Rocker cover gasket - Tips for replacement

[jvanzyl]

Afternoon all!

My last mot indicated a leaking rocker cover - I'm assuming that in order to replace it I need to:
Disconnect battery
Remove rear strut brace
Disconnect PCV hose
Unplug the injector wiring harnesses
Disconnect fuel rail - remember rag to mop up spare fuel
Remove injectors

& here's what I'm now guessing:
Remove ignition coils
Remove spark plugs
THEN lift rocker/valve cover up?
Put gasket in
Reverse order re-assemble being careful to remember to regrease the injector o-rings...

My questions to you folks more knowledgable than me are:

1 - What am I missing in the list of things to do?
2 - Whilst I'm in there - is there anything else I should be doing or looking at?
3 - What do I need to watch out for with all of this?

Cheers guys - do appreciate all your help!

John

[Carolyn]

No need to mess with injectors or unplug ignition connections.  Remove the bolts that hold the coils in place. Loosen the rail that holds the ignition wiring (one screw halfway along and one at the left-hand end), pull the coils off the pugs and remove them from their holes.
Just the PCV and breather hoses to disconnect.  Then all the screws and nuts that hold the cover on. Some of the screws/nuts hold other stuff on, so remember which ones they are.

Clean the surfaces.

Enjoy, it's a satisfying little job.

Nothing much else to do.  You can check your valve clearances if you want, but really not needed.

[jvanzyl]

Ah right! So I can leave injectors in, just remove the sparks plugs and coils, PCV hoses etc and lift off. Good stuff.

Thanks for the tip on remembering where all the screws and nuts go...

I used to do valve clearances on my old Felicia - I know I've got a feather gauge somewhere... I must admit I'm not likely to try and mess with it in this type of engine though.

Cheers!

[Carolyn]

As I recall (only done it at least a dozen times... doh!) I don't think you even have to pull the plugs.  Can't hurt though.

Changing valve clearances on this one means lifting the camshafts and changing buckets... unless they are really noisy -don't bother.

[jvanzyl]

I know what a camshaft is but I don't know what a bucket is... think it's best I leave well alone!

[hachiroku]

Carolyn is correct regarding the plugs I believe... Don't need to touch them to get the cover off, can't hurt to whip them out to check their condition though.

Buckets are literally just that - An upside-down bucket that sits on top of each valve stem. The 'bottom' of the bucket is the flat surface that the cams are in contact with to push the valves open.

[jvanzyl]

Carolyn is correct regarding the plugs I believe... Don't need to touch them to get the cover off, can't hurt to whip them out to check their condition though.

Buckets are literally just that - An upside-down bucket that sits on top of each valve stem. The 'bottom' of the bucket is the flat surface that the cams are in contact with to push the valves open.

Awesome - thanks man  :-) :-) :-)

I'm still not touching them!... spent enough on the car this year - I'm going to be adopting the "if it's not broke don't replace" attitude for quite a while!

[Carolyn]

A very healthy attitude, Sir.

[hachiroku]

I'm going to be adopting the "if it's not broke don't replace" attitude for quite a while!

Suppose you can't be blamed for that after splurging on those Teins.   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Not jealous at all by the way.   s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:    s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:

[jvanzyl]

I'm going to be adopting the "if it's not broke don't replace" attitude for quite a while!

Suppose you can't be blamed for that after splurging on those Teins.   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Not jealous at all by the way.   s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:    s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:

hehe -  :-) :-) :-)  going to start the fitting process next week...

BTW - I ordered new drop links as I was assuming that i'd need them - but I realised that I've actually got polys fitted already! So In theory I should be able to send the new one's back right? Or is there more to it than that?

[Bossworld]

Is this a fairly idiot proof job and a case of replacing just the gasket, or do you need to start applying gasket paste/sealants as well?  I'm not burning oil (to my knowledge) but a previous MOT mentioned an oil leak.  

I swapped out the tensioner O-ring for the one suggested by Carolyn (thanks!) and my replacement aux belt doesn't have any sign of oil dripping on it, so I think the tensioner area is now OK.  I can see what looks like oil around the rocker cover edge on the left hand side though.

EDIT: Found this, going to tackle it over the winter.

 m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lroJVK-1jA m