MiaRaider81

Recently I have noticed my 2004 maxima (94,000 miles) has been low on oil when I go to change oil so I took it to the dealer today to find issue and was told my valve covers and gaskets are leaking. they quoted me $799 with labor and new spark plugs. to make things worse I was also informed that my upper motor mount and front motor mount is broken and they want another $890 to fix those.

Have any of you had these issues and what and where did you go to get fixed? I'm thinking of going with a local repair shop by my house to get work done since dealer charges to much for labor!

MadMax07SL

Had all that done at the dealer myself, only paid for the plugs, that by itself was around $600. everything else was under extended warrantee, thankfully. The Valve cover gasket was actually changed I think 4 times. Back one kept leaking after each try, turns out it was getting cut/crimped during install somehow, so they covered it until it was done right. Motor mounts gotta be replaced, mine were done around 50k, covered. Thing is, it's all basic stuff for another shop can do for you...you just need to find someone reputable and willing to make it worth your while...almost $2000 is a lot to spend on a car with 94000 on it...

jingiko

iTrader: (1)

I had the same issue,

I swapped them out myself, bought new covers and gaskets and used RTV Gasket for the 2 corners on each of the valve covers facing the timing chain. The Nissan service manual says to do this.

Also I noticed that when changing out the old covers/gaskets with the new ones the old gasket had some old gasket sealant on the head which I carefully scrapped off with a razor then wiped the edge with a lint free rag to get rid of the old oil around the edges.

Also make sure you use the CORRECT Torque specifications and bolt pattern when tightening. The covers arent metal they're a plastic cover which causes flex n such with hot and cold temps which allows the cover to warp (unnoticeable with the naked eye)

It was pretty straight forward. If you know how to change your spark plugs its easy.

Also the OEM valve covers come with a new PCV valve which is great in case your PCV is going bad.

jmatusko

literally just did this last week. not a hard job just time consuming. a dealer will do it right but is more expensive. The actual part is only like $20 on amazon. Good Luck with whatever you choose!

MiaRaider81

I checked with my local repair shop and they quoted me a little over $1000 to do the valve covers/gaskets, spark plugs and the 2 engine mounts so I will probably go with them since dealer is charging me $600 more.

Quickywd01

iTrader: (16)

Pay a local forum member to do it for you and save another 600$.

jingiko

iTrader: (1)

$1000 is steep for such an easy job. Just takes time

If youre going to spend $1000 on replacing valve covers might as well do the NWP 5pc spacer kit since you'll be spending $ on gaskets for the intake manifold anyway.

MadMax07SL

Since you're talking at least $200+ in parts (don't know mount's prices but it's pretty much $20 per plug X6 and $20 per gasket X2 at best guess), I'd say you're doing pretty good for that price installed.

bobjob

Sounds like this is a common problem .... and I thought that my car puklng
Oil from everywhere was just my car .. had same problem on another CAR ,,, turned out muffler & catalytic converter were plugged giving me too much back pressure ...bleu out gaskets ... The more I read about these cars ,, the more I realize that they are not going to be a good car ... not user friendly ... not trouble
Free .

jingiko

iTrader: (1)

With any car that you have longer than 3-5years you will start to see parts failing.
The trick is to spot these failing parts early to prevent break down while driving.
Also researching what are the best replacement parts (OEM or aftermarket) is where the fun is.

My radiator blew while driving 100+ at night and I replaced it with a Mishimoto Full aluminum rad which is supposed to be stronger and add more cooling since I also had to get an external transmission oil cooler along with it.

I mean since Im putting in the hours and work in I figured why not spend a little more on quality parts.

MiaRaider81

The breakdown of the $1000 quote is

$182 valve cover/gaskets/spark plug (labor)
$234 front engine mount (labor)
$59 side engine mount (labor)

plus the price of the parts which is

$31 valve cover set from NAPA auto parts
$99 spark plugs
$213 front engine mount (part #11270-8J10A)
$141 side engine mount (part #11210-8J100)

now i'm just deciding on if I should use the NAPA auto parts valve cover set I was quoted on or if I should go to dealer and purchase part from them, any suggestions?

jingiko

iTrader: (1)

http://courtseyparts.com/ is a great site for OEM parts, usually cheaper than your local dealer.

I would NOT get Napa or third party valve covers. You may save a few dollars but if you had an oil leak why go with cheaper covers?

Now if they were performance parts like an intake exhaust etc yeah I can understand but I think for both covers and gaskets it would run you about $50
Spark plugs should run you like $45 get them off amazon or eBay

You can probably get the front and side mounts cheaper off that site as well.

jingiko

iTrader: (1)

http://www.courtesyparts.com/maxima-...2670_2674.html

sergofast

iTrader: (22)

You can get the mounts for a real reasonable price at rockauto. Also dont pay someone to install them...it is 3 bolts. All you need is a jack stand, breaker bar, and elbo grease....you cant mess it up. It just may take you a while to figure it out if your not used to working on cars.

MiaRaider81

UPDATE ON REPAIRS MENTIONED ABOVE:

I ended up having dealer replace rear bearing that I needed for $385. I also had dealer replace valve covers/gaskets/spark plugs for another $635 with tax since they gave me a $200 discount between parts and labor. when it came to the engine mounts I went with my local repair shop for another $712 with tax and OEM parts.

so $1,700 later my Maxima is back to normal (I hope)

ugufru

That sounds like a fair deal on the gasket replacement.

The fact is that it's a ton of work taking off the intake manifold so that you can remove the rear cover. The other problem (see my thread on the 4G forum) is that you can easily over-tighten them and strip the threads in the aluminum head or even break off the steel bolt into the threads. I've done both and it makes it perilous for the casual mechanic. Add to that potential for needing to replace cracked/damaged hoses that result from some of the tight tolenances during disassembly. It's worth having a Nissan-pro getting the job done for you if you want to avoid the cost and time investment. It took me a few weeks to get mine done (limited time and parts availability) and after all of the precautions I took, I ended up crimping the gasket myself. Doh.

Don't get me wrong, I will probably always do most of my work myself, but there are great reasons for having a professional do the work if cost and time aren't your driving decision factors.

MiaRaider81

your probably right about the disassembly part cause I see on my invoice they charged me an additional $9 for a hose (Hose asmy-blow 11823-za000).

Roymg

I had dealer change the gaskets and plugs while in there, cost me around $700. This was on my 03. Later I also changed the 2 front struts but this time I used Firestone for that work because I knew Nissan wanted around a grand. Cost me $800. Damn!