need advice on valve cover gasket replacement please

[chris1]

im just here looking for advice...my friend has a 94 explorer and its a 4.0. As I am mechanically inclined he has asked me to replace the valve cover gaskets because they are leaking..mainly the passenger side. He was quoted 11 hours labor from the ford garage so im gonna save him some money..I have no experience with this type of truck, so I was looking for how long it would take to do both sides and if there was anything I needed to know or any problems i might encounter. I did notice that it appears that the intake needs to come off....(he has offered me 300$) to do it plus parts. So what do you think? Is it worth it and what should I need to know about doing this? ANY help of course is greatly appreciated. THANKS!!!
chris

 

[jimbo74]

i have never taken off the intake, but for $300 i say go for it.... it in theory should be too hard, especially if you already somewhat know what you are doing.....

 

[rydinhigh]

All I can say is good luck. I am going to have to do both sides on my 92 and it looks like a real pita. Im guessing for a weekend warrior mechanic it should take about a full day to change them. As for gaskets make sure you get ford replacements. Aftermarket gaskets don't work to well in our trucks.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

11 hours to change gaskets? I don't think so. I'll bet that if they were to be changed under warranty, that Ford would only allow 2 to 3 hours per side.(or less)

This is a fairly easy job. Changed mine as well as the intake manifold gaskets last year. The lower intake is much more involved.

You could easily do this in one day, unless you want to clean and paint the covers like I did. You need lots of sockets (mostly metric) and extensions, wrenches and in. lb. plus foot lb. torque wrenches. Only the upper manifold has to be removed. The upper gasket is about 6 or 7 bucks at Ford. The updated v/c gaskets are expense, but very good quality. Buy only Ford gaskets and your friend will not have further leak problems. You will also need a manual (Chiltons/Haynes) fpr the torque specs.

On a side note, ask your friend if he has any problems will spark knock. This was a common problem on the 1st gen X's. The lower intake gaskets would leak coolant/oil into #5 cylinder and cause a lean condition resulting in spark knock. Pull #5 plug and check for deposits. Even if he does not have this problem, retorque the lower manifold bolts. You will probably find some that can be torqued. These bolts can only be torqued when the upper is off.

If you need any other help/info, just ask away. Either myself or others on this board should be of help.

Bill M.

 

[SteveVB]

Ill reiterate a few things Bill said- its probably a good 6+ hour job if you have a good set of tools - an INCH/Lb torque wrench is a must.
Buy only the FORD gaskets - the aftermarkets dont seem to last as long. Ford Parts Network is a great online source. Only use a dab of RTV at the manifold/head joints. Torque the bolts twice a few minutes apart, and make sure the washers are flat (even better replace them)

And yes make sure you check and retorque the lower intake bolts - a must.

Have fun