valve covers leaking oil

[Mike Oxlong]

I've got a 95 V6 SR5 2wd. Passed down from my mom, in stellar condition (my parents own a Texaco Xpress Lube, so it's been well cared-for).

When I had the truck in for the steering-rod recall work, the dealership told me that my valve covers were leaking oil. I looked myself and there is a thin coat of oily gunk around them. I check the oil regularly, and the dipstick says I'm not losing any, although I do see some drips on the garage floor.

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I can turn a wrench. How hard would it be to replace valve covers? Assuming it's more than I can handle, I don't want to spend a lot of money on this, is there any risk to leaving it as-is other than losing oil?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[captwalker87]

If there is only just a little gunk around them, theyre not that bad. However, over time, they will get worse. No major issues here except for leaking oil, and whatever it may leak on. My 4R has the same problem and oil dripped on my exhast manifold, resulting in smoke. To give you a general idea in what it takes to replace them; you have to move the throttle cable and cruise control cable, disconnect intake plenum ground cable, remove air intake duct, remove oil blow by, remove intake plenum and any vacuum lines that get in the way, and finally remove the valve covers. When you replace the valve cover gaskets, its a pretty good idea to replace your intake plenum gasket as well. I think all the gaskets run for about $55 at Autozone (Felpro, not the best). I highly recommend getting at least a Haynes if you are considering to do this yourself. Hope this helps.

 

[Mike Oxlong]

Thanks captwalker, I appreciate the info. I'm rather lazy, so I'll probably end up waiting until they get worse. I should be able to move that stuff okay, I'll probably get that Haynes and my old man to help out.

 

[cdmasm]

That's the exact question I have too. Did you go ahead and fix them or are you waiting to see if the leak gets worse? I'm leaking a couple silver dollar size spots on the driveway and am concerned this might be a problem. Are you not having to add any oil between oil changes? How many miles on your rig?

 

[captwalker87]

That's the exact question I have too. Did you go ahead and fix them or are you waiting to see if the leak gets worse? I'm leaking a couple silver dollar size spots on the driveway and am concerned this might be a problem. Are you not having to add any oil between oil changes? How many miles on your rig?

I didn't actually replace my gaskets. Instead, my engines condition was so bad as 238K miles that I had to do a 3.0L to 3.0L swap. It turns out that the valve covers weren't my only leak. My rear main seal was bad, also.