Hello all- I need to replace my valve cover gaskets and figured I’d replace my intake gasket as well. I am hoping that some experienced members can advise me as if anything else should be replaced while car is broken down. Want to cover everything I can in one go around. Also any tips will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

 

If you are putting back in your oem valve covers you’ll want to mod the baffle plate and replace the spark plug seals too.

 

I would take out your spark plugs first to make sure there is no oil on them. If they are covered in oil then you will need to buy new valve covers too. I would just buy a kit from Victor Reinz on RockAuto it should have upper/lower plenum, intake, and throttle body gaskets. I wouldn't go with Fel-Pro their lower plenum was not made of metal and it did not fit my car correctly when I attempted to use it. I'd also buy the VTC solenoid gaskets and you can get those on Z1 or probably RockAuto too.

 

I've been fighting my valve cover gaskets for a week now (part deliveries are sloooow).

I found a crack in my upper plenum, so had to get a new one. First attempt at putting the valve covers back on I had one fall down (and of course not seen) so it got pinched and lead to an even worse leak, so another set of gaskets on the way.

So don't make the same mistake - make sure you use a little bit of liquid gasket every few inches to hold the rubber gasket in place as the valve cover is put in place. Don't forget the liquid gasket (gray RTV) comes in several varieties with vastly different cure times. 90 minute version is about right for the time you take putting everything together, so no need to go with the 3-min version. You need liquid gasket at the front side for those sharp corners, but RTV goes bad sitting in the tube, so you might as well go all the way around.

Also, it's a good time to change your sparkplugs since everything's off.

Also, replace the PCV tubes, as they get hard and are likely to crack when being removed. z1 has good silicone ones that should last the life of the car - https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-pro...it-p-4284.html

 

Inspection mirror and a good flashlight so you can see all the way around the valve cover after install to make sure everything is seated nicely

You're almost definitely going to need new valve covers, not just the valve cover gasket. The spark plug well tube seals are permanently embedded in the valve cover, they fail at around the same time as the VC gasket.

 

buy the kit from rock auto, take your hood off so you can see and access the back of the valve cover better. There is a tightening procedure and a numbering system to the valve cover bolts, bolt #10 will visit in your sleep it is truly a PITA!

 

Funny, I usually don't have a problem with that bolt in the very back middle, it's the one on the back outer corner of bank1 that's a pain for me because of all that EVAP crap in the way.

 

my numbering was off that is the bolt I was referring too, the one in the corner kind of under the coolant pressure release valve in the back.

 

Yeah there is no good way to get to that one. Even with the EVAP bracket unbolted from the chassis it's still a super tight fit.

 

So…. Valve gaskets replaced, intake gaskets replaced, air fuel sensor replaced, Sensor a bank 2 replaced. No more check engine light or codes!! Thanks to all who gave advice bc y’all’s tips saved lots of headaches through all this.
The only out of ordinary issue is when my baby is in gear idling, there is a rough idle. Only when it’s in gear. In park idling she’s good. Any thoughts on that? Could it be a vacuum leak?

 

Almost always a vacuum leak. Make sure to unplug the battery for a while, or do the pedal ECU reset after doing anything to intake / exhaust / etc.

 

Do the accelerator pedal relean, the throttle closed relear, then the idle air recalibration steps from the FSM. IN THAT ORDER. Use a stopwatch to make sure your second counts are correct.