they're damn fine gaskets. pretty too.
knock on wood, i cleaned my surfaces, put the gaskets on and torqued them and not a single drop of oil has ever seeped out. same good results with the front crank seal, oil pan, rear main, etc. fel-pro is good stuff.

and while we're discussing gaskets - the transmission pan gasket that Advance Auto sells is also very good.

timken seals suck. for seals - get National brand from Advance.

 

Yep, and the FEL-Pro water pump gaskets have not leaked for me, ever.
The cork gasket that comes with the WIX trans filter has treated me well.
NOK seals are really good too, but most of them are for Japanise apps.

 

I just took my truck in for a 30K checkup at the transmission shop and delivered the transmission fluid and a Wix filter kit. The Wix kit had to styles of rubber gaskets -- no cork.

 

I'm actually planning on replacing mine with the Felpro gasket from Advance auto this weekend, I will let you know how it goes.

 

Hmmm they must have changed them since I bought filters last. Anyways, your filter P/N is different than mine because your's is a '97.

 

Oh, please do.
I plan on doing mine once I get my LP.....that and the PCV....and the belt....and the plugs......lol you get the point.

 

I did the passenger side one this weekend. It went fairly smooth, for me having never done ANY mechanical work(besides changing spark plugs and serp. belt). I only ran into a few problems: There is a ground wire attached to one of the bolts, and mine was rusted/corroded so it was a PITA to get off. That and I ended up breaking off a spark plug wire(yes I grabbed it at the boot) and had to replace those. I might try the driver's side one, but the leak wasn't as bad as the passenger side so I'm not in a hurry. That one will be a pain because of all the junk in the way like the brake booster ect. I actually got very detailed instructions from a member here, which helped out tremendously. I can ask him if he would allow me to send them to you, if you would like.

 

I could prolly figure it out, but that wouldn't hurt in the least bit.
The little clip things that are holding the some wires (I dont remember what wires..lol) look like a **** to get off.
If you could PM those to me that would be great.
Thanks man.

 

All credit goes to Sherrif420

It's pretty easy and shouldn't take more than an hour or two for someone that hasn't done it before and doesn't really know what needs to be taken off.

Remove your air cleaner and get some short pieces of rope/twine/shoelaces whatever to tie back what needs to be tied back.

I unplugged the coil wire and removed the spark plug wires while putting a piece of masking tape on each one with a number as I took them off so I wouldn't forget where they go then pushed the spark plug wires behind the headers and the coil wire got laid on top of the intake manifold.

Then you'll take the heater hoses and the wires that are in the way of the covers and pull them toward the center of the engine then tie them out of the way. I used the throttle cable bracket and the a/c lines to tie the wires and junk to.

After you get all the wires and hoses and vacuum lines out of the way then it is just a matter of unbolting the covers, lifting them off the heads, scraping the gasket surfaces clean and re-installing in the reverse order of how you took them off.

You'll need a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the plastic clips that hold the wire harness in place between the intake manifold and the valve covers.

You'll need a 7/16" deep well socket and a 3" and a 6" extension for the bolts on the covers.

You'll need an inch pound torque wrench to set the bolts to 95" lbs when you put the valve covers back on.


It's a pretty straight forward job. Anything that is blocking the valve covers from coming straight up needs to be disconnected and tied out of the way.

You need to be careful not to knock any dirt or anything into the valve train after pulling the covers so it's a good idea to blast around the covers with compressed air before removing them.

Don't forget to reconnect the ground wires on the back of the passenger valve cover when you put it back together. Also, be careful not to break the wire tang on the end of that ground wire while removing or installing it.

Use a criss cross pattern while tightening the valve covers down. start at about 70 inch pounds then go to 95 inch pounds.

Double check that everything is connected correctly and that the masking tape is off the spark plug wires before you start it up.

Also, make sure the spark plug wires are in their clips and aren't touching the exhaust manifolds (or headers whichever you have) before starting the truck up.

Here's some pictures that might help



I forgot to mention to unhook the battery. When I replaced my rocker arms the other day I forgot to unhook it and grounded the alternator wire to the a/c lines and got a good little flash out of it.

Also, be careful with the coolant temperature sensor (right below the alternator on the intake manifold) if you need to remove it to get the passenger cover off because it's easy to snap in half so pull straight up on it.

The clips that hold the spark plug wires pull straight up.
It isn't uncommon to break the base of them off and it will leave a plastic ring on the stud. In that situation just grab that plastic piece with the needle nose pliers and yank it straight up.
If you break one like that and leave the broken piece there then you won't be able to get your socket on the bolt.

You'll need the needle nose pliers for the wire harnesses on each side of the intake manifold as well. They are held to the studs with little plastic tabs. Grab the tabs gently and pull straight up. You don't want to grab them hard enough to break them.

The back right bolt on the passenger valve cover has a ground wire on it so you will need to take a nut off, pull the wire off then take the stud off.