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[jack2uk]

Hi all,  I have 2.5 V6, 1998, 150 k, engine has been running great, had rocker cover gaskets replaced 3 months ago (£270), all seemed well but last few weeks engine started running slugish, lacking power etc... i checked on spark plugs and found the plug wells were full off oil, i'm going to take back to garage where i had work done, now is it their fault that the gaskets were not fitted correctly or maybe they never cleaned oil from plug wells when they fitted gaskets, or could their be another reason? any thoughts or advice on this matter would be appreciated. Thank you.
Jack,  Manchester,Uk

[Marks DTM Calib]

There are two VERY important things to ensure happen when cam cover gaskets are changed

1) Always use genuine parts, non-gen last....about a few months at best before giving up....

2) Always clean the breathers as part of the job....

And dont be fobbed off with the old 'the covers are warped' rubbish....

[amba]

Hi..had similar issues with my 1998 elite2.5...if you go to page 16 on this link you will read my story and the valuable advise i received..i took  my car back to garage..had new genuine GM gaskets fitted with the correct sealant..i did buy a replacement set of covers at £25=00 just to be sure and ..you guessed it..after 2500 miles not a trace of oil or any smell of burning...so moral of story is ..fit the genuine parts and stand over the garage to ensure it is done correctly..good luck

[Markjay]

Gasket P/N 90511451

(2 gaskets in pack i.e. one side)

[Markjay]

O rings - P/N 90411826, 8 per side:

[Markjay]

At your discretion, O rings - 6 off, P/N 9118135:

[Markjay]

Also at your discretion, intake gaskets - 3 off, P/N 90501653:

[Markjay]

And if you take the intake flange off (not required for cam covers job), then 2 off P/N 90501652:

[Markjay]

And finally, mustn't forget the black sealant P/N 90485251:

[Dave-C]

I went for cheapies, within 300 miles, oil leaks!  Put GM ones on been great for over a 1500 already...  Add it all up, time and cost..  £40 more and I've lost 3-4 hours of my free time...  Moral of the story, GO FOR GENUINE every time!!!  I respect that you wouldn't have had the choice components used, if you had a garage do it...  maybe, it's worth getting the bits and paying the labour to get them fitted...

Hope you go on OK..

Regards Dave C

[cdx25]

I replaced my cam cover gaskets today - and took off an aftermarket one on the drivers side, and a genuine on on the passenger side.

Drivers side: plugs full of oil.  Gasket hard and ineffective.  Was replaced less than 6 months ago.

Passenger side: plugs not oily.  Gasket still soft and pliable.  Hadnt been touched for a long time by the look of it.

Am I glad I bought genuine GM for the job...

Jon

[jack2uk]

Hi thanks for your help... just to let you know what hs been happening, well i took it back to garage and they said it needs a new cam cover on the passenger side( got this done by them, total of £200 labour/parts inc new gasket on other side) got a 6 month guanrantee that if any oil leaks from either side they will sort it free of labour charges. But after i drove it away it was still running poorly, lacking power and very sluggish... took it back again and took guy out for test drive to let him see himself how poor it was running, he said new plugs/leads... so got them to fit new plugs (free fitting) but still not made any difference, so now left with the leads to change cos he sys if they have been immersed in oil for a few months might effect them.

So now don't know what to do, the leads on there have only done about 20 k miles, and its a big job to change i believe. I'm sure this garage don't really have a clue what they doing, not even sure it needed a new cam cover (the old one looked perfectly flat and ok to me)

Any ides? should i get the AA to check it out to see if they know how to cure it?

I appreciate any advice/ideas you have?

Thanks

Jack

[ians]

Sorry to hear about this sorry tale.  To be honest its a big reason why many of us do these jobs ourselves - at least we know when we've bodged a job..

So lets try and get this straight,  because I'm not sure the poor running is necessarily related to the gasket problem.

- You had the seals first changed 3 months ago.  Presumably because you were smoking out the population whenever you stopped at lights, or something like that..  Was the car running poorly before that or immediately afterwards?
- You report poor running starting 'in the last few weeks' - was this immediately after the job or sometime later?

There are others on here who are much better qualified to diagnose the problem,  but for starters,  have you had it serviced recently?  A new air and fuel filter wouldn't do any harm and if you've got the new leads its probably worth fitting them.

oh, and by the way - very important to avoid more bills like these - make sure the breathers are cleaned.  Actually this is a good test of whether the garage you used had a clue what they were doing or not.   If they werent cleaned thoroughly,  they haven't sorted out the cause of the blown seals, and they will just fail again in a short while.

Good Luck,

Ian

[JasonH]

Worth reading the fault codes with a paperclip - you may have an unrelated fault causing the performance problem.

I had an unexplainable drop in performance and it eventually turned out to be a blocked exhaust...