Changing the valve cover gasket on a 03'.

[allhale09]

Is it really a pain in the a** or is it not to bad?I need to do it because oils leaking into where my plugs are and killing my plugs and gas mileage.I have some expierence changing valve cover gaskets in DOHC motors but I know all motors are different..I could afford to pay a dealer or mechanic to do it but i'd rather do it because I like to work on my own stuff and I just hate throwing away all that money paying someone to fix it.

[Mean Green]

Originally Posted by allhale09

Is it really a pain in the a** or is it not to bad?I need to do it because oils leaking into where my plugs are and killing my plugs and gas mileage.I have some expierence changing valve cover gaskets in DOHC motors but I know all motors are different..I could afford to pay a dealer or mechanic to do it but i'd rather do it because I like to work on my own stuff and I just hate throwing away all that money paying someone to fix it.

Piece of cake. Use this Spark Plug Guide It's for an '01 PT so it might be a little different than a '03. It was for my wife's '04 PT (I think you don't have to worry about the EGR if I remember). Still, pretty easy.

[allhale09]

I figured it wasn't to bad.It looked like most of the work was just taking stuff off that was in the way.Damn new cars and all their sensors.lol My 85' Chevy C10 has a PCV valve and thats it.Thats how I like it.lol

[Vjklander]

Got this cruiser 1.5 years ago ... put on about 20K, now has 100k.
pdftown.com has a pdf service manual for the 2003 pt
I had the oil in the plug well, so replaced the cover gasket, put in new plugs and wires. Found the intake soaked in oil so put in a new pcv valve.
Other problems found: both center bolt wells cracked on the cover, bracket in back had both mounting holes broken, bracket on the head by the battery had one bolt broken off ... all seem likely from over-tightening sometime. hopefully it all holds together while I look for some replacement parts...

[mdfrodolives]

Using the "Spark Plug Guide" above seems to get you to the heart of things for pulling the valve cover. However, I've looked at my 2003 and it seems as if the power steering resevoir is in the way. So there may be a bit more to it than simply pulling the manifold and coil off.

I haven't tried yet, so I don't really know. Maybe some other Cruisers here have done it and can tell you if it's necessary to pull the PS resevoir.

Tim

[UptownSport]

There's just two bolts on back of head for PS reservoir- I do have a valve cover (N/A) if needed.

Here's a head how to, valve cover is a subset of process:

Headgasket R&R

[mdfrodolives]

Uptown--excellent instructions. Just one question. Can I just remove the two bolts holding the power steering reservoir and then just push it out of the way (I just want to pull and replace my valve cover to replace the spark plug seals)? Or do I have to remove the power steering hose and remove the whole unit?

Thanks for the knowledge, by the way.

What a post!

Tim

[UptownSport]

I just removed bolts. It continued to get in the way, so I should've taken the time to wire it back against firewall.

Thanks for the props!