Valve cover gasket replacement

[1993_VG30E_GXE]

Your smart to do the work in advance BEFORE it blows up. Every yr may be a bit overkill, but if it's not costly who cares. The worst thing is when you don't do preventative maintenance and stuff breaks when you least expect it and you aren't ready for it because your doing other things in your life at that point.

And repairs like this can be stressful and a pain in the [censored]. Not fun.

 

[PandaBear]

Why replace it once a year? If it is so easy just wait till it leaks.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Quest
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS

I was actually under the impression that Fel-Pro made some decent gaskets? I remember reading something on how they usually 'improved' on OE design.

Regrettably speaking, for imports servicing (I'm mainly into fixing Japanese cars), none of the Fel-Pros I used would last more than 3yrs, period.

I've seen Fel-pro where gaskets for Mazda, Honda, etc. marked "manufactured in Japan" (possibly Japanese aftermarket suppliers of some kind) but when I lay the VC gasket side-by-side with the ones I bought from dealerships, the difference is obvious: they were thinner by design and over time as they lose their ability to flex (and resiliency to seal the mating surfaces), they leak sooner.

This observation has been true to most Mazdas, Nissans, Hondas, and Toyotas I've serviced so far (that the owner requested for aftermarket gaskets (Fel-Pro), mainly for cost reasons (only save them a few bucks, really!) and the comebacks are high.

Q.

I once had to replace the oil pan gasket in a 2002 Nissan Sentra, and the fel-pro gasket was made from cork.

Fel-pro gaskets are great when dealing with GM heads and intake manifolds, but other applications can be hit or miss.

 

[mechtech2]

Every year?!
Aftermarket gaskets are often better than factory ones.
Improvements often are made in design and materials.
I sure hope is is not necessary to change them as much as you do!

 

[onion]

That's kinda weird- changing a gasket whether it leaks or not. But I've heard of even stranger hobbies. Personally, I'd wait 'til it leaks... but I won't hold it against you if you don't.

My experience with aftermarket gaskets has been hit-and-miss. Some are better, some worse, some pretty much identical to OEM. On average, though- with some notable exceptions- I prefer OEM gaskets.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: 1993_VG30E_GXE
Your smart to do the work in advance BEFORE it blows up. Every yr may be a bit overkill, but if it's not costly who cares. The worst thing is when you don't do preventative maintenance and stuff breaks when you least expect it and you aren't ready for it because your doing other things in your life at that point.

And repairs like this can be stressful and a pain in the [censored]. Not fun.


Blow up? I've never seen/heard of an engine blowing up from a leaking valve cover gasket. When a VC gasket leaks, it usually seeps very slowly and doesn't get much worse for at least a few weeks. You can easily live with it for a while until you get around to fixing it. That's why I said in my earlier post:

Quote:
Preventive maintenance is to prevent catastrophic failure, prolong life of components, and keep you from getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. Replacing a perfectly good valve cover gasket does none of those.

 

[artificialist]

There is only a few kinds of preventative part replacement I do.

When I change a timing belt, I always recommend new pulleys and a new water pump.

When removing a complicated intake manifold I recommend a new t-stat.