sharp bends then you need high quality rubber or else it will collapse so no I would get dealer hoses. That hose behind the cap if Im thinking about the right one connects the front and rear banks together for pressure/vacuum reasons I believe and it might be involved in the PCV system. Not 100% on that. They always get brittle and mine has electrical tape around the end near the cap lol. Close to heat and then it cools down so for that especially I would go dealer

 

The only hose on the left side of the front rocker cover is used in the PCV system to relieve pressure in the rocker covers. I replaced this with hose I got at autozone 4 years ago and it has held fine. I also never had to cut those coolant hoses when I removed the plenum so I cannot give advice on those.

 

^^Same, an autozone hose for that left hose is fine, and for the rear hose on the back of the UIM you can use a preformed or a universal piece (Im rocking a hose from autozone for both)

 

You can replace the hoses with universal hoses. Only hoses you gotta be careful about is fuel hoses gotta use high pressure hoses for that. Other then that doesn't matter I've replaced virtually every hose with new hose clamps

 

I would also use RTV sealant when doing gaskets just for extra precaution a bead on top of the gasket before the valve cover should be fine

 

Thanks for the replies. I have the plenum and rear valve cover removed. I am going to replace the front valve cover gasket while I'm at it. Can someone please furnish me with the bolt down sequence and torque for the front valve cover bolts?