Ronnie Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 My neighbor has asked me to change his valve cover gaskets on his 1988 Olds 98 Regency (with a Buick 3800) for him. How much work would it be to change them on a 3800? Any unexpected hurdles with changing them on the 3800. So far I haven't needed to change them on my Reatta so I was just wondering what I'm getting myself into. I don't want to take on a really hard job that I might not get paid for. Times are bad, he's out of work and I'll probably do the labor for free like I did on his ICM that went bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Suspect you have pleanty of room behind the engine (unlike my TranSport) so valve covers should not be an issue, just remember that plastic & rubber grommets get hard/brittle with heat and age so be gentle.Being a fanatic about surface prep, I just use grease on gaskets but YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) I haven't done so lately on a fully assembled engine but The clearance is tight at the power steering pump and if I remember correctly, the valve cover can be rotated rearward and it will clear, however you will need to remove the EGR valve and pipe to make this easier. You will need to disconnect the rear plug wires and swing out of the wayThere are no connections to the rear cover, so that isn't a problem. The front one is relatively easy except the pcv grommet may be hard so removing the pipe may resist a bit. Also the spark plug routing raceway is connected to the valve cover and it covers a couple of the holdown bolts, so it will need to be at least partially disassembled. The assembly slides on vertical rails on the valve cover and the front cover on the raceway slides sideways and clips together with the base. One other thing. I have removed my stock engine lift brackets from my engines, so I am not certain, but I believe they may also cause a little interference. Edited March 3, 2011 by 2seater (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Thanks! That info helps a lot. Seems like it will be relatively easy to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mc_Reatta Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 .... just remember that plastic & rubber grommets get hard/brittle with heat and age so be gentle. You can probably get the grommets right where you get the gaskets. I got a set to replace some of mine that were leaking a little from Advance...http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Grommet-Set-Felpro_19780586-P_801_R|GRPGASKAMS_966069718___ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Be sure and replace the gaskets around the bolts too. They usually do not come with the valve cover gaskets.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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