Car ran like a champ back from South Carolina up to New York. But it deserves some love.

Still have 4 amigos. Narrowed to front left. Need to give that some time.

Throwing a couple of random Torque Converter codes. Wondering if just a trans fluid swap/fill might knock that out.

Valve cover gasket been leaking forever.

Driven 40,000 miles in 9 years. When I took ownership I did a fairly decent service: plugs, wires, coils, fluids, coolant mod, PCV mod, etc etc. It’s really running great. but I’m starting to detect idling oddness and im in for a bit of preventetive stuff.

Im thinking of doing the following:

Remove intake.
Swap coils, plugs, wires, intake gasket

Get to valve cover gaskets and swap. Oil separator?

Water pump and belt. Tensioner.

Trans pan gasket (leaking). Swap filter, swap fluid.


I believe hardest on the list is Valve covers. I could try and just get a socket on there and tighten down, but I’d really like to know they are right.

I dont have long to plan/do this. Really next week and the one after, before I have to leave for Xmas.

Thoughts?

 

Find a D1 or classic trans pan so you can have a dipstick when you swap the gasket...

 

Valve cover gaskets are easy if you have the intake off. However if you still have the factory baffle in the tube that is probably why you have valve cover gasket leaks. Have you tightened the bolts? I have never seen torque converter codes, nor a leaking trans pan. How many miles on the truck?

 

Please see my responses above.

 

Darn. Wish I’d read this before doing that job today. Dipstick would have been nice. Never realized.

The level was significantly low as well. Which I’m hoping is responsible for the odd torque converter codes. The trans had starting acting odd. Not surprisingly. Nothing odd on the magnet, thankfully.

 

Water pump has slight weeping. Can’t see if it’s the weep hole or otherwise.

No misfires detected. I do have an odd idle at times. Mostly when cold.

Are all valve cover bolts accessible without removing anything? Thats a no brainer if so, as I havnt tried tightening them yet.

 

I’d say confirm the water pump leak and then replace it. There’s a recent thread about Flo-Cooler water pumps being the best option.
You can tighten the outboard valve cover screws without any disassembly, but the inner ones aren’t accessible. Unless the oil leak is bad I wouldn’t mess with the inner bolts until I had a better reason to access the area. But I’m not very **** about small oil leaks.

 

If I’m doing the water pump, is there a better fan/clutch option? look into that recommended pump.

Im all for cooling upgrades. 140k. Original head gaskets.

 

Unless removing the intake for some other reason, it's my opinion that tightening the outboard valve cover bolts/screws is all that's needed. Remember, oil leaks from the valve cover gaskets are due to gravity (exacerbated by air pressure under the cover if the oil separator is plugged and hasn't been removed as part of the PCV mod). Since the outboard side is lower, that's where oil would pool under the cover.

I'm working with a guy here whom I met a few months ago (2001 DII). One of his concerns was oil leaking from the valve cover gaskets. When he checked the four outboard screws he found three were loose - two very loose. We're next going to do the PCV mod and then clean up leaked oil from the engine exterior to enable him to keep an eye on fresh leaks.

Remember too that the valve cover bolts have 12 pt. heads, so you'll need an 8mm, 12 pt. socket (¼" drive recommended), with extension.