I need to replace my valve covers on my 02. Has anyone here used aftermarkets with success and what is a good brand? There is some on rocauto for $43 each.

 

Cheap is not the way to go on these cars. OEM or bust.

It is highly recommended to install 6th gen valve covers as they have a better design that are less prone to leaking.

 

6th gen VC , do not do anything else. no brainer, same price range, and fit, no leaking issues.

 

The rear is the real problem. The 5.5 gen rear VC was prone to cracking. They fixed the issue in the 6th gen design.
It seems like the aftermarket has adopted the 6th gen design to cover the 5.5 as well. I'm not sure if Ni$$an has.

I wouldn't be afraid of an aftermarket valve cover. Just be careful not to over torque it.
The Ni$$an dealer will want big money for a factory set. It's just not worth it.
If you're really worried about it get OEM for the rear and aftermarket for the front. The front is very easy to access. The rear is more work.

 

Also, make sure you get the gaskets. Some sets come with the gaskets and some don't so factor that into your price shopping.
You especially don't want to take the car apart then start looking through the box for the gaskets.

 

Good time to install new plugs and rear ignition coils as well. These cars are getting up there in age and it would suck to tear everything apart again in a year because a rear coil went bad. OEM Hitachis are $35 on RA.

 

My rear cover is leaking a bit, the cam sensor on the rear head is covered pretty good. I'm gonna shoot some brake clean on it and see if it still leaks, cause my oil level sits perfect.

My front cover has a lot of built up crud on the edge as well, but it's not wet so it's all old stuff.

 

^^This^^

 

I have a set of used oem 6th gens for sale if your interested. Ill let them go half off the price of the new aftermarket ones. pm if interested

 

i wouldn't replace coils just because it is opened up. coils are expensive and not so much a preventative thing.

 

Really depends on the skills of the OP.

I personally wouldn't replace the coils proactively but it's not a big deal for me to pull the intake to get to them.

If it's a big job for him, or he's having it done, it may be worth it to change the 3 rears. Depending on his mileage of course.

 

Should the gaskets also be genuine Nissan or will they be OK with Fel-Pro or whatever the AutoZone stock is?

Thanks,
Tony

 

Fel-Pro or other quality brand will be fine. Maybe even better.

The sparkplug tube gaskets (6 circles) are built into the new VC so don't worry about getting a kit with those. You just need the two rectangle shaped gaskets.

 

Does the inherent defect of the rear cover primarily lead to the spark plug wells filling with oil or does it also cause oil to leak down the back (firewall) side of the engine?

I just noticed a fair amount of oil under my pan, on the passenger side control arm, on the PS pump (it's not PS fluid). I'm hoping this is from the rear valve cover.

 

A leaking rear VC will leave oil all over the place.

I'd swap that, clean up as much oil as you can then watch it. Since oil travels down it's best to start at the highest leak and do repairs down from there.

 

Is there a way to tell the difference between front and rear VC gasket? I bought a set a while ago and threw the two gaskets together and can't tell which is which. I laid them out and they look identical, but I know they're different somehow.

 

They are slightly different. When you do the install you seat the gasket into a groove in the VC. At that point, it'll be obvious which one goes with which VC.

You don't have to worry about getting it wrong.

Just make sure you clean the mating surface really well and use RTV sparingly at the corners. Torque it all down in a cross pattern and don't over torque. Also, don't over torque the intake plenum. It has a very low torque spec.

 

Kinda late to weigh in.. but I used some junkyard 6th gen front valve cover and it stopped my spark plug oil leak completely. I've never been happier to see a clean valve cover every time I pop the hood.

Cost
Nissan Gasket - $8
Valve Cover - $15

 

Derrick,

Thanks for the input. I've spent a fair amount of time in the last couple days trying to trace the source of my leak.

The only point higher than my PS pump (which is covered in engine oil) is the rear valve cover. However, it doesn't really appear that the leak is coming from there. It COULD be coming from there but I just can't see it because of the inability to get a clear line of sight to the rear of the cover.

Maybe I should just do as you said and replace the rear cover and see what happens.

I think I may try these covers:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322241748417

They've sold over 1000 sets (multiple listings), they have 100% positive feedback and a 3 year warranty. Might be worth a try.

When I changed my plugs at 100K, I DID have oil in one or two of the spark plug wells in the rear cover. Since I wasn't expecting that I wasn't prepared to do anything about the cover at the time. The spark plug wells in the front cover were and still are completely dry.

As a side note, there is oil behind my crank shaft pulley and on the oil cooler tube, which could be coming from either the front main seal or the oil cooler seal, or it could be coming from the rear valve cover, but it's really hard to tell. I only have 125K on the car.

Again, your advice of starting high and working your way down makes sense.

 

Best way to get a look at your rear VC is by pullung the massive airbox out. 4 screws, PCV hose, intake hose, and MAF sensor connector are all that are stopping you.

 

Oil can travel in all sorts of crazy directions. It hits a seam or groove and travels along that till it goes down to the next one but it rarely goes up.

If you had oil in the tubes back then they're already leaking.

Check the high pressure line running down to the PS pump. Those are known for leaking too and cover the pump.

It may be early for the main seal but you'll just have to see.