Subaru Valve Cover / Valve Cover Gasket / Spark Plug Seals - Replacement

[@S.L.R.]

Good video. I've always removed the battery, the two bolts out of the wiper fluid reservoir and set those aside makes it all a whole lot easier.

[@grasshoppaMedia]

Excellent video, bruh. Written comments in the video and submitted by the viewers were helpful too. Sharing best practices is such a blessing. Thanks, everybody.

[@BiancoLand_]

Thanks!

[@rondadofeighttired6094]

My son brought to dealership today wanted $1026 plus tax for this job ,and $800 each wheel hub bearing .Thanks for the helpful tips on Subaru s .i got this.

[@BiancoLand_]

The costs they ask for blow my mind. I did a video on changing the cabin air filter on my Ascent which cost like $20 for the filter. Some people online said dealers were charging anywhere from $100-$220.

[@shatnersufolanded7785]

The best thing to do and it never fails after dozens of these I have done is to clean the surface real good and put your rtv sealant all over in a thin layer push your gasket on and let it set up over night this requires patience then it's ready to install never leaks.

[@BiancoLand_]

I'll have to give that a try next time. This repair is still going and is been a few years.

[@harryburford6629]

well i'm a 1990 they seem quite robust but they leaked when i put new gaskets on .. they are ment to be tightened to 5 pound tourke will have to try again , the heads seem fine , its the valve covers being the trouble, thanks for getting back to me .

[@mattjohnson550]

I did mine on 2004 legacy and never added any gasket maker and has not leaked in 5 years. Nice vid

[@stormb3948]

Can I ask how long the job took? Thinking of doing mine on my 2003. Also did you need to Jack up the engine or was it pretty easy to get the gasket cover out?

[@mattjohnson550]

I just bought the valve cover gaskets and spark plug tubes from Subaru. Don't buy aftermarket. It took about 3 or 4 hours. No I didn't lift the engine. Also when doing this it'd be a good idea to change spark plugs and wires. Ngk plugs and wires

[@stormb3948]

@@mattjohnson550 Awesome thanks for the info. Yeah I've got some NGK"s and all the rest but no new leads, I'll have to get some. Thanks again

[@scrunchymacscruff1244]

@@stormb3948 there's 2 styles of plugwires at the coil ends so be careful to get the correct ones. I buy most parts off eeb-y by-cause you can see with 99+% pos. +or- fb if the seller is solid. I bought aftermarket gaskets and so far they seem good (2 reviewers said they were adequate) and the kit was under ten bucks so I just gave it a shot vs. 70 bucks for Suby parts. The pass.side took me 2-3 hours but I'm slow. A guy in a suub-group said he posted a video howto do the valve adj. but I didn't look at it and there's X hours in a day; not a bad idea to consider it though, he said it's minor.

[@bradmichael3699]

Great video dude, I'm doing this to my Forester soon, very thorough and informative.

[@BiancoLand_]

Thanks!

[@bradgreen987]

My Subaru Fa20 had leaking spark plug wells, causing a cylinder 2 misfire. Cost me $540 for all new seals on both sides. Was told I'll have to do it again in 8-10 yrs

[@RainyDayForge]

Good video. I have to do this to my Forester. Thanks for sharing.

[@jjundt]

Nice job. Thanks for the explanation

[@kataMatthaion1034]

From a replacement of an Outback, the sealant WAS NOT in the gasket channel on the cover. The sealant was only on the two vertical sides between the rubber gasket and the case head. The service manual shows that as well. BTW my gasket wasn't leaking...it was the spark plug tube seals that were leaking. They were hard and almost brittle.

[@scrunchymacscruff1244]

I did the pass. side yesterday and the gasket stayed against the head when I removed the cover (05 Forester). I felt around the gasket and it seemed ok so I didn't replace it; and I was running out of sun, getting chilly. Also, the cover doesn't come out the top on pass. side so I just changed the plug gaskets. Sinec I didn't have the cover in my hand I forget about the bolt washers which mostly stuck to the cover, so when I put the short bolt in the center it never caught thread and I remembered the rubber+washer and pulled the short bolt and pryed it loose. Tools will slip out of the hand and get lost in tight places so a magnet helps with that. Wear gloves so you don't soak all that junk into skin through your pores. Careful what you breath working with chemicals, use a respirator if it seems good.

[@BiggusDickus-k4y]

This was what I’m looking for. So just put the gasket into its slot then the gasket maker on the mating surface correct?

[@musschootski]

Useful. I wonder if removing the battery would have given you more room.

[@BiancoLand_]

That would have helped! I'll have to do that next time. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@stormb3948]

Any recommendations for getting the oil out of the spark plug well? I need to do this on my 03 legacy but I also have tons of oil in both spark plug wells on that side.

[@BiancoLand_]

I'd try using a shop vac to suck out as much as possible.

[@82dupont]

Leave spark plug in, spray brake cleaner in hole, and blow it out with air line and have a rag above hole so it won’t come back into your face. Or push rag into hole and let it absorb brake cleaner with oil.

[@82dupont]

This was a decent job, if you had taken out the battery and reservoir or fuse box, it would have been a lot easier, well done.

[@sancheztorres35]

Any torque specs for the valve cover please thanks

[@BiancoLand_]

From a Google search it looks like 3.6 ft-lbs. Personally I just hand tighten until snug as I'm afraid to break the bolts out split the case.

[@sancheztorres35]

@@BiancoLand_ thanks man

[@4x4maximus]

100% easier doing covers from underneath and no mess with the sealant

[@harryburford6629]

have you done a e j 20 1990 valve covers do they warp at all

[@BiancoLand_]

My 1997 I believe has the EJ20. I've replaced the valve cover gaskets while doing a head gasket replacement (it's a nightmare to do) however I have never had the valve covers leak on that car and I've had it 15 years. It is possible for them to warp but I would think it would be very unlikely as they don't get a lot of heat compared to other parts of the engine. If you have leaky head gaskets I would think it is much more likely to have leaky valve cover gaskets because the EJ engines typically over heat a bit causing the heads to warp. If the heads are warping you might have heat transfer causing the valve covers to leak. But again, I've never seen a warped valve cover on any of the 4 Subarus I work on (1997, 2005, 2010 2019) .

[@gee3883]

Did you drain the oil to do this dude ?

[@BiancoLand_]

No I didn't drain the oil. You'll have a little spill out the bottom but not a whole lot...at least on this 97 legacy.

[@gee3883]

@@BiancoLand_ nice one . I actually took the cover off this afternoon it was easy enough as I have a scooby engine in my beetle so no problems with access. Cheers for the vid Mr , I’ll be sticking it all back together 2 moz 👍 greetings from London

[@leholen381]

Easier to get those bottom two from under the car

[@scrunchymacscruff1244]

On the 05 forester you have to remove the plastic mudguards underneath..2 bolts in the middle, and a few of the press-in plastic fasteners, which are brittle; and one of the bolts has had the head scraped off from not clearing the road surface, so, probably some vice-grips.

[@nophobia123]

dont use gasket maker its a mess and the gaskets are made to seal against aluminum not silicone.

[@Americansikkunt]

Is it a good idea to use an aluminum sealant? Or is it on to forgo any sealant? I saw that one expert mechanic Cartuber recommend using it on the corners..,,