andrewjn

This is only my second post. Any suggestions/recs appreciated. I've owned my 1997 C4 cab for 2 years. Just turned 73K miles. I'm the second owner. Perfect condition. Mostly sat in the garage all winter (KC). It was dry when I purchased it but began leaking oil as it sat (lots of oil). Took it to the shop today. Told me 80-90% of oil is from valve cover gaskets. $1100 fix. Tell me probably wont need to replace the gaskets themselves. Also leaking from up top. Small amount and I've never had a check engine light. I'm going to fix the valve cover leak obviously. Good price? Also should I be worried about a top end rebuild? Should I wait? Can I do damage by driving it with a small leak?

Second issue is a weak clutch. Approx 3K to fix! (without the flywheel!) Does this sound correct? Should I ride it out until it gets worse or just fix it now?

jhg41977

$1100 for valve covers seems very expensive to me. I have not priced them though.

$3k for a clutch seems about right, engine has to come out. Parts for an rs clutch and lwf is about $1700 alone.

If you do the clutch, the valve covers should cost almost nothing to do since the engine is out anyway.

levtron

If your dropping motor, also change the power steering belt, I would check the master and slave cylinder.

BTW, these cars weep oil all the time. If the oil on top looks old, and full of dirt/dust, then not much to worry about, but if its shinny and fresh, then you need to have it checked out. The Varioroom sometimes leaks on the left side of the motor, so that may be your top end problem, or you need a complete rebuild.. ;-).

If you do the valve covers, make sure they use all new rubber washers for the bolts, and they are only 7lb. torque, and are easily stripped, so be careful.

Good luck...


By the way...

This thread is....

jhg41977

Did you mean rubber washers for the chain covers?

levtron

Yes. I also replaced the bolts as well, but that may have been over kill. Also, change your plugs. There are a few that are hard to get to with engine in.

Pictures.......

jg291446

I think $1,100 is very expensive for valve cover gaskets, especially if it's the lower ones (most common) that leaks. The gaskets sell for $12 each for the 2 lower ones, and it's a 60-90 minutes job as per http://p-car.com/diy/valvecover/.

And if you drop your engine for the clutch, there is not much additional labour required for the gaskets. But don't revise your budget too quickly. If you drop the engine, there is a lot of "while you're in there" that you should consider like the plugs.

IXLR8

Yeah, but about $1000 too high.

PRSWILL

You may have a rear main seal leaking- they tend to take the clutch out with them as the oil splatters all over the clutch disc and flywheel inside the housing before it finds it's way out. "Lots of oil" - how much are you taking about?

levtron

A little oil, can look like a lot of oil, on the ground. A few ounces of oil can be a spot almost 2 feet in diameter. We only have @500 oz of oil in our cars .

bcameron59

Varioram oil leak appears to be a common problem for many of us and is a fairly easy and cheap fix. See this thread for DIY info:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ance-flap.html

Oil leak from the top could also be from the oil pressure/temp gauge cluster, or case through-bolts (allah forbid) but these are less common. If your oil level is good (check dipstick with engine running and warmed up to operating temp), you won't damage engine by driving with leaks.

If you're leaking like half a quart overnight on the garage floor you need to deal with it, but I wouldn't panic about anything less than a teaspoon. Note that with the engine tray in place it will catch and accumulate drips, making it hard to tell the actual overnight rate. The engine tray can be removed as many have done here for other reasons.

$1100 for valve cover leak repair seems pricey. And they SHOULD use new gaskets which are super cheap anyway. Maybe they mean they probably won't need to replace the covers themselves, which is usually true but sometimes they do warp.

Clutch price is in the ballpark but as jg291446 noted, if the engine is coming out anyway there a number of other "while you're in there" preventative maintenance items you may want to do, so your costs may go up. A search will turn up dozens of suggestions on what should be done. With a C4 you may also have to do a 4 wheel alignment after an engine drop, this costs about $400 in my neck of the woods.

High oil consumption and CEL light (SAI code, verified with an OBDC reader) are good indicators it's time to do the top end. Many of us get well into 100k miles before this becomes an issue so you could be ok for a while yet. Main concern with these symptoms is valve guide wear, which may cause valve stem failure eventually.

I'd drive it until your clutch is Toast. Best of luck with your maintenance and repairs

nine9six

Maybe the shop is charging $1,100 for lower "billet" valve covers, and not going with new gaskets?

At any rate, as the consensus would suggest, I'd get a second opinion...

H.H.Chinn

PICTURES! PICTURES!! Read the recent thread on billet valve covers, bling or necessity.

Spyder_Man

The estimate that I just got for lower valve gasket and cover replacement from a mechanic in a rather affluent region of the San Francisco Bay Area was $1100 including billet valve covers and new gaskets/bolts.

To me that's a high price and reason why I'm considering a DIY approach to this repair. This shop does good work and doesn't do unnecessary "while-we're-in-there" work, but they have a hefty labor rate and pile on hefty part premiums. The part premium thing drives me nuts when I can get everything I need through Sunset, Sonnen, or Pelican in very short time for way less money.

Perhaps you should consider DIYing the repair. At least talk to a could more shops.

race911

I trust both of you volunteer your labor and value added?

It's been awhile since I've done the rant, but what IS the expected return in running a successful shop? (Funny what these dealers selling parts run out the back door v. through the service department.)

bcameron59

A reasonable question, these guys do need to make a living, and if they do good honest work it should be a GOOD living.

Nonetheless, I just had to post this...