My 02 wrx(242k) is having the “your car is on fire” smokeshow from the passenger side valve cover dropping oil onto the exhaust pipe directly below it. While convenient that i do not leave oil drops on people’s driveways, it has grown bad enough that i can no longer drive it places because “your car is on fire” is all too common, plus it’s a generally nice car so i want to fix it.
how bad a job is this? What are the book hours on it should I decide that my time finishing the Wartburg is more valuable and send it off to a shop, maybe to Knurled so he can get paid for working on my car. Maybe he wants to come do it in my driveway after work for cash? I found a write up on nasioc that claims it’s possible to do with the engine in place, but i have stubby sausage fingers so i’m not convinced I’m the guy to do it. I had to put a new rotor on the back of the truck yesterday and it took forever to find and back off the parking brake shoes enough to get it off, and I remembered why I bought a new truck a few years ago. If I weren’t making payments of half a kidney every month for a diesel ram i would honestly find a modern wrx for car duty.
TLDR: i’m too old for this E36 M3 and just want to fabricate and build, not do general maintenance anymore.
They aren't bad to do with the engine in the car. Just tedious. At least your car is old enough that it doesn't have air injection, but it still makes life a lot easier to pull the airbox, the battery, and the washer solvent tank. And the fuel injector shields, which don't look like they are in the way but are. Also, gear-wrenches are your friends.
I'd gladly do it, but to be honest I'm having enough lower back pain ever since the MD trip that I find myself having difficulty finding the gumption to work on my own stuff. The red RX-7 needs the coolant and hood installed, and the bumper swapped back off of the black car, and it's ready for plates, but I haven't touched it since firing it on Friday. Needs to be running by the 21st for a local RX-7 group meet, which is why I bought those awesome tires - I'm motivated more by not wanting to have spent $500 on tires to have them sit unused...
Let me know if you need me to drop by and assist with the hood or bumper, between us we may have half a back
The hood and bumper are one hand operations to lift, and mounting them is extremely easy to do without a second set of hands.
I just don't want to get in the car and drive the 12 miles out to the garage. Sitting up to eat breakfast sucked enough. I did remember that the car has heated seats, which is actually helpful even when it is 90 degrees out and the A/C is inoperative again.
The real question is: are the valve cover gaskets easier to do than putting out your car if it catches on fire?
Single cam head motors aren't too bad but you may end up making the leak worse until you get the sealant in the right spots and not bugger the gasket. Twin cams I would advise pulling the motor. I like pulling the motor for timing belts, and resealing the oil pan, doing VC gaskets and the stupid sealed plates behind the flywheel all at once at 100K.
