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Rear Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

First of all, thanks to all the forum writers who went before and gave pointers on how to replace the valve cover gaskets on the Series-II 3800 engine. On the Riviera the front gasket is very easy. The rear one is an exercise in frustration. The bean counters at GM must have designed it. No rational person would think that a plastic composite valve cover, held down by 6 silicon grommets, that gets flooded by high pressure hot oil would be reliable.
The design is simply poor in my opinion. I’ve seen 1950’s cars with more complex valve covers that didn’t leak. Sheet or cast metal with load spreaders and standard proven gaskets. They’ve been around for years. OK, enough venting. Here are my observations/recommendations.

- Stretch your arms and limber up. If you have small flexible arms you’re made for the job. My arms look like a bobcat scratched them after this job.
- An air ratchet can help on the alternator but it was too big for most of the other parts.
- Get out the car ramps or jack stands. I worked from above and below.
- Use good lighting such as a shop light and a stand up flashlight.
- Use the best gaskets available. With the poor design of the valve cover it only makes sense. I used Fel-Pro since I’ve always had great results with them.
- Used Permatex Ultra-Copper RTV gasket sealer. Time will tell how it holds up but I’ve always had great luck with it in the past. Make sure the head sealing area and the valve cover are clean. Use a thin layer on the gasket and let it skin over before installing.
- Since this probably won’t be the last time the bolts are removed I used anti-seize on most fasteners.
- To get to the rear valve cover I removed the: alternator, alternator support brackets (tube), rear plug wires (pulled up over the top of the engine), engine hoist bracket, center hoist bracket and EVAP support bracket (just rear of the supercharger). The worst part of the job!
- The coolant hose and fitting blocking the valve cover can be pulled up and twisted slightly without spilling coolant. Thanks forum writers for that one.
- The rear valve cover took 7 hours, the front less than an hour, including cleaning and hunting for tools.

I’ve also replaced the oil pan gasket recently. Really easy but expensive ($50) and prone to leaking since the gasket/windage tray funnels oil to the seal where it pools up causing seal bypass.

Rivrocket - ’97 Riviera – SC (leaked at 80K miles)