2005 Ford Focus valve cover gasket replacement

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Hopefully this video helps someone out. This is a detailed instruction on how to replace the valve cover gaskets on a 2005 Ford Focus ZX4 2.0 Liter engine.
Tools needed:
Flathead screwdriver
8mm Socket
(optional)
Gloves
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[@tdrewman]

I just did mine on my 2010. Just like yours the 4th plug was drowned in oil. After a few paper towels, it was all good. This a one man job, but in my case my friend was there at the end to hold on the wires back so we could line up the cover on the first try . I strongly recommend a 2nd set of hands when you do it ..

[@Quarterrious1]

Use "Bounty" the quicker picker upper to absorb all of the oil. Fold one sheet at a time to dip into the cylinder well until gone

[@curiosity2314]

Finally going to do this to my old girl. Purchased the aluminum cover and will take this on in a week or so. Ford made this easy although they made the head replacement as difficult as it gets. She did get a complete front suspension replacement this year and have parts for the rear next spring. Still getting an average of 30 miles to the gallon and just works. The only issue I really had was a bad alternator from the start, blew up the first battery and then later on a second, then it finally failed. It was flaky.

[@qualityrenov]

Good job. thank you for taking the time to post this for all of us to watch. I will be replacing mine soon. funny, I have 2 ford foci, the 2005 does NOT have a valve cover gasket leak, however the 2006 does! go figure! anyway, mine has the oil accumilating on the spark plugs over cylinder 2 and 3. 1 and 4 are bone dry. thanks again for posting this.

[@ArchesMechanic]

qualityrenov glad I could help. I miss that car

[@Rbenterprises4]

Good video. I just completed the same valve cover gasket repair while I was replacing the infamous split pcv hose that was causing a vacuum leak ( P0171 lean code), intake manifold due to a broken plastic basket that helped hold the intake gaskets in place (formerly "swirl" flaps, which were not present on my 2005 - No flap rod either!), and the equally as infamous motor mounts. I, like some of the other commenters, used a paper towel with some brake kleen and a small flat head screw driver to sop up the oil in two of my spark plug holes. One additional "insurance" procedure was to use just a touch of RTV sealer at the mating surfaces of the timing cover at the top of both sides of the head before reinstalling the valve cover. Also make sure you properly seat all 4 of the neoprene (I like Fel Pro,) valve cover gaskets. If you don't pull all of the wire harnesses out of the way, it is hard to reinstall the valve cover without jostling it around and the center gaskets could come loose before the cover seats back on to the head. Be sure and hand start all of the bolts before tightening with a ratchet. The outer bolt holes did not want to line up until I moved the cover forward and backward a bit. Don't over tighten the cover. I snugged them up then tightened them to "around" 156 inch- pounds in a swirl pattern from the inside out. The plastic cover will break if you over tighten.

[@ArchesMechanic]

Yes.

[@joehyundaitech7961]

to remove the oil rags brake kleener compressed air if u have it. i was watching youtube and a guy had a brilent idea on how to remove the oil from the wells take the top of a spray bottle off the bottle use the straw and stick it in to the well and squeeze the handle and shoot the oil in to a small bucket it really works after most of it is out with out removing the plugs spray a good amount of brake kleen in the wells they dry it off with compressed air if u have it . i do it this way at my shop and at home sorry about my spelling

[@AC-ge1mg]

Good job! I will have to do the same here in the near future. My only suggestion for the oil in the spark plug well is to use a turkey baster and suck some or all of it out.

[@jimamizzi1]

Boy oh boy, you need to put a dab of tvr gasket sealer on each end where the cam cover meets the block, it’s going to leak again. Torque in a star pattern 10nm. Very important

[@kietramcdonald6068]

Thanks for the info because I just got my car out the ship because my car was not wanting crank so I got spark plugs put in there in to find out that I need a valve cover gasket that’s what was fireing them out so now I have to get a valve cover gasket in that’s going to cost me $250 I really didn’t need to get spark plugs done yet until I got a valve cover gasket thanks so much for the info

[@curiosity2314]

I have a 2007 SES, my valves do not clack like that but I have used Royal Purple for a number of years along with their filters. I have found that it does make a huge difference. The only issue I have had through the years is the coil over packs or pack failed. I just replaced them all at the same time with EBay parts for 40$. I do allot of miles and they are holding up well.

[@GrimYak]

You can turn the engine with the sparkplug removed to get oil out of the chamber

[@cartersense]

Harbor freight vacuum pump for stuff like that.

[@joehyundaitech7961]

very good video I have the same car only in a 2003 these clips brake easy there old and briddell not your fault

[@29outlaw]

Turkey baster will suck most of the oil out of the holes and can be had for about $2.00. If the tip of your baster is too fat, stick some thin aquarium tubing on the end.

[@MultiPajak1]

which torque should be tightened with newtons?

[@joehyundaitech7961]

what type of camera or video camera did you use ?

[@NN-rs1ny]

hey im looking for some info on my 2005 ford focus it has a leak of oil and is getting inside of the valves gaskets and i dont know where is coming from? its almost covering them to the top any help or suggestions ?? it looks like when my car leaks its the cooling that is leaking could this be cause of the drawing of the valves ??

[@ArchesMechanic]

This sounds like a head gasket issue.

[@sarahgarnett8021]

mine has the same problem, but i was wondering if your car ran "rough" before you fixed this and how did it affect perfomrance?

[@ArchesMechanic]

Sarah Garnett it can run rough if the oil is in the boot. It will cause resistance in the circuit which will result in less spark. I didn’t notice a difference in mine but there very well could be

[@sarahgarnett8021]

@@ArchesMechanic thank you, im thinking either its this problem or when the person before me wrecked it that maybe it messed up on of the three engine mounts

[@EnderBabyLuvv]

I am about to embark on the same thing for a 2004 ZX3. Had some oil in the #1 cylinder. Not as bad as yours though. This is very helpful. Wouldnt a simple turkey baster work for sucking out the oil? thats what I was going to try, 2.99 at walmart. should work no?

[@ArchesMechanic]

Lee Jun no Walmart within 118 miles of here. Little more than $2.99 to drive there and back haha. Could work though.

[@jasonmedeiros7359]

I changed my valve cover gasket on 08 fusion, same set up, the 2 middle plug wells were full of oil, runs great tho. Used a McD straw and pulled oil out that way. Worked well

[@vegjeezy17]

When you put the coil back in did the clip snap in or is it just on there. Trying to see if I broke a clip on my old jalopy

[@ArchesMechanic]

The break when they get older. I just put them on and if you’re worried about it you can zip tie them onto the coil

[@PrimePhilosophy]

EVERY SINGLE ONE of my clips broke just by wriggling them with my finger. That's on a 2005 model focus.

[@zacharypetree]

I took the spark plug out and replaced it with the oil still in it. Bad idea?

[@ArchesMechanic]

I did the same. That’s why it smoked. Eventually it’ll all burn up and blow out.

[@daredeardeal7901]

So you didn't replace the coil boots 🤔? Everything is telling me to but I am thinking about reusing my plugs and boots as you did and checking w/I a couple of weeks to see if it was the valve cover gasket or something worse

[@ArchesMechanic]

Nope. As long as they’re in decent shape they should be fine. If you are having a misfire on a certain cylinder you could always swap the boots and see if it moves

[@daredeardeal7901]

I reused mine , Thank you 😊

[@margiemay7122]

Use a spray bottle head put stim in hole squiz trigger point head into bottle it gos to to put oil in da works every time vita old Windex. Bottle use that

[@reekodayoungan1104]

hey man my valve cover gasket is leaking i had a friend look at it that knows about cars & he said it just needs to be resealed. is that true? because a small amount of oil is leaking from the seals & when it burns on my engine it causes white smoke. he just told me to make sure before i drive to check my oils levels to make sure i don't loose too much.

[@ArchesMechanic]

Red1Fiz you CAN drive with it leaking temporarily but it will cause a lot more corrosion to the engine. This kit is very inexpensive. Go ahead and replace it.

[@reekodayoungan1104]

i got the kit it will be here tomorrow. i might fix it myself but i have a 2005 v6 mustang & i can't seem to find any videos on how to do it so this will be something new to me.

[@vegjeezy17]

@@reekodayoungan1104 good luck

[@lamontpayne6512]

Ok

[@joehyundaitech7961]

not a difficult repair the biggest pita of the whole job is removing the oil i would replace the plugs and if you can clean the cops with brakekleener or if not replace the coil on plugs as well I went all oem on my parts. felpro is ok but they have been known to fail . I had this repair done 13 months ago and it is leaking already just out of warranty one month so im on my own the oem gasket is the way to go and not much more money

[@loriaallison2852]

I had oil leak,replaced valve cover but still oil oil leak! Brother said it's the motor valve cover bad, need replacement? Is that the problem? Also engine has a vibrate when start!

[@alexskywalker888]

@@loriaallison2852 Sounds like you aren't torquing the cover on properly. Only torque the valve cover bolts to 6 ft-lbs and in a crossing pattern. You may have warped or damaged the cover. The bad vibration on startup is most likely the motor mounts. The driver and passenger side mounts are notorious for failing even at low miles. The rear (transmission) mount usually is only a problem on manual cars. If you don't mind replacing the mounts every year, you can just get ebay ones for $40 a set.

[@exisfohdr3904]

So I noticed you did remove the spark plug boots, so wouldn't you need to add dielectric grease to tools/parts list?

[@ballard66766]

What's good with those red injectors? Are those the Bosch ones that atomize more efficiently

[@ArchesMechanic]

DanDan6676 that’s just what was on the car when I got it

[@ballard66766]

@@ArchesMechanic sell them to me so I can finish the 2.3 build and I will literally give you all of the blue injectors. All of them. I need those injectors lol

[@ArchesMechanic]

DanDan6676 I sold this car over 5 years ago. (Wish I wouldn’t have but needed bigger car for family)

[@ballard66766]

@@ArchesMechanic I feel it. I've been driving a svt converted 2007 that just had a driver's seat and actually just picked up some svt interior today fucking untouched gold mine got to the yard 10 mins before me. So I feel the family car thing but she's still going to be straight piped and I'm not flashing oem tune back. Or getting rid of the ksport coils ..... I should buy another family car too because the focus is definitely like the love child from some sort of fucked up affair. Like where I was the secretary and some old rich woman took advantage of my naive outlook on being such a young girl in such a big city.