How to Replace the Valve Cover Gaskets and Tube Seals on a Subaru Forester, Impreza, and Outback

[@autodidacticartisan]

Wow great video. Now I have 100% confidence that I'm not going to be capable of doing this repair. I replaced the valve cover in my 93 civic in 12 minutes with no tools but a ten mil socket. This is not the same at all.

[@s0nnyburnett]

This is the price subaru owners pay for having easy access to everything else that is usually hard to get to on other makes.

[@autodidacticartisan]

@@s0nnyburnett ikr?? Dropped my exhust headers the other day in two minutes. Theyre normally a PITA on normal inline 4s

[@alftorrisi8795]

After buying a really sweet 2006 I found oil residue in the spark plug tubes. But of a big job but it seems to be a great car. Just picked up my gaskets and just find half a day to do this. Thank you for the video.

[@MrCito2486]

I wish you would have shown a few things especially how to remove the driverside cap conpletely. I was able to replace the plug seals w/o removing the whole thing and vehicle works great w/o leaks. Thank you for the video it helped me quit a bit!

[@pksystems4714]

I didn't need to jack up the engine to get the valve covers out of my 05 Forester. I didn't need to jack the car at all, with the stock ground clearance. Remove battery, and washer tank. Loads of clearance.

[@EFR450]

Just did my 05 Forester X and found this to be true as well. Thanks for the tip

[@gorjosfam]

About to do mine, so happy to find these comments! Thanks

[@dustinkuebler5450]

I was looking at this as he was doing it and I couldn't figure why he wasn't pulling the battery. . Hahaha

[@RR5.0]

We have an 05 XT. Is yours different than the turbo model? I'm really dreading this- especially on the passenger side! It's leaking like a sieve!

[@midwestmutineer7675]

Thanks for this!!!!

[@scottmacdonald3438]

Thanks for the video I just fixed my driver side valve cover, tube seals on my subaru Foerster. It really help me out.

[@smidjee1225]

Very helpful tip on jacking the engine up, I was struggling and came across this vid just in time. Thanks!

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Smidjee glad the video helped. Thank you for watching!

[@ClydeSmith-l3f]

Great how to! This gives me hope to do it myself. Well done.

[@austinshowalter765]

Thanks for this video. I wasn't able to jack the engine even after removing the bolts (not sure why?) but I was able to get the new gaskets installed without actually removing the covers. It's a little tedious but you can work the new gasket and plug seals in with the cover down in there.

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Austin Showalter i'm glad you were able to get that done. Thank you for watching and writing!

[@domanf8440]

Austin Showalter thanks for sharing this. I'm going to give it a go as you explained for it would make for less work doing it without having to raise the engine.

[@bomajoma]

Austin Showalter, what year and model is your Subaru?

[@davidbasara5613]

Austin Showalter Some Forester models might have a locknut on the frame near the motor mount bolt. I can do the spark plug seals easy but you definitely have to be careful and use the inspection mirror to be your cover seal is good all around.

[@0071981mike]

there is a mount that needs to be unbolted underneath the air box on the back of the engine. it will either not jack up or go side to side when jacking the engine up

[@robrath31]

Upper engine stay/support under the airbox not removed/undone before jacking up the motor? Or is that dogbone not on these cars? Runs north/south under the airbox on other subys I've worked on and done similar.

[@richardmontano2701]

thanks, took me about 1 hour to do both sides, didnt need to lift the engine on my 03 forester, just take out the battery

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Nice. Glad the video helped. Thank you!

[@dtnel]

You may have to grind the bolt head off the valve cover then use a vise grip and turn the bolt out after removing the valve cover. The steel bolts and aluminum valve cover corrode. Tried heating it and using pb blaster with no luck on about 5 of them. This is on a 2010 Forester XS EJ253 engine. P.I.T.A!!!

[@betonmagen]

Can you please share the Subaru part numbers for these gaskets? Thanks 👍

[@1customermaniac]

Just halfway thru and have to say you are VERY MODEST and gentle but by God I could never do this

[@joepinehill]

In the North East, its a lot harder to remove the rocker cover bolts after 7 or 10 years. The lower bolt heads can be rusted round. Everytime I do the spark plugs on my 09 I cross my fingers the plugs are dry.

[@HowtoAutomotive]

joepinehill yeah I’m glad I don’t live with her is rust. The struggles you guys go through is crazy. Whole nether skill level.

[@pelotasdad]

great detail. glad i watched this first to know what other peripheral things i will need…. thank you!

[@drivewaygarage1561]

Would it help to take the battery off

[@ozriderbeyond646]

On the passenger side did you have to remove that bolt on the timing chain cover to remove the valve? Great video

[@HowtoAutomotive]

OZrider&beyond I believe so.

[@exPHIL]

Hey, thank you for the very informative video. I feel very confident in changing my valve cover gaskets now with all problem spots offering tips and tricks! I was curious though, how long should I let the adhesive dry for? The bottle says 24 hours to cure but do I need to let it sit for 24 hours before reinstalling the valve cover? Thank you!!!

[@gabrielwong4737]

Did you ever get this question answered? I’m thinking the same as well

[@exPHIL]

@@gabrielwong4737 when I did it I ended up just waiting the full 24 hours. Did it over a weekend when I wouldn’t need to go anywhere for a while. Only took about 3 hours on total if I remember correctly.

[@enockdelytbusinge5104]

What is the part number of the new tube seals

[@MarkDuran-f8r]

Did you drain the oil first?

[@streetgainer]

Wouldn’t it make more sense to change the valve cover with the old spark plugs in place, then once you return the cleaned cover with new seals, then change out the sparks?

[@garybaker1634]

Unless oil was getting past a plug or more...

[@Aj_470]

@@garybaker1634 it is on mine...

[@dylanbooher828]

Is any oil lost when the valve cover is removed?

[@MrCito2486]

Not really if you do it while cold. Or after the oil settles. I would just check your dip stick and add if needed. I replace the oil, seals plugs all before starting vehicle

[@konstantinethegr8]

Is there any way to get to the bottom bolts from the top?

[@dustintunis9347]

3 years too late, but yes you can, but it is very difficult. I found this video after it was loose, but I can't get the valve cover out. The video I found first was a different year that had more room.

[@RR5.0]

Does this apply to the 05 Forester XT? I have to do this job on the passenger side. It's leaking like crazy!

[@autodidacticartisan]

Yes it's going to be the same thing but you really should do both sides. If it started leaking like crazy spontaneously then it most likely is the head gasket or a main seal as the valve cover is a slow leak that develops gradually.

[@RR5.0]

Oh, I'll do both sides alright. There is hardly any room in there to look things over. I've been lead to believe that head gasket issues are extremely rare on XT models. I really don't want to have to pull the engine.

[@Toto-is8ci]

Really Clear and detailed steps make this a great video. Thanks

[@Adv207]

Informative and detailed video.

[@matthewdameron8746]

Thanks so much for this video, it helped me tremendously. Subscribed!

[@richardgarcia4843]

Gracias amigo por compartir... muchas bendiciones

[@drivewaygarage1561]

Great video, I think I might have to do this pretty soon.

[@johnathansmith3819]

Thanks for publishing your work. It is very educating. May I suggest (not criticism) you to use - instead of the brake cleaner, based on a solvents harmful to rubber compound oils - WD40, which is based on fish oil, and will remove the engine oil without damaging the silicon rubber the plug seals are made out of. In case you cannot use a jack to lift the engine, could it be possible to remove the covers, anyway? Thanks again.

[@HowtoAutomotive]

johnathan smith I will give the WD-40 a try sounds like a cool idea. I'm not a big fan of the solvent to myself. And to tell you the truth they don't really work that well. As far as getting the cover out without a jack it's possible but may be very tough. Thank you for watching and the suggestion I will put it to use!

[@noventay4]

none of those are meant to be use for that, carb cleaner works much better or engine degreaser

[@macmacvey4379]

If you are looking at this video like me, just clear BOTH SIDES of the engine to change these without an engine jack. He honestly is trying to cut corners when he would be able to show it all better by not taking out the battery

[@ikaavaliani2323]

Extremely useful. Thank You !

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Ika Avaliani glad the video helped. Thank you for watching!

[@russoriot]

is the process the same for a 2009 Forester?

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Anthony russo I believe so. There maybe a few small differences but for the most part it should be the same job

[@russoriot]

awesome thanks this is gonna be my weekend project.

[@biffni]

Excellent vid!

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Thank you!

[@Guffaw06]

Tis by far the worst car i’ve ever done a valve cover gasket replacement. So much extra stuff just to get them 6 bolts holding them. Thanks for this walkthrough it’s a battle but its done

[@enduroelite]

Why did the valve cover gasket and spark plug seals need to be changed in the first place? I'm trying to diagnose a oil consumption issue

[@HowtoAutomotive]

enduroelite On this vehicle the covers were leaking oil onto the exhaust and also into the tube seals were the spark plugs go. This is A pretty common issue with Subaru’s

[@kenslattery6458]

How many hours of effort would you estimate this job requires for a competent mechanic like yourself? Thanks.

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Ken Slattery I would say around an hour and a half to two hours. This would include cleaning up all the old oil mess.

[@FranciscoHernandez-li4fq]

thank yuo friend for your time very good videos God tebendiga happy new year

[@davidbasara5613]

Thanks, Good video but why didn't you remove the battery? Gives you a lot more room to work and better visibility for the video

[@HowtoAutomotive]

David Basara I probably didn’t remove it because of time restraints at the shop. I have to balance getting the car done and making videos.

[@georgejexter]

Thanks

[@auggieajdini4939]

Awesome video thanks!

[@perro7183]

Man, this looks like a nightmare compared to the 90's Subaru valve cover job

[@brucetraudt1571]

great video thanks !!!!

[@FranciscoHernandez-li4fq]

good job

[@HowtoAutomotive]

Francisco Hernandez thank you and thank you for watching!

[@friskyanderson]

Why dont you take to 2 mins to undo the battery?

[@dappa211]

I don't think these engineers ever wprk on vehicles

[@driverjeff1498]

This is about the 3rd video on this where the "mechanic"wasted everyones time by fixing the wrong thing,the tubes leak at the bottom where they are pressed into the head,thats why the tube is full of oil.When you see someone fix the easyest thing first it is a testament to lazy inexperience.

[@jeffmays3608]

is there a fix for the tubes leaking at the bottom?