Do I really have to drain the coolant in order to fully access the RH rocker cover gasket? I see the coolant/heating pipes route directly over the top of the cover. I was hoping to skip the whole drain/refill/bled/burp...process. But, it looks inevitable.

Appreciate any input.

 

No, not really. Whys are you needing to tackle the v/c, is it leaking , if so have you tried to tighten the bolts?
Other wise, read the Rave manual so you will now what to do and replace both sides if you are going to open it up.

 

If you don't drain you will have coolant loss, top off, bleed. If you do drain, less mess, refill, bleed. While apart reverse flush the heater core with garden hose, etc. There is no heater valve, core is attached 24/7 and always has some coolant flow in it.

What manner of misery takes you into only one valve cover? Oil leaks are usually solved with snug up with the 8mm 12 point skinny socket. But while VC is off, consider using a stiff wire or rod to push down thru the gravity drain oil galleys. Here is what you may find. Hopefully no cracked rocker arms, etc. Also consider clean out of the PCV system.

 

Mike and Savannah,

I have made numerous 'unsuccessful' knuckle-busting attempts to replace my spark plugs wires with the manifold still bolted in place. I've ultimately decided to pull the upper intake and figured I'd replace 'both' RH & LH rocker cover gaskets while in there. I was able to tightened the accessible fender-side 8mm bolts but still believe they are leaking. I'll inspect the inner 8mm bolts while the intake is off. Maybe, they're loose as well. Plus, I'm curious to see what the inside of the rocker galley looks like after using Rotella for a couple years.

 

Understood. This is the other way to get at those wires, take a big band saw and slice away the offending firewall. Your way is faster.

 

Trust Me. It almost came to that.

 

I did not find difficulty in accessing the wires. On my belly on top of engine, feet hanging by the front grille, head all the way in on top of the coil pack.
The whole coil pack is held with 4 screws and slides up to work on wires. Its connectors are tricky to dislodge.

 

Do you have SAI? I do