I'm changing my passenger side valve cover gasket and I wanted to know if I should reuse the old grommets or can I purchase aftermarket grommets like the Felpro ones. I am using an original Nissan gasket though, so will the felpro grommets work with this gasket and fit in the metal washers?

The reason I am replacing is I have a leak that comes from the transmission bell housing and engine that only happens after shutting the engine off. It is also on sides of bell housing so I think its coming from above.It will drip out a couple drops and then stops. More would drip out downslope and stop, less upslope. But never drips if engine is on.

I have seen oil residue around the passenger side valve cover and at the side of the injectors. Driver side has been changed years ago and is fine. I had transmission work done about 4 years ago and I believe the seal has been changed also.

Can the valve cover cause this leak?

Thanks

At more $5 each for OEM compared to Fel-Pro at about $18 for a full set, I'd go with the Fel-Pro grommets. These unique grommets are important to assure the proper even tension on the cover when it is properly torqued down. The old ones get hard and brittle over time and can't to their job if they are reused. The Fel-Pro ES 72840 grommets should be fine to use with the original metal washers and screws.

Hard to say for sure about the oil leak. I recently replaced my valve cover gaskets after I saw oil dripping from my motor and transmission and determined it was coming from a leaking valve cover gasket.

Yeah will go Felpro then. What was the torque sequence you did and how many ft-lbs? I saw the manual said 29 in-lbs, so not too sure about that.

So your oil leak has stopped now?

These cover screws do not get torqued very tight, which is another reason why new grommets should be used. The 29 in-lbs is equivalent to just 2.4 ft-lbs so using a typical torque wrench with a range of over 100 ft-lbs may not give you much accuracy unless it is a very accurate one with a calibrated range starting at 0. Since I have never bothered to buy one of the pricey inch-pound torque wrenches and I rarely ever need one, I end up borrowing one or just winging it by feel if I have to. Just don't tighten each screw down to its full torque in one step. Tighten each one down only partially torqued (less than the torque spec) to seat the gasket evenly and make three or four passes on each one until they are all fully torqued. The tightening sequence on my '02 is different than on your '97. I have a repair manual that covers the '98 models but did not even see that there was a tightening sequence for that one, which I think is a bit odd. You might have to look into that further but given the small amount of torque required on yours, the sequence might not be critical. My spec was 78 in-lbs and there was a specific sequence. Additionally, I have 12 screws per cover where yours only has 9. I installed my covers and I no longer have the oil leak.

Okay, thanks for the help!

I got the Felpro grommets and I see one side of it is metal? That side fits into the metal washer cup and the rubber side is for the screws?

I don't have grommets in my rocker cover fastener design. I couldn't tell you for certain. Check your original fastener parts when you remove them so you know how they are put in place.

So I changed the passenger side valve cover gasket and no visible leaks or seepage. However, the leak between engine and transmission is still there. You can park the vehicle with engine on and it literally starts dripping the second the engine is turned off. More on downslope than flat or upslope. And then stops...

I didn’t do the driver side as it was done before and I see no signs of leakage from it.

Any ideas of what else can cause this kind of leak?

Could screws be loose on driver side cover?

I’ve been told rear main seals leak when engine is on and I don’t see how rear oil pan seal can leak when vehicle is parked downslope.

Sounds to me like its your rear main seal leaking. You can try using an engine oil stop leak product like from Lucas Oil https://lucasoil.com/products/engine-oi ... f-additive but there's probably nothing more that can be done, short of having the seal replaced.

A1218 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2020 8:23 am

So I changed the passenger side valve cover gasket and no visible leaks or seepage. However, the leak between engine and transmission is still there. You can park the vehicle with engine on and it literally starts dripping the second the engine is turned off. More on downslope than flat or upslope. And then stops...

I didn’t do the driver side as it was done before and I see no signs of leakage from it.

Any ideas of what else can cause this kind of leak?

Could screws be loose on driver side cover?

I’ve been told rear main seals leak when engine is on and I don’t see how rear oil pan seal can leak when vehicle is parked downslope.

I've got this same leak, and changed my oil Saturday and added a quart of the Lucas oil stop leak. Will check it good this weekend to see if the leak has slowed down.