Valve Cover Gasket: Before I tear everything out, does this look right?
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My 03 Lancer has had a very slow oil leak around the valve cover for a while now. I haven't been in a big hurry to replace the gasket because no air was getting in and so it wasn't affecting the idle or the drivability at all. By the time it was time to add oil, it was always time to change the oil.
Now I am wanting to fix the leak for the engine's longevity and so that it will stay clean. I special ordered the gasket from a local Pepboys but I haven't removed the valve cover yet. I would have rather ordered from the dealer and known it was right but the nearest one is a good 30 miles from here versus going right around the corner. I have searched for pictures on here with the valve cover off, but have only come up with RA engines.
From those who have changed the valve cover on their 02-03 Lancer, I would like to know if this gasket looks right. I was just removing the bolts for the throttle cable and the plug wires when I thought I should probably ask before I open the cover on a car with 102,000+ miles and find that the gasket possibly doesn't fit right and that my gasket may be too old to re-use. The FEL-PRO box says "Mitsubishi 4, 1.8 SOHC Eng., 1997-2002, part number VS50535R, which sounds like the 4G93 Mirage engine which the 4694 is based on. It all sounds right, it just isn't exactly the shape of the valve cover and I just want to be certain before possibly compromising the mobility of my car.
It's the notch on the lower left corner of the attached picture that has me wondering.
Now I am wanting to fix the leak for the engine's longevity and so that it will stay clean. I special ordered the gasket from a local Pepboys but I haven't removed the valve cover yet. I would have rather ordered from the dealer and known it was right but the nearest one is a good 30 miles from here versus going right around the corner. I have searched for pictures on here with the valve cover off, but have only come up with RA engines.
From those who have changed the valve cover on their 02-03 Lancer, I would like to know if this gasket looks right. I was just removing the bolts for the throttle cable and the plug wires when I thought I should probably ask before I open the cover on a car with 102,000+ miles and find that the gasket possibly doesn't fit right and that my gasket may be too old to re-use. The FEL-PRO box says "Mitsubishi 4, 1.8 SOHC Eng., 1997-2002, part number VS50535R, which sounds like the 4G93 Mirage engine which the 4694 is based on. It all sounds right, it just isn't exactly the shape of the valve cover and I just want to be certain before possibly compromising the mobility of my car.
It's the notch on the lower left corner of the attached picture that has me wondering.
looks like exactly what you need.
consider some RTV on it when you're sealing the cover back down as well to help prevent leaks.
consider some RTV on it when you're sealing the cover back down as well to help prevent leaks.
Evolved Member
^Actually, seeing that it doesn't have any sharp angles or elevation changes (like my sohc Civic has) it should be fine w/o any RTV. But maybe someone will chime in with actually Lancer repair manual knowledge...
Bump for more opinions. Thanks for the replies. I just want a few more to really feel safe.
Evolved Member
Yeah, now that read that last paragraph, that should be what you need...supposedly the Mirage head in those models years are the same as our heads. Using that logic, I'd say you're good...but I too would feel more comfortable with more + replies.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Evolved Member
recently i painted my valve cover and found out my car doesnt even have a gasket, and has never leaked a drop of oil....and yea u dont need RVT , i did it to a friends galant (4G64) and didnt need it..but what was hard is that it used to have RVT and we had to scrape it all out....
Evolved Member
Looks like the one i just got. EXaCTLY!!! i just ordered from felpro.
And it looks like that one.
And it looks like that one.
Evolving Member
I checked the Mitsubishi part numbers and they match. Both the 4G93 and the 4G94 have MD307705 as the part number for the valve cover gasket. Oh, and the service manual doesn't say anything about using RTV.
Thanks everyone, now I feel safe enough to proceed. I think I'll try to install it today or tomorrow if I have time with all the painting I'm doing on the RRM grill.
Newbie
Don't use the RTV. More hassle than it's worth and with a clean smooth surface and a brand new gasket you shouldn't need it.
My lancer is now leak-free. The install was pretty easy. The only part I got hung up on for about five minutes on was trying to figure out how to get a wrench down to the right rear bolt. Eventually I realized what that hole in the coil bracket was for a ratchet extension to go through.
The leak ended up being worse than it originally appeared to be. Once I got the valve cover off, I could see that only one side out of four was still actually sealing... partially. With all this leakage, its surprising that the car runs so well (knock on wood).
I took some pictures, so I may do a how-to.
I did end up using the RTV sparingly, but only because I am just that paranoid. I would have to agree that it is probably more of a hassle than it's worth.
The leak ended up being worse than it originally appeared to be. Once I got the valve cover off, I could see that only one side out of four was still actually sealing... partially. With all this leakage, its surprising that the car runs so well (knock on wood).
I took some pictures, so I may do a how-to.
I did end up using the RTV sparingly, but only because I am just that paranoid. I would have to agree that it is probably more of a hassle than it's worth.
Evolved Member
Awesome! hope to have similar results from the oil pan gasket I just replaced on my Civic...it dropped about a quart every 1-1.5 weeks. What a waste of full-syn!
