The pics below are of the valve covers that have some oil gunked up at the seals. There isn't a pic but on the back side there isn't gunk but the oil is actually leaking. Do I need to replace the valve cover gaskets? The leak isn't bad but I could do with out it. Is this a difficult job? I know I will have to take the IM of and all that.

BTW, my wife has an '03 and there is this oil gunk build up on hers too. Should I worry about that too?

 

I've seen a lot of Maximas with the front valve cover in similar condition. Usually only enough leak to make a nice dirty mess. But the rear cover next to the firewall, well it likes to actually drip oil from the RH rear corner.

Yes, in order to fix it correctly the upper intake must be removed and a new gasket installed on the VC. May as well do the front one while you are at it, even though they are really two separate jobs.

 

Have you done this before? How long did it take? I am no stranger with the tools and this doesn't seem that hard just time consuming. I have never done this before but all it seems is, taking it apart, replace the gaskets and torque it back correctly, right?
My max hasn't ever dripped a drop of oil until now and it is 13 yrs old now. I don't want it to continue either. Thanks for the help!

 

its pretty straight forward...... im about to do it this weekend

 

This job is moderately difficult for a first timer. If you have some mechanic experience this will be easy. About 2+ hours. Take your time, you'll get it.

 

Remember, its INCH POUNDS not foot pounds

 

Biggest pain are the coolant lines on the rear of the upper intake. Besides that, simple 2 hour job.