[mgp]

I've got oil leaking into the spark plug holes so I'm gonna replace the seal and plugs.

Questions:

Any tricks or warnings to replacing the spark plug hole seal and reinstalling the valve cover?

What do you guys gap your plugs at on a STOCK '97 Altima, auto, 70k miles?

Because I don't have any experience with these cars (wife's car), I'm going with the factory NGK BRK5E's. Anything better?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Peterson]

No, the NGK's will be great. They come gapped, but I beleive the factoy is around .45

I could be wrong...I run mine at .64 with an aftermarket ignition.


Do not overtighten the valve cover bolts. They strip very easily. Start in the center, and tighten them moving towards the outside of the cover....I don't remember the torque specs, but they are listed in a haynes manual. If the part store has one, either buy it or just look it up when you're there.


Seriously, be careful, I stripped 4 or 5 of those bolts...and it sucks getting them off once they're stripped.


Doing the gasket is really straight forward. You will need some sealant to go on the disributor side, and some on the 2 half circles on the left side of the gasket. Where there are curved portions of the gasket, curving up or down, use some gasket sealant. Looking in the Haynes manual will show you what's up.

 

[Sassan]

No, the NGK's will be great. They come gapped, but I beleive the factoy is around .45

.44

 

[ThurzNite]

i've posted at least 3x the order of removing and reinstalling the valve cover nuts...do a search. also posted was the torque spec.
Jae