I have a small oil leak from the valve covers on my 99 OBW. Just had the timing belt, cam and crank seals replaced. How difficult is this? Something I can do at home? I replaced the spark plugs a while back and it took a few hours. The spark plugs go right thru the valve cover right? So I must first remove the plugs. Do the covers come off from the top or do I need to crawl underneath? Is there a handy guide somewhere to explain the whole process to me?

 

Thanks,

I've always done them out of the car. On a 2.2 I believe they would be easy to do. The 2.5 has less room.

 

I use fel-pro kits but some recomment Suby only.

 

Too bad all that other work was just done. Would have been a good time to yank the engine, do the baffle plate, valve covers, spark plugs, etc.

Gte the kit from subaru. The valve cover gaskets from Felpro are fine, but your also going to replace the spark plug bucket gromits at the same time (thats not an option here, you will do it ), and aftermarket for those have been lousy, they do not last.

 

You can easily do it in your driveway.

 

Thaink about chaning the plug wires and plugs as long as you are there too.

 

Make sure no one under 16 is within earshot.

 

nipper

Make sure no one under 16 is within earshot.

 

nipper

:lol::lol: awesome!

:lol::lol: awesome!

 

heheh Gross, i found one HUGE plus to the liftkit, sparkplugs are EASY!

 

 

nipper

oh no kidding, it gave more clearance? that is awesome!

oh no kidding, it gave more clearance? that is awesome!

 

Plug #3 is still a pg-13 (as opposed to X ) rated plug, but all the other ones are simple. The engine drops below the frame rails with the lift kit.

 

nipper

The spark plugs go right thru the valve cover right? So I must first remove the plugs. Do the covers come off from the top or do I need to crawl underneath?

 

No need to remove the plugs, just the plug wires.

 

Don't even attemot this job unitl you have gone and bought a 10mm ratcheting gear wrench.

 

 

I would consider waiting until some other type of service that requires engine removal though(clutch, headgasket). That is if the leaks aren't bad.

replace the PCV valve first, maybe that will reduce your leaks?

Undo the motor mount nuts and jack the motor up and slide it over the the other side while doing each cover. Takes 5 min and will save you an hour of fighting to get the vc bolts out.

Got a quote of $220-$250 for the shop to do this. Does that seem reasonable? Local Subaru dealership ballparked me at $500. A quick google search for the gaskets, grommets, and plug seals looks like it costs about $80. I would probably take me 8 hours to do it and it would still leak. Anyone know of a detailed set of instructions on how to do this? Anyone got a favorite mechanic in West Michigan to recommend? Thanks all.