Hi All,
Reaching out to get some help.

I was on a mission to get the rocker cover gaskets changed after an oil leak from my last repaire ( 2001 X type ). When i removed the ignition coils i found that the spark plug wells on the expreame right (Right hand drive car in Australia) the same side as the brake master cylinder sits, was filled with oil and the other 2 wells were dry . Whats happeneing here ????

I also wanted to change the VVT solenoid gasket in the rocker cover, However the replacement p[art (AJ82856R) the store had given me does not fit, Can some one please let me know the part number please., ( Cameacross this number on the net AJ82577).

Thank you and have a lovely festive season all around the world....

 

I am pretty sure that each rocker cover of the X-Type does NOT ONLY have an outer gasket, but also a small inner gasket around the 3 holes for the ignition coils.
Did you remember to not only swap the outer gaskets, but also the inner gaskets?
Did you re-install all bolts of the rocker cover (in the correct order of assembly and with the correct torque) - including the 2 bolts next to the 3 holes for the ignition coils?

I did not know, that the 2001 X-Type does have a VVT solenoid... Are you sure it's a VVT solenoid, not a breather? Picture?

PS: And did you apply RTV to those few "dedicated rough spots" under the rocker cover gaskets?

 

 

Hi Peter,
Thank you for coming to the rescue again.

When i did the rocker covers first time, I did replace both gaskets ( in and out) but the mistake I did I think was got carried away with the RTV to the rough edges. I also did tightened the bolts as per torque settings ( can you share a pic for the sequence for both front and back covers please).

Is there a pic or video on the correct RTV application and where, i don't want to mess it up again,

As for the VVT, i have attached the images, I w4ent to the auto part store and they have given me a reasonable alternative, that fits the hole and gives a good seal, ( one image is with the original

Thank you again

Oil inside spark plug well when i started

Original not touched yet

I think the VVT solenoid

The cam cover with Alternate gasket
in place)

 

Pls. find above the torque order for the rocker cover (aka. cam cover or valve cover - they call it valve cover in the handbook).
There are also notes reg. RTV silicone (note that it needs to be special RTV silicone for high temperatures) and the 10Nm torque.

And I learned something: Yes, this looks suspiciously like a VVT sensor... Good that you found a gasket.

The front and back cam covers (being actually the left and right cam covers of a 90° twisted engine) use the same torque order (mirror-image-logic...).

PS: before havin' a go again with the RTV silicone, it is paramount that you clean off all the residue of the previous attempt.

 

Hi Peter,

Thank you for the image.

The Valve cover isolator mounts referred to in the image - are theses the bolts that hold the valve cover on to the head??

secondly, do you or anyone else have a picture of an actual silicone applied surface for me to use as a reference. I did come across a YouTube video but unable to locate it now.
Hope the replacement gasket does the job.

Thank you

 

> The Valve cover isolator mounts referred to in the image - are theses the bolts that hold the valve cover on to the head??

I gave it a long and hard "think", and I believe to know the answer now:
The bolts themselves are called (in the Barrat Catalogue) "Camshaft cover Bolt", if the bolt ends with a hex-head and "Canshaft Cover Stud", if there is another thinner threaded bit extruding out of the hex-head.

But that aside:
I assume you noticed that a part of those bolts need to be "pulled over" the cam cover on the inside, BEFORE placing the cam cover onto the engine. It's hard to put into words. thus I found a video for you:

You Tube

Look e,g, at timecode 11:14

I would not believe that you forgot that - but in case you did, this would obviously explain any oil leakage...

But ignore how that guy in the video puts a beat of RTV all over the gaskets - that is wrong. Thus a beat across the key points as explained in the text next to the torque order picture above...

PS:
Here is another video - start watching from time code 11:20. I'd place slightly longer beats of silicone on those dedicated spots...

 

Thank you peter.

I have managed to put it all together. Hopefully no more oil leaks. Thank you for your help.

On a different note, would you have any advice on an alternative to C2s22458 an O-ring for the three-way coolant hose. I have removed the 3-way aluminium hose but cannot readily find a suitable alternative to the original

 

My browser AI (brave) tells me that the dimensions of that O-ring are:
The O-ring has a circular cross-section with dimensions of approximately 7/8 inch internal diameter, 1-1/16 inch external diameter, and 3/32 inch thickness.
Measure your own O-ring to confirm this.
I'd recommend to convert this into mm and look for an O-Ring with suitable properties and this dimension on Aliexpress.

Other than that: Here in the town, where I live, they do have a specialized bearing-shop. They might have something like it. Maybe you have such a shop close to you as well.

 

Thank you for your help, Will try to source one and get the car on the road to test out the valve cover job.

 

Good Idea. While you are waiting for your O-Ring, you could add a "t" to the place, where you are from...
(I am sure it is Riverstone, a suburb of Sydney, and not Riversone...)

 

As you are also in Australia, it might interest you that all the usual spare-part outlets have specials on 26.12.2025.
I just spend a lot of time figuring out what the best battery for my S-Type is (It's battery died a few month ago, but I simply put the battery of another of my S-Types in for the moment).
While Supercheap has big discounts, the battery is still cheaper at AutoPro (I do not know about Autobarn - they are too far away from where I live).