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I ordered some of these covers and I decided to return them. Here is why.
Quite a few of the screws that hold the spark plug seals in place were loose. Also, they are just cheap sheet metal screws, they aren't even machine screws. The holes are tapped for machine screws but they decided to use sheet metal screws for whatever reason. The thought of one or more of them coming out with all the heat and vibration of the engine made me a little too nervous to go ahead and install them. That would pretty much be game over.
I suppose I could have replaced all the screws with machine screws and threadlocked them but that's more than I want to do right now. It's really too bad because otherwise, they appear to be nice covers.
If they drove those screws into fine machine threads then the covers are damaged. Did you check the threads in the valve cover after you removed that screw? That can't be how they all ship, gotta be a "screw" up (haha) on their part. No way they use those screws on all of them! That's crazy! Otherwise, yeah, sweet covers! Makes me want a set for my 7th gen motor, but I'd blast them and powdercoat them a different color. If they were even compatible. 5th gen rocker covers on a 7th gen head? I wonder if that's ever been attempted/brought up...
If they drove those screws into fine machine threads then the covers are damaged. Did you check the threads in the valve cover after you removed that screw? That can't be how they all ship, gotta be a "screw" up (haha) on their part. No way they use those screws on all of them!
I completely disassembled the covers to see what was going on. Each of the screw holes is tapped with M4 x 0.7 threads, yet they drove in sheet metal screws instead of machine screws. Amazing. Also, the plastic covers for the spark plug tube seals are countersunk but the sheet metal screws have button heads. Brilliant. If you look on the listing for these covers, the picture of the underside shows exactly what I found, sheet metal screws, so I'm pretty sure this is a problem with all of these covers. On a positive note, the spark plug tube seals look pretty nice and they are independent of the surrounding plastic cover. If there is a source for these seals you could replace them if they started to leak. When I brought this to the attention of the seller it was clear they aren't interested in correcting any of these issues.
In order to use these with any confidence, I would want to chase all of the threads with an M4 X 0.7 tap, get correct flat head screws and use some sort of thread locker.
Threaded hole
Threaded hole #2
Spark plug seal
Spark plug seal removed
Countersunk hole
You can't really tighten this screw without bending or breaking this tab
Original listing photo
Last edited by SquidBeak; Aug 10, 2021 at 11:14 PM.
you can actually get aluminum valve covers these days for a decent price. another thing I recommend when doing the valve covers is to get silicone gaskets, they're usually blue .
Do these aluminum valve covers come with the correct size metric bolts/screws, or did you have to replace them? Would these v/c's bolt up perfectly to our '03 Maxima Se, and did you end up replacing the gaskets that came with them? Or were the gaskets decent? Also, did you use the 'original' oem oil cap, or the one that comes with the kit? Would they both thread up correctly? One more thing, how are the spark plug tube seal o-rings quality on these valve covers? Are they of good quality? And will permatex ultra grey gasket maker rtv work well, or ultra black? Thanks for any help, uptownsamv!
appears to come with everything you need. I would just recommend changing the outer gasket. normally assume they include the cheapest gasket when you find a valve cover that is really well priced. the cheap gaskets get hard fast and oil will start leaking past them. it's even a good idea to change the o-rings on the cam position sensors whiel your at it. also good idea to check the screws for the baffle plate on the inside of the aluminum valve cover to make sure they are all nice and tight.
no need to use RTV when doing a valve cover gasket on these engines. some will argue that you do but I've had no problem putting the gaskets on dry..
you can easily find spark plug tube seals online, Fel-Pro set came up on google
you can actually get aluminum valve covers these days for a decent price. another thing I recommend when doing the valve covers is to get silicone gaskets, they're usually blue .
And they're purty.
