Thread: How difficult? - valve covers

It's covered under a recall. My '02 GTP was done by a dealer and a have a postcard laying here from GM to get my '98 GT done.

its pretty simple. just some stuff you gotta take off. on a gtp, you take off the alternator, maybe the map bracket, the coil pack bracket, and the dog bones. Beneath the alternator is a bracket that has 3 bolts. You need to take those 3 bolts out. This will enable you to move it a little to slide the valve cover out. You can't move it too far though because the coolant elbow is connected to it. This is how i did mine. I didnt feel like draining coolant and putting on a new elbow just for valve cover gaskets.

Ideally, its better to do valve covers when you do Intake manifold gaskets, cuz everything will be off anyways, and the coolant will already be drained, and you will need new coolant elbows.

If you aren't doing gaskets, just do as said. I have done it twice to install rockers with no problems. And, yes, take a utility blade and scrape the surface of the head where the valve covers go on.