Replacing the Valve Cover GasketIf you have noticed oil on the threads of your spark plugs or have oil seeping out of your valve cover on to the head, these instructions are for you. Here's a quick parts list1. Mopar valve cover gasket (Quantity 1---Part# MO4667421---Cost ~$12.64) 2. Mopar spark plug gaskets (Quantity 4---Part# MO4667232---Cost ~$3.73 each) 3. Silicon sealant suitable for use around oil (VersaChem Super Blue II, type 777, works well) 4. Clean rags for cleaning the sealing surfaces 5. A small ratchet with 8 mm and 10 mm sockets 6. A torque wrench that can do low torques (less than 10 ft-lbs)  The first thing you want to do is unhook the battery. None of the connections you are going to unhook will be energized, but it is good practice to unhook the battery whenever you are doing real work under the hood. Then you need to use a 10 mm socket to unbolt the capacitor from the valve cover [I think its a capacitor]. Then, pull the PCV hose out of the intake manifold. There is a wiring harness that runs along the passenger side of the valve cover. Pull the harness off of the bolts, you may need a screwdriver to pry with. Then you need to disconnect the coil pack connector. Pull the spark plug wires off of the spark plugs [remember to pull on the boot, not the wire]. Now take a 10 mm socket and pull out the coil pack bolts and coil pack. Now you can take an 8 mm socket and remove the 8 valve cover bolts. Don't worry about the numbers I've put next to the bolts, thats for later. Now try to pull the valve cover off, you may have to hit it with the palm of your hand to dislodge it [don't pry on it with anything hard]. Pull off the valve cover and remove the old gaskets.  Once you have the valve cover off, wipe down the part that the gasket sits in with a clean rag. There will probably be some dirt in there, so do a good job. Don't forget the spark plug gasket areas too. This also might be a good time to clean the top of the valve cover [maybe polish the lettering with a dremel]. Make sure that you didn't wipe any dirt from the sealing surface into the inside of the valve cover.  Now clean the sealing surfaces of the head with a clean rag. Be very careful not to wipe any dirt into the head. You may have to clean off some old silicon sealant and gasket material from the head. Don't scrape it up with anything hard [use a fingernail]. Now you can apply the silicon sealant to the places marked on the picture [everywhere there is a seam]. Now place the gaskets into the valve cover. They should stay there even if you turn it upside down. Carefully place the valve cover in place on the head. Drop the cover straight down to put it on [so you don't smear the silicon sealant]. Now its time to bolt up the valve cover. There is a specific sequence to tighten the bolts. In the first picture, each of the 8 valve cover bolts are numbered. Just tighten them in order to 3.3 ft-lbs [I just used a ratchet and guessed]. Then tighten them in order to 6.6 ft-lbs. Finally, tighten them in order to 8.9 ft-lbs. Its sounds complicated, but its really no problem in you're careful. Now put the PCV hose back on, bolt the capacitor back up, and pop the wiring harness back on. Bolt the coil pack back on, reconnect the coil pack connector, and plug the spark plug wires back in. Then you can reconnect the battery [assuming you actually disconnected it]. That should be everything, but don't start the car up yet. The silicon sealant probably has a long cure time [16-24 hrs]. Let the car sit until the sealant has fully cured. Then you can start the car up. If you don't notice any obvious leaks, warm the car up and drive it around for a couple miles. Then recheck to make sure that you aren't leaking any oil. You might want to check it again a couple days later, just to be sure. Contributed by Corbin ____________________ Cars Maintenance Powertrain_Maintenance Replacing the Valve Cover Gasket |
| Document statistics: Last modified on 2008-12-14 13:13:53 by Corbin |