Valve Cover Gaskets + What Else?

[my12by60]

My recently acquired 2000 AE has 102,000 miles and currently runs and idles smoothly. I have done a bunch of simple maintenance and repairs. The valve cover gaskets are leaking and a local independent shop with a good reputation has quoted me $255 in labor to replace the vcgs. They will let me purchase and supply my own gaskets or they will order a Felpro gasket from their supplier at a cost to me of $50. This seems like a really good deal based on what I have been reading here for this job.

I want to stack as much other work as I can into this job and see what sort of a package price the shop will be able to give me. Again, I can order and supply my own parts. Based on what I am reading here, it sounds like I should definitely ask for spark plug replacement. I have maintenance records for the car and I don't see that spark plugs have ever been replaced. I have a receipt from 2013 which shows that all ignition coils were replaced with parts supplied by the customer. The labor charge was $102. So I don't think I need to do the coil packs. I am looking at these plugs:

http://www.amazon.com/NGK-BKR5EIX-11-Sp ... B00BRSALK8

The shop has quoted $45 extra labor charge for spark plugs, which sounds fair. I am also reading here that I should have the EGR tube cleaned, the throttle body cleaned, and MAF sensor cleaned as part of this overall job.

Are these parts all exposed for cleaning as part of the vcg job?

How much extra labor charge seems reasonable for the other items (clean EGR/TB/MAF)?

Any other work that I should request as a part of this project?

Does a Felpro gasket sound ok for this job or should I get another brand?

Maintenance records for the car indicate that the knock sensors are bad. Prior owner elected to not replace them and her mechanic thought that was no problem.

Are the KS accessible as part of this job? Are they worth replacing?

I see some KS on Amazon for only $7/each.

http://www.amazon.com/Angstrom-Autohaus ... ock+sensor

I am trying to be efficient with my maintenance dollars and think this through before I go back to the shop to make a final deal. Thanks for any help.

[3Q Jay]

lot here....
DO NOT buy $7 KS.
OK, the proper way to do the DS VCG is by removing the upper plenum. Be sure the shop is going to do this, and NOT merely cut the air snorkel bracket.
once the upper plenum is removed, then you do the EGR tube.
There is not a lot of overlap in the vcg and KS jobs, other than the upper plenum has to be removed in both cases.
to do the KS, the lower plenum also is to be removed.
there are 'trick' ways to get at the KS by removing the alternator, etc. I of course do not take short cuts, and spend the time associated with disassembly to properly and thoroughly clean everything.
back to KS, they are a labor intensive job. spend the money for a pedigreed part. That may mean plunking down $120+ for a genuine nissan part.
just because it has "JECS" stamped on it, and just because it comes in a box that says 22060-30P00 does not in and of itself guarantee you it is a first run nissan branded part (must have the 'hamburger" logo).

[3Q Jay]

yeah, not to be a 'know it all' (but I pretty much am on this platform)....Iridium is not your best choice. read the fine print and study. Unless it is double iridium, the copper grounding electrode will make the service life less than the OEM double platinums. full disclosure, one of my Q's does have iridiums in it right now, but i sure wouldn't do that again.

[my12by60]

Thanks for the good feedback. The prior owner has been driving the car for years with bad KS. The car runs nice for for me right now. I realize that the car may have some higher performance plateau if the KS are replaced with a high quality new part, but am I hurting the car if I just leave the KS as is?

[3Q Jay]

i have also waited to change a KS. arguably you will push the engine harder when going up a steep grade since it will make slightly less power, but i have not seen an engine ruined by retarded spark timing.
one other thought: for sure replace the plugs while your coil pax are removed (which they must be to do the [edit: vcg]).
I have done plugs and vcg 2x on the fgy33 (both times with NGK OEM 2x plats)--but here's the thing. on my watch the factory coils were removed exactly twice. within 3000 miles of the second reinstall i started having the dreaded random coil pack failures. At the coil replacement, did your PO use genuine parts? was it the 'countermeasure' OEM 22448-3H000 coil? who knows how sensitive the coils really are to being disturbed? you don't want to disturb them later to change the plugs after the vcg.....

[my12by60]

Are these the plugs you reco for the y33?

http://www.amazon.com/NGK-PFR5G-11-Spar ... s=NGK+2647

Not much more than what I was looking at and some here say they can last up to 100K miles. So no big deal to spend the extra few bucks on the better plugs.

I doubt the PO used OEM parts. She was not into spending more than she had to and she knew nothing about car maintenance. The shop she used to keep the car running used mainly OEM stuff based on my review of all of the receipts. Maybe the shop told her the OEMs were going to cost a lot and suggested she buy from another source. So if I do the plugs as part of the vcg job, then this would be the first time that the coils will have been disturbed since their install in 2013 when the car had 94K miles (102K today). Seems like that should be ok. Or do you advise doing the coils? I would hate to take out coils with less than 10K miles on them.

[qship96]

yes the ngk laser platinum plugs,like you linked to ,will last over 100K miles in a properly running engine......I ran one set to 133,000 miles, and the next set 112,000 miles- both times they were still operating great- you will have valve cover gaskets that will leak before plugs are worn out,thats when I changed plugs as part of the valve cover reseal,as the additional labor to swap plugs while resealing the valve covers is small.Also might want to Check http://www.sparkplugs.com for price on the plugs,sometimes they run good deals on plugs and oxygen sensors

[my12by60]

I checked the sparkplug site and they want $12 per copy when ordering between 1 and 49. So Amazon has the better pricing at the moment.

You didn't comment on the coil packs. Are you in agreement that I should re-install the coils that are in place?

[qship96]

yes,reinstall existing coils if they are not showing any signs of trouble and they are relatively new.

[3Q Jay]

yes,reinstall existing coils if they are not showing any signs of trouble and they are relatively new.

concur.
just be prepared that they may start to fail (more likely after the second time they are disturbed).

[my12by60]

Good to know how touchy the coils can be. I am hoping that if the vcg and spark plugs are done, that I can go for some significant miles before having to revisit that part of the engine.

[3Q Jay]

change both PCV valves while the vc's are off.

[my12by60]

Will do on the pcv valves. Local OReilly has the valves for my car only a few bucks each.

[my12by60]

Had the valve cover gaskets done today by a mobile mechanic. He got both sides done in 5 hours of total time, which was pretty good since he had very little experience with Infiniti vehicles. His price was good at $250 for labor only and he also cleaned the MAF sensor, cleaned the IAC and put in new pcv valves and spark plugs. I supplied OEM valve cover gaskets from IOS, OEM NGK double platinum plugs and pcv valves from the local O'Reillys. The last major project on my agenda is to change the rear struts.