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Question:

Are valve cover gaskets easy to change?

i have a 1986 Ford Mustang 3.8L V6 automatic. i need to change to valve cover gaskets but im not sure if i can do it. what do i need to do? and do i need to ad something else other than new gaskets? thanks

Answer:

least confusing to purely do away with the valve hide thoroughly and then there could be adequate of the broken bolt left to get a pair of vice grips on it and unscrew it out, pass to factors shop and get a clean bolt and a clean valve hide gasket and reinstall.in case you tension the motor vehicle the way it incredibly is it may leak slightly oil around the broken bolt.
Take your time when changing the gaskets. You will more than likely have to disconnect things. Make sure if you remove something it is put back. If you have to remove the spark plug wires, number them. From front to back, the left side is 1-3-5-7 and the right side front to back 2-4-6-8. I mark my wires with a sharpie but they are red wires. I use to use wooden clothes pins and write the number on the clothes pins. If you get the wires mixed up you'll have to get the firing order to get them back to the right cylinder. Good luck, you will appreciate your vehicle more now that you know the work is done right.
That usually is an easy job, as long as you take your time. Get good quality gaskets first of all- not those cork things, but neoprene, and scrape all the old gasket out before you put the new ones in. Watch out for hoses and wires. Mark any you need to move out of the way with a white-out pen so you get them put back right. Look in Chiltons to make sure you know what to do and what to NOT do.
Valve cover gaskets are very easy to change. Just make sure you get good gaskets, and when you tighten the bolts back down make sure you alternate bolts back and forth, don't torque one down and then jump right to the next one or you'll warp the valve cover since its aluminum. Start with one bolt get it slightly snug, then go to the one in the opposite corner and do the same, keep doing that until you have them all slightly snug, then start slowly torquing them down until they're all set at the proper torque. (Sorry I don't know the torque on those bolts).

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