Turns out it's impossible to remove the cover without removing the belts and crank pulley. I did manage to find out that the gasket was NOT holding the oil and all the leaking oil was just continuously pouring down the timing belt cover. I know this cuz I just let the car running and continuously measured my oil level...it went from Full to Low and a lot of oil spilled into my drain pan. I managed to exchange my gasket for a new one in AutoZone and will try installing it again tomorrow. Hopefully this time, since I will put silicone sealant from the beginning, everything will work fine...hopefully. Did you put sealant ONLY around the corners near the timing cover? Did you put a thin strip or a thick amount?
HOW TO: Replace Valve Cover Gasket
- Thread starter Sleezer1533
- Start date
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
Just put a pea size amount right in the sharp corner
i did the 4 corners, AND then also added some around the whole thing. I think i Also placed some on the valve cover itself - in the grooves where the gasket goes in..just to make sure it didnt fall out or move (thus having the possibility to shift not match up- and possibly resulting in a leak)
\Which is what COULD have happened in ur case.. idk/
Its been working great so far :] about 3 months or so now.. (knock on wood lol)
GL
\Which is what COULD have happened in ur case.. idk/
Its been working great so far :] about 3 months or so now.. (knock on wood lol)
GL
BUT careful not to use too much and have it squish and seep into ur internal of engine, then that crap will get dried, ripped and mixed/ spun around in ur engine..
I had some xcess, but made sure to even it out, so the only part pushing out was towards the outside:
and this is the reason i changed the gasket:
before:
now:
I had some xcess, but made sure to even it out, so the only part pushing out was towards the outside:
and this is the reason i changed the gasket:
before:
now:
Last edited:
Well, I exchanged the gasket I had bought and got a new one. This time I put RTV Blue Silicone sealant where you mentioned and where the service manual mentions. I put it at 4.00pm yesterday and let it dry till today. I just now started the engine (1.40pm) and to my surprise: oil started leaking again! I have NO clue what is going on. Does the tightening torque have to do anything with it? I tightened the bolts maybe 1/4 turn more than the point they were hard. At this point I am frustrated and out of ideas. Only thing I can say is that it was NOT leaking this way before I changed the valve cover gasket. That is all I changed and touched in the car. Any help?
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- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
Hard to tell without knowing/seeing exactly where and what amount of oil is leaking out. I would post your problem in the "What have you done to your protege today?" thread, there are tons of people subscribed to that thread who know much more than I do about cars
Be careful that your gasket didn't get pinched while installing it. I made the same mistake on a 6VD1 in an Isusu Rodeo and wasn't aware that the gasket had come slightly loose while installing the valve cover. Once I installed it and started the engine oil started pouring out the back. Turned out the gasket fell slightly out and got twisted up where the gasket and valve cover went over the cam tower.
If you have an obvious oil leak now and you didn't before then bets are that the gasket is pinched somehow.
If you have an obvious oil leak now and you didn't before then bets are that the gasket is pinched somehow.
wernerhyler
Member
- :
- Mazda CX-9
Super thanks for this tutorial. We need more people like you who have passion in teaching other car enthusiasts like us. I also have new gasket for my car. I wonder if it's exactly the same with yours but it looks the same. I'll try this tutorial and go back here to tell how long did I take to fix my car. Many thanks!
LokiDTrixter
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Protege (2.0L)
Awesome...
Joined the forum just to post a thank you and tell you this is fantastic. (thumb)
Joined the forum just to post a thank you and tell you this is fantastic. (thumb)
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- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
NP man, anything I can do to help. I plan more to do more that others already havnt done in the future
does that mean you gonna do my laundry too? Lol. I'm about to install my VC. had to double check the RTV step with your how-to. (thumb)
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- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
Ill trade laundry for beer ... haha gl with the VC
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- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
That seems pretty far from the VC, I cant remember if our side mounts are filled or not, if they are then your mount could have broken and easily made those spots
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- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
either way i doubt the VC wouldve gotten oil all the way over there
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- 2002 Mazda Protege ES
Not too terribly hard
