Valve cover replacement

[redlightningsvx]

Ok, well it was pretty nice out today and I woke up around 9:30 am to start these. Everything went pretty easy with changing them out. It took me about 3hrs total to do them. I also ran into an incident where after I was completely done the pass. side valve cover was dripping bad with the new gaskets in which took about an extra 1hr onto the 3 because I had to take it completely out again.Well i'll start the walk-through with the passenger side which is the easiest side to do.

First, unscrew the 2 clamps from the intake that goes onto the throttle body.
MAF. I have a cold air intake so I just unscrewed the clamp and slid the whole tube into the fender-well for some working room.

G]http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/redlightningsvx1/Valve%20Covers/DSCF0014.jpg[/IMG]

Here's a pic of the intake tube off so you can see where all the hoses plug in that you need to take off.


Next remove the top of the washer fluid container and remove the 2 screw/bolts and pull up but remember to unplug the pump and take the rubber hose off at the bottom.
G]http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/redlightningsvx1/Valve%20Covers/DSCF0020.jpg[/IMG]


Here is the oil breather where the oil separator gasket will go. These can be done when you have the valve covers off.


Here's a couple of shots where the bolts and such are.



Here's a pic of my valve covers.

[redlightningsvx]

When putting in the new gaskets remember to clean the groove and edges on the motor and the covers so everything will seal nice. Now after that put in the new gaskets like this.


I had a leak after I had both done and found out it was leaking by the corners where it goes into a semi-circle. I put some gasket sealer into the grooves where the gasket goes and around the corners, that stopped the leak.

Here's a pic of my cams. Check them to see if you have any wear or cracks.
MG]http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/redlightningsvx1/Valve%20Covers/DSCF0025.jpg[/IMG]


Well after you do this you almost done with one side. Now carefully slide and maneuver them back into place and start bolting everything back in and it should look like this.

[redlightningsvx]

Now your done with the easy side, now onto the harder one.

Now the driver side cover which is a little more cramped so it will take a little longer.

First to give you some room the only thing is to remove the battery which is held in by the 2 j-bolts on the bracket.


Here's a pic of the cover. The black wire in the middle of the pics can be moved to the left so it's not in your way.


There is only one trick I found out and that was for removing the bottom right bolt. Turn your wheel all the way to the left and you'll see a grommet for the spark plugs. Now look to the right of that into the engine bay and you can see the bolt, just get some extensions and take it out.

Here's a pic of the drivers side. It's reallllllllly dirty.


Here's the bolts which you'll need to remove the old washers off and put on new ones like this. There are 2 bolts that are smaller than the rest. they are the 2 that are closest to the firewall and they only fit in those holes.


Then carefully put it back onto the motor because there is virtually no room so slide it into place carefully and make sure your gaskets are secured on the cover before putting in bolts or you'll regret it by having HUGE puddles of oil everywhere. When all of this is done reinstall the intake tube and hoses along with the battery in reverse order and let the motor run for about 5-10 min to check for leaks. If all goes well then you will be one happy camper for the rest of the day.

[redlightningsvx]

Sorry the pics were down because I cleaned up some of the photos in photobucket the other day so it's more organized but they're all up now.

[SVXyGirl]

Thank you.

[redlightningsvx]

No problem.

[dromano]

Seth,

Thanks for all the great pics!!!

I don't think you mentioned the coils, they need to be taken off the spark plugs, right? I just went out and looked to be sure.

Where do you get the bolt rubber washers? Two different sizes?

TIA,

Dave

[redlightningsvx]

Hey thanks. I just unbolted the coils from the spark plugs and set them aside, but never disconnected them. The washers are dealer item only and they come in a pack of 5 if i remember right so you need 20. They are all the same sizes.

[dromano]

Seth,

Where did you buy your bolt washers? Subaru Parts.com wants $2.48 each!!!!
That's 39.62 for 16 washers, yikes!!! Help!!!!

[redlightningsvx]

I got them from a Subaru dealership because I work at one and get super cool discounts. The washers are expensive and you will need 20 washers not 16. My price per washer was $2.15.

[dromano]

Seth,

Thanks for your help. I am thinking of ways to avoid the price of the bolt washers, ie, gasketing silicone, etc, $12 worth of sealer is better than $50 for washers. Could sealer work in your opinion or is it better to bite the bullet and buy the over prices washers? This car keeps sucking on my wallet, that's not news. OMG I've stepped off the cliff again.......

[redlightningsvx]

Well if you don't have any oil leaking from the bolts I guess you could reuse the old ones but If you were to do that I would recommened that you use some Fuji triple bond Subaru adheasive. Don't know how much that stuff is but that's what they use in the mechanics shop for sealing engines. Just put some sealer on the back of the washer and then tighten it and you should be good but I recommened if you want to know it won't leak for a while that you buy new washers.

[dromano]

Seth,

I posted this info after your thread on the "Forums" site.

I used a curved jaw vise grip with a 10mm socket in the jaws to remove the bottom bolt next to the fire wall, this combo makes a narrow wrench that reaches the bolt and has room to move in that narrow space, still took a long time to get it out.

[dromano]

Valve covers and coils are back in place. Don't want to do this job again till 17 years pass.

Still to do: cam seals, oil pump seal, oil pump O ring, then water pump & timing belt. Waiting for parts to arrive. Time to rest.....

If you do this here are some things I would recommend: 1. before removing any bolts from the valve covers clean as much gunk off them that you can, I used aerosol cans of Gumout carb & choke cleaner. If you don't do this you risk crap falling into the cam area (not a good thing). 2. use the Gumout to remove the crud from the valve covers when they are off the car, both sides. 3. before you put the new gaskets in the clean valve covers put some silicone gasket sealer (I used Permatex Ultra Grey #82194 Gasket Maker, recommended by svxfiles) in the slot for the gasket on the valve covers, it works sort of like glue, holds the gasket in place when the valve cover is put back on the head, put it at all corners, other spots that look like it will help hold the gasket in place, give the gasket maker several hours to cure before installing the valve cover on the head. Most of all, good luck with the bolts. I don't know what 10 foot pounds of torque feels like so I tightened the bolts till I thought they were snug enough. Of the 20 bolts you could get a torque wrench on may be 6 bolts.
This job would be 1000 times easier if the engine was out of the car. Dear lord, please don't let my rear crank seal leak.

[redlightningsvx]

my cam seals are leaking now so when i get them I will do another write up for them unless someone else once to take the time to do them thats ok to.