and that explaines the burning smell I get while driving. Its not my oil, that doesn't go down much if ever, thought it might be my transaxle b/c my driver side front sounds like its grinding when I turn on it, but he says its my valve covers leaking onto my exhaust. Any ideas how much this would cost to fix or how hard it is to do myself? I didnt ask him because he was busy and I was just glad to hear that there wasn't anything on the verge of blowing up under my hood.
Also, my valve cover gaskets need to be replaced.. how much work is that? Figure I might as well do some **** under the hood while I'm home, if its relatively cheap and easy to do... Thx guys

Greg

 

Valve cover gaskets, also known as rocker arm cover gaskets, are fairly simple to replace yourself. It's slightly more time consuming on these engines as compared to a lot of domestic engines since there's some **** in the way of getting them off.

All you got to do is disconnect the battery cable, disconnect the electrical connectors from the intake manifold, remove the breather hoses from the rocker arm covers (valve covers), remove the spark plug wires if they're in the way, remove the EGR control valve if it's in the way, and remove the valve cover bolts and throw away the old gaskets. They'll probably look like crumbled up cardboard if they're really bad. Then just put the new gaskets on and put everything back together again.

You should get a Haynes or Chilton's manual cause they can walk you through it step-by-step, plus they have diagrams, and how hard you have to torque the bolts, etc...

I'm sure the valve covers themselves are fine, so I wouldn't bother replacing them, it should be just the gaskets that are the problem.
Also, since these gaskets are going, other gaskets and seals may be on the virge of going to. Some, like the rear main oil seal and head gasket are more expensive to replace than others like the oil pan gasket.

Also, your front end wouldn't grind because of a leaky valve cover gasket. That barely leaks out any oil and most of it dries up due to the heat. You should see a lot of black grease near your manifolds. It sounds like you have a problem with either your steering system, CV joints, or axles.

-C-

 

I had the CV boots on the driver's side replaced in august... only realized they went bad (actually, they ripped open, outer and inner boots) when I found a ton of **** in my rim when I was cleaning my car. Would that decrease in grease be the cause of the grinding? I know its a pain in the *** to refill the grease (something about taking off the spedo cable.. which is against the firewall.. a bigger pain in the *** than the fuel filter, read it in my Haynes repair manual this summer)... and my mechanic should have probably topped off my grease while he was in there, but cant blame him if he didnt, he cuts me a deal when he works on my car.

Greg

 

I'm not too sure on how the replacement of the CV Joints work, so I couldn't tell you for sure. But if you read that it needed grease added to it and your mechanic for some reason didn't, then that could certainly be your problem. Your mechanic should be obligated to remedy the situation free of charge since he didn't do the complete job from the get go. But keep in mind, there are other things that it could be, but usually it's the CV Joints that go first.

-C-

 

The valve cover gaskets are made from a thick rubbery/plastic material. They dry up and shrink a bit with time. You can probably just tighten all the cover bolts to stop most of the leaking (just don't over do it). All you need is a 10mm socket with an extension, or 2.

 

ahhh no, I dont think thats it.. the gasket is pretty oily.. been that way since I've got the car in 99, but the smell is from just recently... the past month or so? give or take.. really think I'm gonna take it back to my mechanic after I replace the gaskets & change my oil/oil filter. The grinding noise wasn't really there until after I got my CV boots replaced.. it was kind of there, but not as loud as it is now.. and while I'm talking about my car making noises, when I accelerate hard in first and second gear, my passenger side makes a clunking noise (that's the best I can describe it really)... when I step on the gas and the car lurches forward, or I let off the gas and it leans, it makes the noise. Also when I turn sharp & short on it, it makes the noise. Suspension piece? Probably expensive... just asking if anyone has any idea from my vague description. If I had a digi cam & a fast connection I'd make a video of it for you.. but I dont have either, so... this'll have to do hehe

Greg