Need to replace the rear valve cover gasket. How

The valve cover gasket is probably one of the easiest repairs to make. Curious as to what your question actually is? Meaning, do you need to know what is required such as gasket's, sealants and tools, or maybe just the Torque spec's for tightening the bolts back on the covers...

A vertical cover...I had to ponder that a bit. Still not sure. The valve cover sits flat on top of the cylinder head, with a gasket between them. The cylinder head is where your spark plugs are threaded in. The valve cover rests on top of the cylinder head. It's about 14-18 inches long and about 4 inches high, kind of rounded over so the valves and valve train will fit underneath. A gasket leaking motor oil is very common there, as a lot of oil is directed there and then splashed around to lubricate the valve train. The oil is supposed to drain through engine passages on down to the oil sump- the bottom of engine where oil is kept in the oil pan.

So if you have an oil leak, and it turns out it is the valve cover that is leaking, it's an easy fix-one of the easiest gasket replacements there is.

The valve cover gaskets are prone to leaks and bad ones at that. Cleans the entire engine and rive it to confirm the source of the leaks or leaks.. Remember the oil runs down hill and to the rear of the engine and gets all over from leaking valve cover gaskets.

yes. in order to change the rear valve cover gasket the easiest way to get it out is to drop the subframe which supports the motor from under the vehicle

Hi Dave,

Trying to do a timing belt? Can't figure out how to get to the bolt on the back side of the power steering bracket so you can get it out of the way and get the rear timing cover off?

If this is the case, all I can say is I know your pain!!! Been there, done that, MANY times!

The easiest way that I have found to do this (if you want to call it EASY) is to remove the upper intake plenum and the rear valve cover. Then the bolt can be easilly accessed by reaching over the top of the rear head.

Hint: this is also a good time to replace spark plugs and ignition cables. These engines like to get valve cover leaks that fill the spark plug tubes on the rear head with engine oil, so removing the valve cover and replacing the gasket and spark plug tube seals is a good investment if you are doing a timing belt anyway. Having the valve cover off also makes it very easy to loosen up the cam journal caps and make it easy work to install new camshaft seals also. - this way, hopefully, you won't have to go back in there for a LONG time!

Three seals to check. easiest is the valve cover seal. Number and remove the 4 wires going into your spark plugs. remove 4 nuts holding the cover and replace seal.
Next easiest is the distributor O-ring. Remove air filter assembly remove the distributor cap, then the distributor. With the valve cover still off, loosen the 2 bolts that clamp the distributor down. Remove the 2 terminal leads going into the distributor (4 wire terminal/2 wire terminal) Mark the case of the distributor and the case of the head with one line so you can line it back up on reinstallation. remove the 3 bolts holding the distributor down. Replace O-ring. replace distributor, align, tighten the 2 bolts, then tighten the 3 bolts. replace terminal wiring and cap. replace air filter assembly. Replace valve cover with new gasket. Place spark plug wires back into their proper places. The last one is the oil pan gasket. Drain all oil and remove all blots holding the pan. drop the pan and replace the gasket. Put it all back into place. Do not over tighten the pan bolts as this will cause the gasket to deform, making it leak again.

On the DOHC: The Spark Plug Tube Seals (Washers) on the Valve Cover has developed a leak.
Install new seals.
Remove the Valve Cover to Install the Seals.
If the Valve Cover Gasket have not been replaced recently, go ahead and replace them as well, making sure you clean thoroughly BOTH surfaces before installing any new Seal Washers and Gasket.

Let me me know if this helped, or if you have additional information or questions. Feel Free to contact me on FixYa.com!

ps...I'm replacing (for free!) the Valve Cover Gaskets today on a 1994 Nissan Maxima. Looks like we both will have fun!
If you need the Valve Cover Torque Sequence / Specs let me know on the Comment Section of this Post.

Hello. Let me try to assist you the best I can, with the hope of achieving a FixYa rating from you for my assistance.

Changing the rear valve cover gasket on your vehicle would be not considered a "real" big job, but IS a time-consuming job.
In order to remove the rear cover, you first have to remove the intake plenum. If you do not remove the plenum, you can't get to the valve cover bolts that are under the plenum. After the plenum is off, the valve cover is easy to access. You will also need to replace the intake plenum gasket, if you do the job yourself.

I hope this information has satisfied your question.
Thanks for choosing FixYa for assistance!

the only way to replace the rear valve cover is to remove the upper intake....there is no easy way

To replace the valve cover gaskets on a Sienna: The front one is easy. The difficult one is the other side, closest to the firewall. You will need to purchase a new intake plenum gasket, when you buy the new valve cover gaskets, because you MUST remove the intake plenum to remove the rear valve cover. You can NOT get the back side valve cover off of the engine without removing the plenum. Trust me.
Hope this helps, and thanks for choosing FixYa.