leaking rocket cover gasket

[VVK]

Hay all, just bought an r32 about a month ago havent even looked at it properly yet been so busy but there is oil leaking from the rocket cover gasket. Im getting the gaskets fixed within the week but a warning light in the dash console worries me!!! this light came on when my oil was low and i sorta overfilled the engine with mobile 1 oopps. Can anyone tell me if that light is still indicating that something is wrong with the car, all other internals are fine (i.e. coolant). Also the car seems to idle down sometimes for reasons unknown to me. like it is barely running and then the car revs in to 1000rpm. I would really appreciate some help if possible. this is my first post and i have never had any problems with my previous skyline an r31. it was a neat car

[Bazelinez]

overfilling the oil will make it leak more obviously but mine and a few other R32s I know leak from the rocker cover, its fairly common. Mine leaks most from the rear passenger side.

I had the same problem on my Silvia and ended up using a high temp good quality sealant and it fixed it nicely for the 2 years I had the car. I will do the same with the R32.

As for the idle. Ever since I imported mine the auto choke doesn't kick in on its own, if you start it from cold it stutters and dies, I have to help it with the throttle. Its something to do with the throttle body bypass being dirty. Again, something I will do when I can be bothered.

The warning light could be a major problem so if its staying on I'd advise not driving it. What light is it? the one on the oil pressure guage or the one at the bottom?

[yogi000]

i found replacing the rocker covers gaskets and the half moons, it would still leak from the passanger rear...no matter how tight the screws were to hold down the rocker covers. I then removed the covers again and put some gasket glue which seems to have fixed the problem.....might of been leaking cause i'm bodgy

[VVK]

I managed to find the time to look under my car today. it seems like there is another oil leak from the turbo region. The light in the dash is the exhaust temperature light, i asked an racq worker he said it could be that the catalytic converter may be blocked leading to the increased temperature in the exhaust fumes??

[benm]

Upon checking/changing my spark plugs the last 2x (10,000km) i've noticed alot of oil moisture around my spark plugs down in each bay. As others above have mentioned the rear passenger side is the worst, actually my whole passenger side is worse than the drivers side.

Coupla questions:

* I take it their is no guarantee that changing just the gaskets will fix the problem? (will I need gasket goo too?)

* How much are the gaskets brand new for RB25DET?

* Apart from the oil moisture all over and around the rocker covers what side effects does having these leaks have? (hissy, sucking, loss of anything etc)?

I'm pretty confident I could do this myself, it'd take an entire afternoon after work but i'd rather try myself first than pay ~$200 for a mechanic to undo afew bolts. Actually I might get them powder coated while the covers are off....

[nedb]

I got the same situation as benm.

Actually on the weekend i was about to change my spark plugs when i found oil lying around them. It looked like a few teaspoons. I had the spark plugs out only 2 weeks ago and it was all clean but i did put the boost controller in after the last check.

[benm]

Yeah I noticed #2 + #4 had a good teaspoon of motul oil sitting in there.

I had my head under the bonnet of afew cars down at the Wakefield trackday yesterday and every RB25DET I could find had exactly the same problem so i'm not going to treat it as a high priority at this stage however it is a good excuse to get the rocker covers powder coated

[Beer Baron]

just make sure if your rocket cover gasket is leaking that the cover doesn't come off which might set of the rockets.... hahaha sorry couldn't help it

Benm, the gaskets aren't too expensive, best to ring nissan and price them up. it is worth doing as it will only get worse as more of the seal degrades.

[VVK]

Hay BENM i would definitely recommend u use gasket glue to fix the gaskets also make sure u replace both half moons at the same timeas replacing the gaskets.

Bought both gaskets for the RB20 DET from nissan (genuine) costed me $35 each

and so im thinking the RB25 DET would be of similar price.

i couldn't find the gaskets aftermarket i called around or maybe i was calling the wrong people lol. The half moons costed $7 each genuine. If u can do it urself thumbs up but if u want to save a little and get it done by a mechanic go buy the parts urself.

I HIGHLY recommend if u are thinking about getting it done by a mechanic that u CALL AROUND its amazing how the price varies. Ur main concern with the leaky gaskets is if u hammer around too much ur oil levels decrease dramatically from the leaks and i dont think we need to be told what happens to a turbo car with minimal oil. Also if the oil leaks on to the muffler piping it can catch on fire especially when leaking from the rear passenger side where the muffler piping runs.

Also id like reply to the exhaust light coming on in the dash. The casue of this was the spark plugs are worn down and the car is running lean. This leads to an increase exhaust temperature. What my car needs is replacing all the spark plugs & a good tune. everyone will know if this is happening to them becuase the exhaust light comes on for about 5 - 10mins then turns off. This is becuase the car is running lean until it gets to optimal running temperature. this is what i have been told im no mechanic but i hope it helps anyone else

[benm]

What do these 'half moons' do exactly?

[nedb]

Same Q?

[Duncan]

The half moons are the rubber seals at the rear of the cam shaft. If you are doing them you should do the fron cam oil seals too, 2x round rubber seal on the front of the cam

[Guest two.06l]

just make sure if your rocket cover gasket is leaking that the cover doesn't come off which might set of the rockets.... hahaha sorry couldn't help it

Ahh Richard...i wanted to do it but couldnt bring myself to do it.....You really are a cruel man!

[The Dan]

Don't use any sealant on these gaskets. They are rubber and by using sealant you can cause the seal to slip away in places. You must thoroughly clean the head surface and the rocker cover underside surface so that is totally free of oil. I recommend using carbi clean or something similar which will evaporate and remove oily deposits. The half moons are a different story, get a small tube of 3 bond, It is grey in colour. Don't use anything else. You can get it from Nissan or Toyota. Put a small amount on the underside of the half moon so that when you press it down, it squeezes a small amount out to the side...notice I said small amount(not half a tube like some people do). I would also recommend getting new rocker cover bolt rubbers as this will help the screws all pull down evenly. They have a flat side underneath that stops when the thread runs out, if the seal is squashed, it won't hold the cover down properly.

As for your idle problem...you need to check two things...maybe more but two for now. Take off the AAC valve (4 10mm bolts on the firewall side of the plenum) use the same carbi cleaner from before to liberally douse the internals. It is probably black inside with a build up of carbon. Clean out as much as you can. Even try cotton buds to get into hard to reach places. Once clean, give a small squirt of WD40 which will help lubricate it's first opening. Also check the small earth wire on the ignition module at the back of the coil pack cover. If the wire is loose you will be getting a poor earth which causes them to idle funny and drop out.

Hope this helps all of you.

*edit*

I almost forgot, use the 3 bond to reseal the AAC valve. Only use a very thin film. This will ensure no air leaks are present when you start it next time.

[nedb]

So the shopping list is:

2 x rocket cover gaskets

2 x half moons

2 x front cam oil seals

X x rocket cover bolt rubbers

and make sure you have handy some carbie cleaner and 3 bond.

I think I'll attempt to do this exercise by myself.

Is there anything else to watch out for apart from things stated already?

[benm]

10 x rocket cover bolt rubbers.

Think I might leave it another week or so, this shopping list seems to be growing ... Why not just throw in some Poncams while i'm at it eh?

[xr8eater]

accually the rocker cover is held down by a thin layer of sealent wich over time brakes down. When you pull off your rocker cover you will have to clean off the remaining glue on the gaskets and half moons reapply a thin layer of goo (wich can be found in group buy section) clean the head surface and bolt holes out. Wack the covers back on. My car has been running for six months no leaks

[LoNg_ShaNks]

very helpful info!

[Bliksem]

Heres the DIY

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...mp;hl=half+moon

[mid life crisis]

the word is ROCKER not rocket for gods sake get it right other wise you might have to get your ROCKET cover gaskets from nasa