Valve Cover Leak Again

[psychbiker1966]

I had my cracked valve cover replaced with a nice powder coated one less than 2 months ago. Now I noticed it is leaking worse than before it was fixed. I supplied the shop with everything including all the gaskets for the cover and around the new plugs and wires That I had them put in as well.Oil is just drenching my plugs and it is leaking out ot he valve cover as well. I too it back to them thinking that they must have screwed up the 1st time and they said ..Ya This happens sometimes with these cars!!

IS THIS A LOAD OF DUNG OR WHAT??!! This was obviously their fault and should be warranted right???

The car has only 46,000 miles !!
(98 GST)

 

[BloodWolfRonin]

I would hope a respectable shop would resolve this, or that you would not return to them for any repeat "business"if this is due to their install. Valve cover gaskets aren't too difficult. Got a manual? Or search the forums. Oil drenching your plugs sounds like one of the plug gaskets(one of the four round o-rings w/tab) may have slipped out of place or installed incorrectly. Check the torque of the bolts(do not overtorque!), seems like they like to loosen up on my buddies all the time. I check mine occasionally due to liking a leak free motor

 

[diablos991]

Honestly the gasket is one of the easiest things to replace.

Make sure you use a light layer of RTV and when tightening the bolts, and tighten them hand tight from the center out.

Now the term hand tight is extremely subjective. Just remember that this portion of the motor isn't under extreme pressure and you can always snug up the bolts a bit more if needed, however, if you tighten the bolts too tight, then there is no going back since it will be cracked.

 

[Talesin]

A number of shops will mis-read the torque spec sheets, and torque the VC bolts to 36 foot-pounds, when the maximum is 36 INCH-pounds (3ft/lb). Which is less than the average person can deliver with a standard screwdriver.

Also note that the VC gasket can and will leak if the bolts are TOO tight, warping the gasket. With a fresh gasket and a clean head surface, the only thing that NEEDS RTV is a couple of dabs at the sides of the half-moon. Properly torqued, the rest will not leak with just the gasket.

 

[turboglenn]

they are notorious for leaking frequently.... atek your time and change it out yourself, you'll learn that you have more mechanical ability than you think.. just take your time and search for some instructions on here or get a manual..

i have to replace mine yearly it seems since ht eheat under the hood cooks it into a hard plastic rather than the rubber it comes as ... snug the bolts down by hand and check tehm at least every other week.. I know mine are loose about once a month, i jsut take a 1/4 inch ratchet and go around and "snug" them all down working from teh center out in a criss srossing pattern and it holds fine.. like mentioned above, DON"t over tighten them.. you'll end up cracking this one as well or warping it and never solving the leak

 

[lccynmbr13]

Also make sure you remember the longer bolts go on the outside perimeter and the shorter ones are for under the spark plug wire cover. I didn't realize this the first time I changed my gasket and I stripped on of the short bolts trying to put it on the outside. Luckily the long bolt was able to catch so I didn't have to rethread anything

 

[Rex2342]

Good luck getting a warranted. I know at the shop I work for anytime a customer brings in there own parts the warranty doesn't exist. A VC is an easy repair anyway. Just do like everyone already said. get new gaskets, clean everything, use a dab of rtv by the half moon, and don't over tighten the bolts.

 

[Zmann42087]

I know at the shop I work for anytime a customer brings in there own parts the warranty doesn't exist.

Same thing where I work too. If the parts department didn't order/supply the parts, there is no warranty on the work.

 

[psychbiker1966]

I went ahead and let them do the gasket again since I didn't want to wait on ebay and have my car out a week or more. I am thinking they may have over torqued the gasket ### I told the mechanic that the valve covers crack easily and he said something about tightening THEM DOWN WITH SOME PRESSURE...like 20 to 30 ft lbs..I told him I think that 3 ft lbs was the right spec but he didn't sound convinced!! I called him back a bit later and told him that 3ft lbs is the correct spec but I don't trust him that he did it right!! Anyway the car is ready this morning and I am going to pick it up after work. Do you think i should loosen the bolts off to spec if he over tightened them or is it already too late. The car is only 1/4 mile away from house...

 

[just2asian]

Well first off, if you don't trust the guy, then I wouldn't have taken it back to him. However if he was the one that ordered all the seals this time, you better make damn sure he can guarantee his work.

 

[99gst_racer]

People still pay to have valve cover gaskets replaced?

Do you think i should loosen the bolts off to spec if he over tightened them or is it already too late. The car is only 1/4 mile away from house...

If he exceeded 10 ft/lbs, then he stripped out the holes on the head. You're better off asking him what he torqued them too, instead of assumining that they are too tight.

They are either going to be:
- too loose
- just fine
- stripped the head


So, if they feel hand tight, then you can safely assume that they are fine.

 

[peypey's ride]

And this is why I dont trust repair shops with my car! I perfer to do it myself! They tend to **** up the easiest of things! And its funny to cause I am an aircraft mechanic and a garage auto mechanic doin work on family and friends cars. One thing that I have learned from workin on aircraft is that no matter how good you think you are or how many times you have done a job before, every repair is a lil different then the next and using the proper repair manuals you can never go wrong. Well, 9 out of 10 times, there is alot of crappy parts made out there too!

 

[kenamond]

Go buy a Haynes manual. The gasket set is ~$40 at Autozone (just make sure it has 6 pieces: main gasket, 4 plug well seals, 1 half-moon plug - open the box to make sure before you walk out). No need to wait a week.

Then do it yourself. Note what was said about torque specs (my torque wrench only goes down to 5ft-lb, so I go by feel), the general pattern for tightening, and that there are two bolt sizes (use zip-lock baggies labeled with a Sharpie™ if you wanna keep them separate). I go many rounds tightening everything down a bit more each time until I feel that every single bolt has snugged up. Then I stop. I broke my 1st VC, because one of the sparkplug well gaskets shifted when I flipped the VC over and put it on the head, so make sure things are pressed well into the VC grooves. You also need a small dot of RTV at each place the head surface has a sharp corner (2 places on both ends of the intake cam, and 2 places on the #1 end of the exhaust cam) and all the way around the half-moon seal. You don't need much RTV at all or it'll squirt out and look ugly (maybe you don't care about that).