1990 Buick Skylark Valve Cover Gasket

CARCLUELESS12

MEMBER
1990 BUICK SKYLARK

1990 Buick Skylark 4 cyl Automatic 130000 miles

My car has been smoking from the hood and the exhaust for a while now. I took it to meineke and they told me that I need to change the valve cover gasket. A friend of mine said he could do it and so I went and bought a new gasket and now my friend has said he can't do it because of other time constraints. Is this something I can do by myself? How?

1 Reply

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Replacement procedures are below but I would not recommend you trying this repair if you have no previous experience..you're better off letting a repair shop do it to prevent further damage to vehicle or harm to self..

REMOVAL:
Disconnect the negative battery cable.
Detach the breather hoses, the induction tube and air cleaner.
On the 2.5L engine, detach the PCV valve and/or hose assembly.
On some engines it may be required to remove the EGR valve.
Unfasten the accelerator and T.V. cables if in the way of valve cover extraction.
Remove the spark plug wires and the clips from the rocker arm cover.
Unfasten the bolts, then tap the rocker arm cover gently with a rubber mallet to break the gasket loose, and remove the cover. Do not pry on the cover or damage to the sealing surfaces may result.
Using a gasket scraper, clean the gasket mating surfaces of all debris and old gasket material.

INSTALLATION:
Position a new gasket on the rocker arm cover. Be sure to remove the protective paper from the adhesive/cover side of the gasket.
Tighten the retainer bolts in sequence or a criss-cross fashion to 6-8 ft. lbs. (8-10 Nm).
Connect the PCV valve and/or hose assembly.
Fasten the T.V. and accelerator cables.
Install the air cleaner assembly.
Install the induction tube, the breather hoses and air cleaner.
Connect the negative battery cable, start the engine and check for leaks.

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