Changing The Rocker Cover Gasket

[Mike_]

Rocker cover gasket change in a series 1 R33 GTS-T (RB25DET):

Disclaimer:

Do this at your own risk! I accept not responsibility for injury or damage to any part of the engine or otherwise as a result of following this guide.

For Torque specs and other specific instructions, see the bottom of this post.

What you will definitely need:

New gasket(s) from nissan

New rear cam-shaft seal(s) from nissan

Gasket goo

Large phillips-head screwdriver

Medium phillips-head screwdriver

Spanner set

Socket set

Allan key set

Around an hour - more if it's your first time.

What you don't need but should probably use:

Carby cleaner

Relatively clean rags/towels

Throttle body gasket

1. Go to Nissan and purchase the rocker cover gasket(s) you require. This guide goes through the process of replacing both.

Part numbers for RB25DET:

LEFT (exhaust side) gasket: 13270-58S01

RIGHT (inlet side) gasket: 13270-58S11

(Consult your nissan dealer to be SURE of this. I am fairly confident that I have left & right correct. I bought both for $72.05.)

'Half moon' Cam gear seals: 11051-58S00

2. Pop the bonnet.

3. Remove the crossover pipe.

There are a number of things that you must disconnect/unscrew to fully remove the crossover pipe and associated bits and pieces. These are highlighted in red on the image below.

It would be worthwhile putting a clean cloth in either end of the crossover now that it is removed, and also in the throttle body to prevent any unwanted debris entering the engine.

4. Now remove the two hoses on the rocker cover breather:

Mine split when removing as they are very stiff hoses. I will need to get new ones from Nissan and I will update this with part numbers when I do.

5. Remove the coilpack cover.

Disconnect the two connectors highlighted in red below, and then use the appropriate Allan key to remove the 8 screws holding the coilpack cover to the rocker covers (highlighted in blue)

6. Unscrew the left rocker cover

Take particular note on how tightly these screws are done up: NOT VERY TIGHTLY AT ALL. Remember not to do them up very tight when you put the cover back on. just to the point where u can see the rubber washer undergo a bit of pressure. Torque specs are at the bottom of this post.

Also, on some screws the rubber grommet will also come out with the screw, on others it will not. Do not lose these grommets!

Be very careful not to let any dirt or other crap into the engine, or into the rocker cover.

The 10 screws are highlighted on the image below (right hand side not visible)

Removing the rocker cover will now expose your camshaft:

7. Remove the old gasket from the rocker cover, and replace with the new one.

Use gasket goo or sealant on the raised half circle on the front side of the cover, highlighted below:

While I had the cover off, I cleaned the outside with Carby cleaner, being extra careful not to get any inside the cover.

Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently lift the old half-moon rubber from the back of the rocker assembly (highlighted in red below). Coat all outside edges of the new half-moon with gasket goo, and then reinsert it.

8. Replace the left rocker cover by replacing the screws

Remember, not too tight at all.

The process for removing the right cover is slightly different:

9. Remove the screws on the right of the cover.

Note that there is also smaller screws that need to be removed, that are currently supporting the wires:

Either that or unfold the support and remove the wires. I did it the hard way.

10. Remove the screws on the left of the cover.

Removing the screws on the left of the cover is more tricky. If you have an angled screwdriver, go for it right now! If not (I didn't) you will need to unbolt the throttle body assembly.

There are 4 bolts you need to undo. well, actually two nuts on the top, and two bolts below.

The top two nuts can be done with a spanner. Use sockets for the bottom bolts, as if you use a spanner you will need to remove the Throttle Position Sensor.

Once the TB is unbolted, unhook the throttle cable from it's position and carefully lift the TB out of the way, allowing you access to the rocker cover screw beneath.

The gasket may break in this step, so it would be handy to replace it while you are doing this. I didn't have to, but probably should have

Throttle body and throttle cable (red) and TPS (blue):

The top screw is tricky, but just involves holding a lot of stuff out of the way to get to it. Magnetic screwdrivers work well here.

11. Repeat steps 7 & 8 for this side, and then perform steps 10, 5, 4 & 3 in reverse order.

If putting the allan key screws back on the coilpack cover is proving difficult, try tightening the inner screws of both rocker covers just a little to bring them closer together.

Make sure everything that was disconnected is now properly reconnected, and all hose clamps are tight.

And you're done:

12. Start 'er up!

An abridged (but specific) guide from a workshop manual is as follows:

Hope this helps

Edited November 30, 2006 by Mike_

[RANDY]

7.5. use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently lift the old half-moon rubber from the back of the rocker assembly. Coat all outside edges of the new half-moon with gasket goo before reinserting.

=-D

[Mike_]

Haha cheers randy, I was just updating this one with those instructions when I saw your post

Not sure why there is two of these, but I'm keeping them both up to date with images/instructions etc

[Mike_]

First post edited with camshaft seals part numbers and pics of replacing them.

[Dino]

Nice work Mike!

Have you, or anyone else out there tried it on a RB25DET Neo? Pretty much the same but the throtle body/motor assy has to come off too... I'll post pics when i do mine

[GTS4WD]

7.5. use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently lift the old half-moon rubber from the back of the rocker assembly. Coat all outside edges of the new half-moon with gasket goo before reinserting.

=-D

LOL!.. Your avatar is just too funny!

Edited November 23, 2007 by GTS4WD

[rych]

too bad the pics doesnt work anymore! =-(

[mosquitocoils]

This is a great guide but I'd really appreciate if the picture links could be updated/reuploaded.

Especially step 3 with all the 'extra' bits that would need to come off. If anyone could take a photo and circle (as described) I'd be over the moon.

[gotRICE?]

I dont have a pic of the "extra bits" that need to come off, but i have a photo of everything i removed when i painted the rocker covers.. so ideally, its the same

Its really not hard to remove them. You just take stuff off thats in the way.

In this case,

Intake J-Pipe

Various VAC hoses attatched to J pipe

BOV

Coil Pack cover

Coil pack loom

Breather hoses

Throttle body

Throttle body can be left in place, but in my case, makes it easier to get back on without scratching the paint, and also makes it a bit easier to undo the one bolt under it

Its a good time to do the coolant bypass to the TB at this time too

All the bits needed to be removed (bar TB of course), removed: (minus the coil cover, but thats pretty clear on how to be removed)

Once you unscrew the coil pack cover and coil loom underneath, your ready to go.

Once its all off, you should have a pile like this :

Go play! Good luck

Edited April 29, 2009 by gotRICE?

[b1ancardi]

Looks nice man! ^^^^

Any chance of the original pictures being re-uploaded???

Edited May 1, 2009 by b1ancardi

[gotRICE?]

Looks nice man! ^^^^

Any chance of the original pictures being re-uploaded???

Cheers man. I hated that colour mind you and changed it to this:

Bus seriously, you cant really do it wrong.

Just take your time, and think about it. Theres nothing tricky or special you need to do to take them off. Just simple unbolting.

The only thing that might get you is that if they havnt been off before, or for a while, they tend to stick. So just grab the breather outlet and jiggle and it will pop off That, or grab the cover with both hands. One at the radiator end, and one at the firewall end, and do the same.

[b1ancardi]

that does look better ^^^

I'll be spraying mine like this color http://www.supercarworld.com/images/fullpics/263.jpg VERY light blue. Although, not so ... bubblegum as your first color.

I'll have a crack at taking them off tomorrow.

[Nasedo]

Can we get some updates on the pics? Very handy to have.

[gotRICE?]

Can we get some updates on the pics? Very handy to have.

Pics of the whole process? Im going to have to change me rocker cover seals soon as my exhaust side has finally sprung a leak. So i will try take snapshots of the process.

But for a tease, of you have a pile that looks similar to this:

Your doing ok

[TOM3CH]

+1 to fix of pics, would be handy as I want to do this to my R33.

[KrazyKong]

I've fixed the links for the original post. Now we got pictures

Rocker cover gasket change in a series 1 R33 GTS-T (RB25DET):

Disclaimer:

Do this at your own risk! I accept not responsibility for injury or damage to any part of the engine or otherwise as a result of following this guide.

For Torque specs and other specific instructions, see the bottom of this post.

What you will definitely need:

New gasket(s) from nissan

New rear cam-shaft seal(s) from nissan

Gasket goo

Large phillips-head screwdriver

Medium phillips-head screwdriver

Spanner set

Socket set

Allan key set

Around an hour - more if it's your first time.

What you don't need but should probably use:

Carby cleaner

Relatively clean rags/towels

Throttle body gasket

1. Go to Nissan and purchase the rocker cover gasket(s) you require. This guide goes through the process of replacing both.

Part numbers for RB25DET:

LEFT (exhaust side) gasket: 13270-58S01

RIGHT (inlet side) gasket: 13270-58S11

(Consult your nissan dealer to be SURE of this. I am fairly confident that I have left & right correct. I bought both for $72.05.)

'Half moon' Cam gear seals: 11051-58S00

2. Pop the bonnet.

3. Remove the crossover pipe.

There are a number of things that you must disconnect/unscrew to fully remove the crossover pipe and associated bits and pieces. These are highlighted in red on the image below.

It would be worthwhile putting a clean cloth in either end of the crossover now that it is removed, and also in the throttle body to prevent any unwanted debris entering the engine.

4. Now remove the two hoses on the rocker cover breather:

Mine split when removing as they are very stiff hoses. I will need to get new ones from Nissan and I will update this with part numbers when I do.

5. Remove the coilpack cover.

Disconnect the two connectors highlighted in red below, and then use the appropriate Allan key to remove the 8 screws holding the coilpack cover to the rocker covers (highlighted in blue)

6. Unscrew the left rocker cover

Take particular note on how tightly these screws are done up: NOT VERY TIGHTLY AT ALL. Remember not to do them up very tight when you put the cover back on. just to the point where u can see the rubber washer undergo a bit of pressure. Torque specs are at the bottom of this post.

Also, on some screws the rubber grommet will also come out with the screw, on others it will not. Do not lose these grommets!

Be very careful not to let any dirt or other crap into the engine, or into the rocker cover.

The 10 screws are highlighted on the image below (right hand side not visible)

Removing the rocker cover will now expose your camshaft:

7. Remove the old gasket from the rocker cover, and replace with the new one.

Use gasket goo or sealant on the raised half circle on the front side of the cover, highlighted below:

While I had the cover off, I cleaned the outside with Carby cleaner, being extra careful not to get any inside the cover.

Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently lift the old half-moon rubber from the back of the rocker assembly (highlighted in red below). Coat all outside edges of the new half-moon with gasket goo, and then reinsert it.

8. Replace the left rocker cover by replacing the screws

Remember, not too tight at all.

The process for removing the right cover is slightly different:

9. Remove the screws on the right of the cover.

Note that there is also smaller screws that need to be removed, that are currently supporting the wires:

Either that or unfold the support and remove the wires. I did it the hard way.

10. Remove the screws on the left of the cover.

Removing the screws on the left of the cover is more tricky. If you have an angled screwdriver, go for it right now! If not (I didn't) you will need to unbolt the throttle body assembly.

There are 4 bolts you need to undo. well, actually two nuts on the top, and two bolts below.

The top two nuts can be done with a spanner. Use sockets for the bottom bolts, as if you use a spanner you will need to remove the Throttle Position Sensor.

Once the TB is unbolted, unhook the throttle cable from it's position and carefully lift the TB out of the way, allowing you access to the rocker cover screw beneath.

The gasket may break in this step, so it would be handy to replace it while you are doing this. I didn't have to, but probably should have

Throttle body and throttle cable (red) and TPS (blue):

The top screw is tricky, but just involves holding a lot of stuff out of the way to get to it. Magnetic screwdrivers work well here.

11. Repeat steps 7 & 8 for this side, and then perform steps 10, 5, 4 & 3 in reverse order.

If putting the allan key screws back on the coilpack cover is proving difficult, try tightening the inner screws of both rocker covers just a little to bring them closer together.

Make sure everything that was disconnected is now properly reconnected, and all hose clamps are tight.

And you're done:

12. Start 'er up!

An abridged (but specific) guide from a workshop manual is as follows:

Hope this helps

[NeboRdChick]

Thanks for this awesome tutorial. I'm going to attempt to do this this week without assistance from the other half.

Cheers Reeny

[Resigned R32]

Sweet thank god i found this gonna do it to my RB20 close enough engine lol xD

[nk7]

hey fellas sorry to bring old thread up but do you need to stick some gasket goo stuff if you need to replace the throttle body gasket?

[gotRICE?]

If you have a new metal gasket then it will be fine. Iv always re used the old one and never had a problem.