how hard is it to replace the the gasket seal, if i dont replace it will that damage my car, someone help

 

What's a tappet cover seal? Is that the valve cover gasket? If so, it's pretty easy, just unbolt the cover, put the new seal on, put it back together.

Watch when you buy the new seal. Sometimes it includes the round seals for the spark plug tubes, sometimes not. Get them. Probably get new rubber grommets for the hold-down bolts, too.

DON'T overtighten the nuts that hold the valve cover. I don't remember the torque, but it's pretty small. They're easy to break.

Is it leaking oil? The repair manual says replace that gasket each time you take off the valve cover, but I've reused mine a few times. After a while it gets hard & brittle & starts leaking.

 

what happens if i dont replace it will it do any damage

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C-VTI_R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what happens if i dont replace it will it do any damage</TD></TR></TABLE>

First off, what is a "tappet" cover seal? Is it the valve cover gasket like JimBlake is talking about?

If it is, just replace it. Literally takes 2 minutes and requires no skill. No, you don't do serious damage, but you might get some oil leakage if the gasket is worn enough.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C-VTI_R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what happens if i dont replace it will it do any damage</TD></TR></TABLE>Are you just concerned because every repair book says you HAVE to put a new seal on EACH TIME you take off the valve cover? That's pretty extreme.

You worry too much - oil leaks are really the only problem. With age & heat the seal gets hard & brittle. Mine lasted 100k miles & removed/installed several times, but New Zealand is probably hotter than Ohio...