DAVE-W

I'm sure this has been asked many a time before but..........

Driver's side rocker cover gasket on my 95 wrx is leaking oil, somewhere from underneath, dropping onto exhaust and burning off, causing an awful smell and more importantly, a risk of fire.

I'm told this is a fairly common fault so here's a couple of queries...

1. How much of a job is this to do time wise?

2. How much roughly is it gonna cost me? (anyone had the work done? what was your bill like?)

3. How much of a fire risk is there for me to use the car like this back and forth to work until the work is done (2 mile journey)?

Thanx in advance

Dave

Katana

Its not really a fire hazard as it just drips on the manifold. Besides, I think modern engine oil are designed not to be flamable.

Its supposed to be an easy job but I haven't had the time to fix it myself. Mines been leaking for the past few months now.

DAVE-W

I know that mine has been leaking for a while but it was only today that I started to see little puffs of smoke coming from the area in question

Any more advice re: cost etc?

Dave

Katana

You could attempt to replace it yourself. There are several companies that sells the gasket itself.

Try here:
http://www.importcarparts.co.uk

And instructions on how to replace it, try here:
http://www.mudd90.freeserve.co.uk/te...stuff_diy5.htm

harvey

iTrader: (48)

Dave: As Katana said it is not much of a fire hazard but the important thing is that you not only change the cam cover gaskrts but at the same time the rubber half moon inserts that fit in the head to rocker cover joint. These are usually the problem and not the gasket and cost very little. Your dealer parts dept. will know exactly what they are.
Only takes a small drip of oil on the exhaust to give the impression of a big problem. Is any leaking onto the floor? Often you smell it but do not see it.

NutterKam

Ha ha! Well I only did this very job yesterday! Although it was on a Legacy I suspect that on your Scoob it will be no less of a nightmare! Actually, it's not a real nightmare - more like really fidly because of the lack of room to get all the nuts off the rocker cover.

Remove induction hoses. Remove air box (if you have one). Remove coil packs. Remove spark plugs (good opportunity to check them for wear and gap). Unscrew six bolts (3 top , 3 bottom) on the cover - remembering to place something underthe car to catch any oil spillage (probably a good idea to put some newspaper or somink on top of the manifold and up pipe to stop any oil spilling onto them). Oh - forgot about the breather pipe attached to the top of the cover which might be bit fiddly to unclip. Cover should come off with a pull. The half moons mentioned are actually part of the gasket anyway. You don't necessarily need a new gasket - I had one so used it. More important is to use a proper sealant for it - quite cheap at any auto accessory shop. Good opportunity to clean the cover as well. Remove the gasket. make sure gasket channel is clean and insert new job. Clean the bolts. You should buy new gaskets for these too if changing. Otherwise just clean and use sealant. Run a bead of sealant around the gasket - remember the bits that go around the spark holes (by the way one of the spark hole gaskets is attached to the main thing but the other is a separate gasket - so remember to buy it if changing gaskets). Clean mating face on the block. Put cover back on block. Replace bolts. Don't over tighten. Go make some food by which time the sealant will have cured and then drive happily after. As always - good idea to jack car up so you don't have to stoop over too much. I was lazy and ended up with really bad back afterward!

NutterKam

Forgot to add - I bought the gaskets from Subaru and I think the main one was about 20 quid (was a long time ago when I bought it!). The bolt gaskets are what take the **** - they about £1.50 each! In my opinion, I think new gaskets are unnecessay - just clean and use sealant.

There's no fire hazard - just a bit of smoke now and then and bad smell. I lived with mine for seven months! Smoke only really shows if you don't drive the car for days.

The job really isn't difficult. The hard part is removing the bolts and that's only because there's little space. How long does it take? - Well, I was doing the sparks as well and I had to do major clean of the rocker cover cos it was caked in dried grease/dirt - but if you're focused I reckon you could do the whole in an hour, two at most.

SilverScreamer

I wonder if Halfords stock these bits as they need to be done on my car. Is there anywhere else that is open today that stocks these?
Thanks Silver

DAVE-W

Cheers for the replies all.

Got a couple of quotes today for getting the job done (not too confident in doing it myself....and don't like getting my office hands dirty )

Graham Goode..Around £90 plus vat - can do it end of next week

Scoobysport..Around £80 plus vat - can do the 18th at the earliest

Will have a little think tonight and book it in somewhere tomorrow.

Dave

DAVE-W

Would Powerstation in Cheltenham do this sort of service work?

Would anyone recommend them?

Its a bit closer for me if they do....

....will ring em tomorrow to find out

Dave