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Hey guys,

I think this is my first post here. My name is Al and I'm from Mexico. I've been lurking around the forum for a while since I married my wife last February (She drives the Civic and I drive a Ford Ranger). Pretty cool site. Never thought Civics could be this fun. I've learned a lot of stuff... Done a couple of oil changes on the car, refilled the AC gas, replaced the cab filter, some other minor stuff...


Anyway, I'm looking at replacing the valve cover gasket on my wife's Civic (1.7L AT LX trim). So far, I've found two different gaskets. One with two loops for the camshaft, and one with only one. I've done my good research and found the valve adjusment how-to, but I can't see if a one loop or two loop gasket is needed on a 1.7 engine. (Sorry to refer to the gasket curves as loops. I'm not very familiar with mech lingo).

Here's the link for the one with two loops:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...44502_24366_0_

One loop:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...97253_69276_0_

I'm thinking I need the one with 2 loops; any advice/confirmation is deeply appreciated.

Al

 
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I'm pretty positive its the one with 2 "loops" ... you can always take your valve cover off to be extra sure tho. .. its only about 7 10mm bolts ..... you could also just call honda and ask for the part number too

 
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Thank you for your reply, mercer.

I've called a couple of Honda dealerships and they won't give the part number away. They only say it costs $180 and that it would take 2-3 days for them to get the part in order to sell it to me.

I kinda don't want to remove the cover if I don't have a spare gasket, because my guess is that the old one will break when I remove the cover.

I find weird that there are two different gaskets listed for the same car...

 
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It won't break but if you wait till tomorrow mine is coming off and I'll let you know for sure


And that price is crazy are you sure they looked for a valve cover gasket and not a head gasket. .... although it is honda so I guess it is possible

 
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This is a pic of my 03 civics head with valve cover off and you can tell that the gasket has to go up and over the Cam on both sides of the head.. . So 2 "loops" is the one you want.

 
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WOW! Must be labor and everything, the whole job.



Part #1 is the gasket set.
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...DER+HEAD+COVER




12030-PLC-010 GASKET SET, HEAD COVER 40.23 28.16

 
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here's the drawing for the valve cover of a 2001 LX


Honda OEM part number 12341-PLC-000, list price is $10.53 USD. Majestic Honda sells it for $7.37USD, plus shipping. Dunno how bad international shipping is, but I highly doubt it'll rack up to $180 for that gasket alone.


http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...DER+HEAD+COVER

 
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damn, beat me to it.. lol..

just a clarification, ezone posted the part number and price for the gasket kit (includes valve cover gasket, spark plug tube seals, and the rubber grommet things for the valve cover bolts), I posted up the price and part number of the valve cover gasket alone

 
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OP linked gasket kits from the zone, so that's what I looked for.

 
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Awesome info. Thank you, guys!

AZ's Gasket #1 is the one I will be buying then. It includes the gasket, tube seals and the bolt grommets. AZ also sells only the gasket for about 8-10 bucks, but since I'm already removing the cover, I might as well get the whole kit. $30 beats $180 all the time...

 
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it definitely needs 2 loops, i just replaced mine two days ago....

however if you look at the pictures you posted in the original post i think BOTH of those gaskets have 2 loops, its just hard to see the second loop because of the angle the picture is taken on

 
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Alright. Like you said, pic is not good, but I just wanted to confirm. I'm a noob in regards to the Civic world.

I will be buying the gasket this weekend. I hope I can replace it this weekend as well, or the next. I read the valve adjustment how-to, and removing/replacing the cover seems like a pretty simple job. I've read that when replacing it, you still need to add some RTV on the corners where the gasket meets the camshaft...

 
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yes, the gasket can not seal a corner like that very well, so use some high temp silicone at the corners where it goes up over the cam

 
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Does black rtv work ok? Or do I need the ultra gray?

 
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any high temp silicone will do, i used the black stuff

 
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Alright. Thanks!

 
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I'm trying to replace the valve gasket on my civic, and I was wondering if the bolts for the valve cover are supposed to come all the way out.

 
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Out of what?

Yes. The rubber grommets stick, you may have to wiggle them.

Those grommets are a PITA to get off of the bolts.

 
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So the bolts on the top image are getting caught on these rubber grommets?



Are the bolts all the same size?

 
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Yes they can be. First time I pulled my valve cover off a couple years ago I found a pair of dykes to be my best friend. Snipped all the old ones off pretty quick.

 
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No, the three at the bottom are shorter. Take a pocket screw driver or something and pry the grommets off the cover.

 
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Bolts are all loose.
Now remove the valve cover, flip it over, and see what is holding the bolts in. The grommets are the only things there.

Wiggle the bolts side to side, the grommets will break free.

 
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You guys weren't kidding I had to really yank on those bolts. I'm seeing a lot of oil caked on and would like to clean it by hand and maybe use some engine oil cleaner.

 
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That ain't pretty.
Looks like some low quality oil and/or "low maintenance" ownership neglect.

Honestly, the absolute LAST thing I would want to do is disturb that crap.
I do NOT want it to migrate downward to clog the oil sump pickup tube and screen.
That will cost you an engine job once it clogs the screen..

EDIT: If you plan on trying to clean it out of the head, you probably should plan on pulling the oil pan to clean it out of there too. Maybe more than once. BTDT.

 
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Previous owner didnt change the oil very much..