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Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHValve Cover Gaskets
Leading reported evidence
Clean area as well as possible
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Suggestion
If my car started leaking there (again), I'd take an hour with some shop towels and clean the area as well as possible, and then monitor over the next week or two to see where dirt starts sticking first.
Leading evidence: 'Clean area as well as possible' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Clean area as well as possible' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Lose no oil between changes so my 2001 Carrera will be seeping for a while longer.
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Suggestion
I'd be very surprised if you got out of there for less than $4k with an initial "estimate" like that...RUN AWAY!
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Clean area as well as possible
No successful repair reported for this finding.
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Read evidence and context
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Suggestion
If my car started leaking there (again), I'd take an hour with some shop towels and clean the area as well as possible, and then monitor over the next week or two to see where dirt starts sticking first.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
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Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Got an estimate to replace "seeping" gaskets. $1400 per side! Unbelievable that I can get the engine rebuilt for $10k and it will cost 30% of that for new gaskets! Lose no oil between changes so my 2001 Carrera will be seeping for a while longer.
To do a proper job the engine needs to be totally dropped so the valve covers can be cleanly removed. Also requires locking the engine and camshafts, then putting in the camshaft support holders so the cams don't break. All coils and plugs and plug tubes removed as well. No gaskets but proper sealant for the cam covers. Cleaning off the old material is not fun. Not such a simple job really. Since the engine is out might as well do some other things - AOS and so on. $1400/side seems like a lot, but not really given the scope of work involved.
There are no Cam Cover gaskets. Just sealant.
If it is merely seeping, there may be far more important/urgent/rewarding maintenance tasks. Ask your local M96 Indie - not the guy who told you about "gaskets".
^This^ While the job is a major pain in the butt, a qualified shop with a lift could easily do it in a day. $2800.00 seems a little steep - especially since they're going to hit you with a bunch of other stuff once they get the engine out (not even counting all the plastic pieces they break). I'd be very surprised if you got out of there for less than $4k with an initial "estimate" like that...RUN AWAY!
You also run the chance of winding up with the "too much sealant" issue, and you'll start popping out those green and brown plastic caps.
I know that popular sentiment is that a properly maintained machine shouldn't leak. My hands and wrists shouldn't hurt this bad at 46, but there aren't any "fixes" I'm willing to try, since they are all worse than the situation they'd be curing (other than a shot of anesthetic and steroids directly into the fluid between my thumb knuckle joints every now and then. Aaaahhh! There are one or two other things in life that feel as good as having chronic pain suddenly disappear, but I'll get vacation time if I list them).
Make sure its the valve covers that are leaking and not the spark plug tubes. I had a shop tell me it was the valve covers and upon further inspection it ended up being three spark plug tubes that had twisted O rings. I replaced them myself and no more oil leak problems.
Agreed, That is why I hinted at more important issues and the need for an M96 Indie. I know I keep harping on the Indie issue but if we don't support them, more of these engines will die, the rep of the cars will fall ,the values will decline,Indies will move on to other cars and the M96 becomes an orphan.
I hope not
.But if a new owner spends $4k on the wrong oil leaks you can imagine how he may respond. Ask a Jaguar/Maserati owner !
AJZAPPAS, tell us where you live and we'll suggest a competent Indie?
Fixing the wrong thing is bad enough, but if someone gets trigger-happy with the sealant, you'll be paying for at least one more trip to the garage...
If my car started leaking there (again), I'd take an hour with some shop towels and clean the area as well as possible, and then monitor over the next week or two to see where dirt starts sticking first.
That said, my indie noticed the same thing on my PPI; I left it alone until it was time for a clutch, and I ganged the reseal in with the IMSB retrofit, AOS, clutch, and coolant tank - the stuff I didn't really want to mess with in my garage at home if I could avoid it.
Brumos is a reputable shop with a long history. I'm sure they do a great job if you don't mind paying the $$$. It is a labor intensive job - to really do it right, the engine need to be dropped. It seems crazy for something as "simple" as a "leaky valve cover" butvin this case we're talking about the top halves of the cam bearings too. Check and make sure it's not the spark plug tubes first and then formulate your plan from there. Good luck
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