OEM gaskets vs aftermarket gaskets

[yryr999]

Hello
Today when I went to change the oil for the engine I noticed the engine have leaks from every where valves cover timing cover crank pulley the bolts inside the valve cover .. I went to the dealer and he said we have two type of regasket
He give me two parts number .. So what I should do .. Should I order the hole package .. And if I order it's what are the parts .. If I order the two packages will rebuild all the engine evan the bolts inside the cover ..
Does any one know what the number I should order it .. Waiting for instruction

[GetMeMyStogie]

Many of the gaskets you mentioned require a lot of work to change. Are you ordering the gaskets because you plan to do the work yourself? Are you up to the task?

For instance, changing the coil cover gasket is easy, but changing the cam/valve cover gasket is a big project (if the threads on this site are any indication) because removing those covers is time consuming and quite difficult with the engine in the car. Re-installing them is even worse.
The timing cover gasket requires, obviously, removal of the timing cover, which is also a pretty big job.
All should be possible in less than one weekend though, with the right tools. Maybe in just one day if everything goes right.


If you're not up to the task... let your repair shop install OEM gaskets. If you are, then get the OEM gaskets.


But,

Oil leaks can often be hard to diagnose, because oil that leaks from one place can travel all over the engine making it difficult to tell where it actually cam from. Generally, the pattern of oil spreading is from the top down and from the front to the back. So, if the crank damper/pulley seal is leaking, the oil from there is likely to spread all over the timing cover, making it look like maybe the timing cover is leaking when really it's not. Even if it is, there's no way to know for sure if the front seal is leaking.
Valve cover leaks - well, they can seep a little bit of oil making the cover appear wet, but that might not be a serious problem. If they are very wet, dripping with fresh oil then yes there is a problem. But if there is a light pattern of moistness that is somewhat covered in dust, it's probably not a big concern.

One way to determine the severity of the leak(s) is to drive around a fair bit until the engine oil is fully warmed up - 15-20 minutes - and then park the car over some clean concrete or other light-coloured pavement (or shove a large piece of cardboard under the engine) and let it sit for an hour or so. Then, move the car away from that spot, get out, and examine the area that was under the engine compartment. If there are no wet spots of oil on the ground (or cardboard), then whatever leak you have is very minor, and will not hurt the engine.

One area that commonly leaks on these cars is the gasket for the oil-filter/lower-rad-hose adapter. A leak there can spread over part of the timing cover, and even onto part of the drivers-side (left-hand-side when looking out the windshield) valve cover. Oftentimes, tightening up the 2 bolts that hold that adapter in place can delay the need to replace that gasket.

Otoh, appearance can also be important. A grimy, sticky engine isn't very pretty even if it's not leaking much of anything. An engine shampoo/spraydown goes a long way to making it look nice again, and will make it easier to track down any leaks that you need to actually do something about.


If the choice you have to make is between OEM and aftermarket gaskets, I'd say go with the OEM gaskets. Aftermarket gaskets might be good enough, but if they're not and they fail early, you'd be doing this job again in a couple of years.

[screamn]

If you gotta go aftermarket for some reason, I say stick with fel-pro gaskets!

[LANDY]

Valve cover gasket go felpro or OEM.
Front main seal go with OEM only.