valve cover gasket, drain oil first?

[WhiteRabbit]

do i need to drain the engine oil first before removing the valve cover? haynes manual didnt mention anything about it...

thx

[ghettosled]

nope. in fact, in my opinon after you finish and put the valve cover back on, i would turn the engine for a couple of minutes to flush anything that was jarred loose into the oil pan then change the oil.

[WhiteRabbit]

cool thx

fast reply O_O

[Venom_5]

haha, i know all about this after my lil gasket incident...

no draining necessary, the oil level is below the gasket - while youre down there, check for sludge [take some pics!] and there might be some melted plastic or whatnot from the old gasket, so get them out .... everything should be pretty easy to spot if your engine is as clean as mine was

if you need any help, just ask - i just had to do this like 3x in the last month

[WhiteRabbit]

since i cant read my haynes right now, what size socket to i need for the spark plug bolts

[Venom_5]

30mm ... its a huge b*tch!

lol ... got it from O'Reilly's [AutoZone and Advance were out of stock] for like $10

im better than a haynes manual! woot!

[ghettosled]

just an FYI - the axle nuts are also 30mm so its worth while buying the socket.

[WhiteRabbit]

cool thx, i dont think i have a 30mm in my socket set...damn

ill have to pick one up then

[Stillrunning]

Pickup a 6 point not a 12 point. Axle nut quite thin and difficult to hold on to and a 6 point socket will not round the flats as easily.

[Venom_5]

all i use is 6-point ... so yeah, listen to stillrunning

it was easy as crap to use, too

the only problem is my TQ wrench minimum torque is 50 ft-lbs, and i was told that they nuts go back on with 33 ... so i just guesstimated ... make sure those shits are on strong tho, or ur gonna leak out 2 qts like i did!