I have oil leaks around the valve cover and cylinder head areas. Can someone please tell me how long it takes to repack the gaskets if I was to do it myself? Can I get the gaskets individually or do they come in a kit? Where can I order them?
If you've never replaced a Honda valve cover gasket before, figure two hours, going very slowly. The toughest part is removing all the interference so one can easily pry and then lift off the valve cover.
Buy only genuine Honda gaskets. Anecdotal reports do suggest that non-OEM simply do not last as long.
The following online sites sell the valve cover gasket (a.k.a. cylinder head cover gasket). You should also probably replace the spark plug tube gaskets (they fit into the valve cover; very easy to replace) and the rubber grommets that the four valve cover screws rest on. I don't think genuine Honda parts sites sell them as a kit.
Be very careful when tightening the gasket in place. It's only around 6 or 8 foot-lbs of torque required. (The manual above should say.) Get a low range torque wrench for the job, if possible. It's easy to tighen unevenly and so get a bad seal.
The next time, this should take around 45 minutes, being cautious.
"precambrian" wrote
Thanks Elle. You did say 6-8 ft-lbs. Also appreciate the tip on the spark plug tubes as I've been noticing lately quite a bit of oil on the #3 plug.
From my Chilton's manual, it's 7 ft-lbs. for the valve cover nuts (for your Civic and mine).
Re the oil in the spark plug tube: It's also quite possible that the lower O-rings in the spark plug tubes are failing. These are different from the seals discussed below. See
Good luck.
"precambrian" wrote
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