fx45 valve cover leaking

F

fxomz

Member
Car
2003 fx45
Name
Gerald
Hi All,
I have been the proud owner of a 2003 fx45 for about a year now. I am very happy with it, she now has 262,000 kms on her and runs like a new machine. I'm pretty confident she has another 100,000 to 150,000 in her.

Recently she developed a leak in the right rear lower side valve cover. In researching this problem I see that leaking around the spark plug seals is also an issue with the covers, at this point though I have not removed any of the spark plug wires to see if they are leaking. So what I would like to know from people who have dealt with this is if it makes sense to just replace the outer cover gaskets or am I better off biting the bullet and replacing the covers themselves given the mileage on my vehicle. I don't have a problem spending the extra money if it saves me doing this job twice but of course it gets quite a bit more expensive if I have to buy new covers too.

Thanks,
Gerald.
 
although it's a pain to get the cover off, if you re-enforce the well seals with some good rtv sealant when you replaced the channel gaskets then it should last a long time.
 
Thanks 1bad, I wondered if a fix like that was an option so I'll take a serious look at that. I'm hoping to do it myself so would like to wait a couple months since I don't have a heated shop, guessing it shouldn't cause any issues to wait till then other than the nasty burning oil smell.
 
fxomz said:
Thanks 1bad, I wondered if a fix like that was an option so I'll take a serious look at that. I'm hoping to do it myself so would like to wait a couple months since I don't have a heated shop, guessing it shouldn't cause any issues to wait till then other than the nasty burning oil smell.
Click to expand...

Bite the bullet and get two new valve covers online, along with an intake manifold gasket set. Disconnect battery. Remove intake manifold plumbing. Remove throttle position sensor connection, and remove the top plenum from the intake manifold. Tag bolts. This allows you to now remove the 8 or so bolts that hold the lower intake manifold plenum in place. Remove bolts. (Tag bolts). Disconnect harness from spark plug coils, along with connection to cam position sensor at rear of engine. Move harness out of the way and remove valve covers. (Tag bolts.) Apply a good quality RTV to the joint of engine block to cam cover. (I use high tack cement in the valve cover grooves to make sure the valve cover gaskets stay in the valve covers as they are installed.) Offer up new valve cover to engine, align spark plug wells to spark plug openings in valve cover and press valve covers onto head. Tighten in two stages, first lightly, then hand tighten with ½ inch socked handle and #10 mm socket.

Take your time; make sure you know where all the connections go. On the driver’s side disconnect the water line, it makes things easier.

Figure a full day on this job.


Good luck
 
+1... You can't buy the gaskets separately... And any other fix is really just a band-aid fix... The gaskets in the valve covers will usually last around 60-80K miles... Adding the RTV should help extend that life...
 
I had my 03 FX45 for 9 years now, right before it hit 200,000 miles my valve cover gasket began to leak. I bought the new gaskets and had a mechanic do the job (was being lazy) but when he removed the spark plug coil we realized the valve cover spark plug seals were bad also. I decided to just replace both of the valve covers with new ones. They were pricey ($500) for both from the local stealership (which I hate to give my business to) but my baby was already in the shop with everything removed, just wanted it fixed. I actually had to wait 3 days for the parts to arrive. Did not really mind spending the money since it is the first time I actually had to spend any significant amount of money on it to repair it besides having my wheel hubs replaced about 3 or 4 times. Can't really complain after 9 years and almost 145,000 miles of use with just general maintenance. Still love it!
 
DatMan said:
+1... You can't buy the gaskets separately... And any other fix is really just a band-aid fix... The gaskets in the valve covers will usually last around 60-80K miles... Adding the RTV should help extend that life...
Click to expand...

You can buy the valve cover gaskets separately. What you cannot buy are the spark plug tube gaskets separately.

BTW if you need to buy new valve covers they can be purchased on line for about $160.00 each or less.
 
embdenb said:
You can buy the valve cover gaskets separately. What you cannot buy are the spark plug tube gaskets separately.

BTW if you need to buy new valve covers they can be purchased on line for about $160.00 each or less.
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All the guys that did that in the past have stopped... But then I disappeared for a while, so maybe some guys are doing it again... Do you have links for these guys?
 
Thanks Embdenb for all the tips on R&Ring the covers. Between what you and Chino97 have said I'm gonna do the job right and get new covers. I like the fx too much not to.

I'm wondering though are the $160 covers that are available online oem or aftermarket?
 
fxomz said:
Thanks Embdenb for all the tips on R&Ring the covers. Between what you and Chino97 have said I'm gonna do the job right and get new covers. I like the fx too much not to.

I'm wondering though are the $160 covers that are available online oem or aftermarket?
Click to expand...

The $160 each covers are for the FX35 and were sourced from rockauto.com ( note they also have valve covers for less) For the FX45 you should be able to get valve covers on line for about $200.00 each. Also try eBay
 
Thanks I did find a set for around $200 each on eBay. I am getting information that I might not need to remove the intake on my engine to get the covers off, wondering if anybody can confirm that...could the 4.5 be different from the 3.5 that way?
 
fxomz said:
Thanks I did find a set for around $200 each on eBay. I am getting information that I might not need to remove the intake on my engine to get the covers off, wondering if anybody can confirm that...could the 4.5 be different from the 3.5 that way?
Click to expand...

The intake on the 6 cylinder is way different that the V8. I am inclined to believe that you do not need the remove the intake to replace the valve covers. The valve covers back bolts are supposed to be a bitch. See if there are cutouts in the body to access these bolts from inside the cabin.
 
Yes after taking a closer look at the covers and having it confirmed by a tech at Infiniti looks like I don't have to remove the intake...great news :). I will need to remove the throttle body to do the left side but it's the right side that's leaking so I can do it first and hopefully get rid of the burning oil smell.
Your right about tight clearances, only about an inch of space between the lower back bolt and the side of the engine bay, on the right side at least . I can't even see the back of the left cover thanks to all the wiring and hoses. Anyway, new oem covers and gaskets are on there way so shouldn't be too long before I get to find out how much fun that will be. We're getting an early taste of spring here so maybe I'll be able to tackle it soon...or take it to my mechanic, I haven't really decided yet :/
 
If you haven't done this yet, there are holes in the brake master cylinder compartment that will give you access to the rear valve cover bolts using an extension, I don't remember if there is something similar on the battery side.
 
ok thanks for the tip, covers and gaskets are here, as well as new plugs...still waiting for some warmer weather before I tackle this!
 
Hi again, just updating...I completed the R and R of the valve cover on the right bank, pretty straight forward job. The only glitch I ran into was a corroded bolt head on the battery tray. The tray needs to come out in order to get at the access point to allow removal of the lower rear valve cover bolt as seen in the pic. I was able to remove what was left of the bolt head by drilling it out with a 3/8 bullet head drill bit so no biggie. I changed the plugs while I was at it and the rear one came out covered in oil so I'm glad I went with new covers not just gaskets.

Anyway, I have put 500km on her since and no more burning oil smell :)...

The one downside I have to report with this though is that since the valve cover change my lifters seem a lot noisier. I started to worry that I had done something to cause this but I can't imagine what that might be. I was very careful not to allow any debris to fall into the head and all my tools are accounted for:p. I'm asking myself now if maybe this was happening gradually and I'm suddenly aware of it because I've been working on her. The last time I really listened to the engine running was late January when I took it in for an oil change and I'm sure they weren't that noisy then. With 265,000km's (160,000 miles) on it should I expect lifter noise...are there things I can do to mitigate it? Aside from the lifter noise she's running great...my brother, he's a retired mechanic, says I should just drive it. Maybe he's right but I am wondering if other's have been able to fix this issue.

Gerald
 

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Okay stand down on the lifter noise, a closer inspection by my brother and the mechanic at the shop I go to think I have a noisy bearing. My next step is to remove the serpentine belt and see if the noise disappears.
 
Just a quick update, ended up being a bad bearing in the alternator, don't know why I thought it was a lifter noise. The alternator sits right below the cam sprocket housing so I guess I got it my head that the noise was coming from that point. It didn't occur to me that the alternator would decide to gave up at the same time I was doing this repair.
Anyway I replaced the alternator and she back to running quiet and smooth!
 
Great post. I recently had my engine replaced and within 2000 miles of driving it I lost power from the engine on the highway and pulled over. It was taken to the shop and they claimed that the engine was starved of oil. They have since concluded oil leaked into the spark plug tube through the seals from my OEM engine valve covers that were reused. A bearing spun and the engine is unusable. Thankfully I had a warranty from the replacement engine and a new to me motor will be supplied and installed at no cost. However they are warning me of the possibility of oil returning into the spark plug tube through the seals. While it does worry me, I'm not too comfortable continuing business with this shop as they have not been as communicative as I would like.

I'm unsure if it's scare-tactics to earn some money from my car taking up space in their bay, but I'm looking to fix the issue myself as they are claiming it will cost $1,020 out the door.

I'll be on the lookout for replacement valve covers for my 05 FX45 to take care of the maintenance myself as right now they're about 280 a piece. Thanks for the tip about the battery tray!
 
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