I haven't seen a lot of posts regarding the 4.2 v8 valve cover gasket replacement so I thought I'd share my experience. Please keep in mind that I am not a mechanic and everything that I have done was self taught.

Obviously start off by taking the covers off and removing your Ignition coils and spark plugs.

The bolts you need to remove are all 10MM \, your going to need some extensions and a swivel.

I started with the driver side (US) because it looked to be more difficult as there are a lot more components you will need to move out of the way.

Unplug your MAF plug and remove your air intake box, also unbolt what I believe to be the power steering reservoir and lean it to the side. JTIS says to remove the fuel line but I was able to get the valve cover off without doing so. You need to remove the oil dipstick and tube as well. I scared myself by pulling a little too hard and pulled the whole thing out, I was able to find the hole to put it back with a flashlight.




Take your time and remove all of the bolts from the top and bottom of the valve cover, there are also two in the center in between the spark plug wells. Pay attention to where you take the bolts from and set them aside in order.




Remove the valve cover and turn it upside down, take the old gasket out and also the spark plug well gaskets. They should have came with the set. Clean all of the old oil and if silicone if present remove that as well. Clean around the valve housing also and make sure nothing falls into the valves.





Put your new gaskets in and use a little silicone on the wide parts of the gasket, sorry I don't know the technical terms for anything.

When you put your cover back on you need to line it up and start with the two center bolts. Refer to JTIS for the tightening sequence and follow that. Also check the torque needed for the bolts, I did not and actually snapped a bolt in half.

The passenger side (US) is so much easier. The only thing you need to unplug is the cooler vent (it looks like a spaceship to me lol) and repeat the process.




That's pretty much it. It took me a while to get it done but I pulled it off without too much trouble. I apologize if I did not explain things very well but I hope you get the gist. Just trying to help out where I can.

 

well done nice write up . good pic's too.
i think by (cooler vent/space ship) you mean PCV valve . interesting descriptions
but completely understandable . cheers

 

Yeah sorry about the descriptions lol, I'm not very technical, I just get in there and do it. I've never worked on cars before and I figured I'd better teach myself owning this beauty. I'm going to tackle the transmission fluid and filter next. May rebuild the snout of the supercharger and from then on its piece by piece suspension work. I can't afford the $899 suspension kit flat out.

 

A little trick for remembering which bolts go where is to push them in the same arrangement into an old car wash sponge or a piece of card.