This is the 6th time I did this. Last time, which was in April or May of 2010, I was trying on the Pathfinder and QX4 valve covers that are aluminum which didn't work and they are in the pics. I got lazy after the 5th time in one day and didn't clean the RTV off the heads and broke a valve cover bolt because changing valve covers should only really happen twice max for the life of the car/motor so I took off the covers and bolts 5 times or more. After that the car had a vacuum leak off and on which could of been because I didn't clean the RTV off well enough or because I broke a bolt and it didn't seal in that area, even though it did not leak oil. It had a SES/Check Engine for the wideband sensors after that, even thought it did turn off and the car ran great for a whole day.

This time I had the right tools to clean the heads of all RTV. This took me from 10AM until about 3PM. I still have a valve cover bolt that I'm not using since half of it is stuck in the cylinder head and the the only way to get it out is to drill it out and tap for a 1 size larger bolt and I can only do that with the cylinder head out of the car. I am very sorry that bolt broke. In total I broke 3 bolts since I got the car, 1 for the valve cover, 2 for the upper plenum which are still stuck in the lower plenum, and I stripped one bolt hole for the thermostat. Also broke a Taiwan ratchet today.

I installed new gaskets at $15 each and I bought brand new valve cover bolts which was $80+ for 18 of them. 20 total. I bought 2 before.

So far no SES light and the car seems to be ready to pass emissions. Will try that Tuesday or Wednesday just in case the light comes back on before registration is due in March. Hopefully this same time next year, I'll have a VQ40 short block with rebuilt Revup cylinder heads and a new lower plenum.

I stopped taking pics about half way.

 

R & D factory put out a valve cover fix where they drill out the old and refit with a larger grommet. Cant attest to how it holds up but they are confident enough to become a sponsor on here to sell them.

 

That's really great that someone stepped up with an aftermarket solution that will last a lifetime. If they would of had that a year ago, I would of have never broken that god damn valve cover bolt in the cylinder head or the plenum bolts that stretched after the 5th time I put them back on.

Anyway, when I took off the original valve covers in May or April of 2010, they had 90k+ miles and they were not leaking oil inside the spark plug tubes even though my mothers Murano was leaking at 63k. I just put the original ones back on the car today.

 

Damn i know the feeling i have broke plenty of bolts and had to tap them out or drill through and clean up the threads. Idk if they would fit a murano though. Supposedly now they can be swapped individually so you can just replace one if its bad.

 

I found the post they made. Hopefully this is a lifetime solution.
"We here at R&D Factory service many Nissans and Infinities daily and run into same valve cover/spark plug o-ring leak. About 75% of the vehicles that we serve have same problems. Even though its money out of customers pocket after spending so much money on these valve covers we were thinking there has to be a way to cut the cost. So here is the good news. We are in process of putting valve cover and o-ring replacement kit together in very short time. The kit will come with both driver and passenger side valve cover gasket, six o-ring gasket and a simple instruction how to replace them. MSRP on the kit is going to be $80.00 plus shipping. We will be also offering ready to install kit for $150.00 + $100 for the cores. we will ship you two valve covers(one of each driver and passenger side) with new valve cover gasket and o-rings installed. $100 core charge will be refunded as soon as you send in your covers to us. This kit should be available by end of the month or beginning of next month. You can PM us if you have any further questions. "

 

They drill the plastic sealing surface that locked the o ring seals in and simply put in new seals. I had those same seals and thew them away.

Basically this is the QX4 Pathfinder valve covers with replaceble spark plug seals.

This valve cover had the camshaft lobe surface taken clean off. No more clearance issues with big cams. I wish I knew about this before.

 

How could I have missed this. I am mad at myself right now. So much time and money wasted chasing QX4/Pathfinder valve covers across GA that don't fit, buying seals for those covers, when I could of done this to the original covers from the beginning and would of had no broken bolts and replaceable seals.

 

For your broken bolt you do have another option. If drilling a hole and using an easy out doesn't help, you could just use a self-tapping bolt and go right through that bolt. You want to make sure you don't get any metal shavings into the head though.

 

The car just passed emissions a few minutes ago.

 

Why don't everybody file a complaint for this issue? Here is the link: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/online.cfm. I think this is a serious safety issue which can cause engine fire while driving on highway. You don't need to get involved in an accident to file a complaint.

 

Congratulation! Georgia is a great state for a car. No snow, no salt, no hurricane, no heat like Florida, no acid rain, no odometer rollback. Government reads odometer every year and put it into carfax history

 

You shouldn't be using a wire brush as bits of it might break off into your valve train. Best to use a sharp plastic scraper. Or if you're extremely careful, a metal scraper.

 

Well according to a Nissan factory trained technician, it should be in nothing less than a clean room.

 

Did you buy OEM new valve covers? If so how much and where did you get them from?

 

It's your car. Considering how small some of the oil holes are in an engine, even a large sized piece of gasket sealer might not be good.