First, I noticed a burning oil smell when I was driving, but didn't see any type of leaks on car or below (saw gunk on the PCV area though). Threw some dye in my crankcase and didn't really see anything to bad either looking from the top down, Ordered some Victor Reinz gaskets anyway just in case, so I go under the car the other day and saw a lot of my dye on the transmission and up by the driver side CAT.
Started replacing the gaskets yesterday, but have an 8 year old step-son who makes things difficult, lol. Passenger side was pretty easy to repace.
I used a Milwaukee 1/4 Impact wrench to break all the bolts free (I also have the 1/2 and it's pretty impressive. I want to try the Harbor Freight Earthquake air gun also though). I also used a drill with adjustable clutch on smallest setting to snug the bolts down. Then did the rest by hand.
I bought some Permatex Ultra Black RTV and Permatex Ultra Black Right Stuff. I put a small bead of regular RTV in the passenger cover to keep the gasket in place, while I got it installed. Used "The Right Stuff" on the corners to perform the actual sealing.
Now, the driver side was a bitch to remove and to get the last bolt out, I had to use wobble extension with a 3/8 reducer to 1/4 to break it free. I also used a set of small stubby ratchets from Harbor Freight. To my amazement I found I was hit with the failing spark plug seal in #6 as well. I had to install the gasket into the valve cover with some of "The Right Stuff" because it kept falling out on me trying to get it back in there when I had small bead of RTV.
I had a set of Fel-Pro seals just in case, but I wasn't sure if they would fit and my other car is off the road as well, so I did a fix like this and hoping for the best, lol:
Snugged everything backup, sprayed the engine down with Scrubbing Bubbles, rinsed it off clean, and then let the car run for awhile to burn off the water. I also hit the engine with an air compressor to get rid of some of the water as well.
So far it looks clean and no burning smell as of now. My old gaskets were brittle and I could easily break them in my hand.
I changed my plugs at 120K and didn't notice any oil, so at ~154K I developed a failed seal in between.
