changing spark plugs,

[nailed]

so i got a day off here, i head out to the garage to change the spark plugs and maybe the fuel filter later, got some NGKs ready to rock. i pull out the first wire and some oil comes out! was definitely not expecting this.

the general consensus of people ive talked to so far is that the valve cover gasket is leaking.

does that sound right to you guys? im still relatively new to this stuff but i'm doing my best. i have a chiltons manual (i know not the best, but its served me well so far) and im trying to learn everything i can.

if it is the valve cover gasket, i saw on the parts list that there is an "inner" and "outer" valve cover gasket. which one is it more likely to be? should i just replace both of them since i'll have the cover off?

thanks in advance

[[Zero-S]]

if its leaking into the plug chamber, most likely it is the vc gasket. They only come in sets (which is for the better). Go get one, they're like 26 dollars.

[nailed]

its just in the chamber, and the cars been running pretty good(whew). any tips as to how to go about cleaning the damn oil out if there? sorry for all the newb questions, gotta start somewhere though.

[[Zero-S]]

shop rag and a screwdriver lol. Make sure the plug is out. If you want you can spray a little wd40 in there while the plug is out as well, just make sure you try to crank the engine w/o the plug wires being plugged in cause I'm not trying to have you blow up your engine.

[driftaholic]

i agree with vc gasket. same thing happened to me

[nailed]

i love all these little annoying things that break on me. its never anything serious but its always something.

i was chaning the brake pads a couple months ago and the idiot at the tire shop had a little too much fun with the impact wrench and over tightened or mis threaded one of the lugs. the lug and the nut cracked off and rolled across the room when i was trying to remove it, and i had to replace it. i ended up rigging a vice, a screwdriver, and a block of wood to remove it. good times.

[[Zero-S]]

oh haha those were fun times...same thing happened to me with my 240.

[Shawn Clark]

That's why I tell shops that I want the lugs torqued. And often I will loosen and retorque them myself later just to be sure. I've never had rotor warp when I've torqued them myself...

I remember my days of using a 1" impact wrench to remove heavy truck tires...and occasionally removing a lug. Alaskan weather and salt spray corroded everything together. I did manage to put so much hand torque on a cross once that the shaft twisted and elongated in classical yield failure. I was desperate to get the tire off by then and was actually hoping to shear the lug, but my tool failed first. My back hurt for a week after that effort.

[DammitBobby]

I got a gasket kit from Advance Auto parts a few weeks ago. I think I paid 18.00 for it but I had to order the part. It came with gasket for the spark plugs and the gasket around the valve cover. Mine was leaking as well. It took me about an hour to do it but I was busy cleaning all the oil mess. Also you will need a little bit of grey silicon around the valve cover only on the part that has the half circles. Good luck!

[[Zero-S]]

No you dont...

You don't need rtv to ensure a proper seal, just make sure the bolts are torqued down correctly.

[Demonic240]

I had the same problem, only I had 8 out 11 valve cover bolt holes stripped, thus not making the valve cover not seal.

[[Zero-S]]

Ask 240owner what he did to solve that problem. Home depot is great for things like that:D

[nailed]

you guys have been really really helpful so far!

just out of curiosity, what is the gasket made of?

[[Zero-S]]

Rubber.

[nailed]

my dad was convinced that they were made of cork... i was like hmm, i really dont think they make oil gaskets out of cork anymore.

[BadMojo]

No you dont...

You don't need rtv to ensure a proper seal, just make sure the bolts are torqued down correctly.

According to the FSM, you need the RTV in the areas that rseabrooke mentioned.

I don't have my FSM right here in front of me, but as I recall you need a bead of RTV around the little circular part of the gasket where it touches the upper timing chain cover.

Someone with a manual handy please correct me if I'm wrong. If you're gonna do it, do it right.

[nailed]

yes, somebody please check the manual for me and tell me for sure

[Dattebayo]

The FSM does indeed say "liquid gasket should be applied to rubber plugs".There is no question about it. Right there in black and white.

[[Zero-S]]

Ok well I stand corrected. I just never did it, and it never gave me any problems.

[nailed]

no arguing with that, ill get the grey RTV when im at the store

today i was driving around and i saw this guy washing a new Z convertible in his driveway. parked in the street was a g35. he had his garage door open and i look inside, a black 300zx with body kit and next to it was a stock red 300zx. holy ****!

[BadMojo]

no arguing with that, ill get the grey RTV when im at the store

today i was driving around and i saw this guy washing a new Z convertible in his driveway. parked in the street was a g35. he had his garage door open and i look inside, a black 300zx with body kit and next to it was a stock red 300zx. holy ****!

Yup, get some Permatex Grey and new gaskets and you'll be set. It's a real easy repair. Just be careful not to overtorque the valve cover bolts...it's really easy. They only need 5.1-8 ft lbs of torque per the FSM.

There's also a specific order to remove the bolts, but it's tough to describe. It would be helpful if someone could scan the diagram for you (I don't have a scanner).

It's easy to strip the bolt holes when putting the cover back on...some *** monkey stripped one of mine. Not a big deal, but somewhat annoying.

[nailed]

i have the tightening order diagram in the chiltons manual. ive been very careful when working on the car not to over tighten anything.

when i did my first oil change on my own it was incredibly hard to get the plug out, a$$ at the quickie lube tightened it a bit too much.