hi all, as per thread title.. are the rocker cover gaskets easy to replace.. ive done a bit of a search and the only info i can find is that they are renowned for leaking.. but nothing regarding replacing them..

also, anyone know how much they cost?

I think mine is costing either 500 or 250 to fix... Forgot which, its on a piece of paper somewhere.

just for rocker over gaskets.. damnnnnnn

just for rocker over gaskets.. damnnnnnn

Thats with labor, when I get home if my car is waiting I'll grab the invoice and tell you how much.

the gaskets themselves are around 10-15 each, as for changing them if you are handy with a spanner you can do them yourself give yourself around an hour or so (by the time you get the manifold off etc) and a tube of silicon gasket goo. A mechanic should be able to do the entire lot of less then 100 bucks. Anymore then that you are getting ripped son.

the gaskets themselves are around 10-15 each, as for changing them if you are handy with a spanner you can do them yourself give yourself around an hour or so (by the time you get the manifold off etc) and a tube of silicon gasket goo. A mechanic should be able to do the entire lot of less then 100 bucks. Anymore then that you are getting ripped son.

thanks mate.. i didnt think they would cost too much.. im only concerned with the front one at the moment, coz thats the one that is actually leaking and making things smell like burning oil after a hard drive.. so i think ill go look into getting some tomorrow..

I think mine is costing either 500 or 250 to fix... Forgot which, its on a piece of paper somewhere.


Is that standard labour pricing for a gasket change? I changed mine over in less than an hour and it cost me all of $10... i'm paying less in labour to have half my driveline rebuilt. :confused:

Is that standard labour pricing for a gasket change? I changed mine over in less than an hour and it cost me all of $10... i'm paying less in labour to have half my driveline rebuilt. :confused:
Yes but your rocker cover is easier then say the front and rear of a 3rd gen. or any V6 for that matter.

Don't be go crazy with the silastic because too much of it can cause the rocker cover not to seal properly and it will leak.

Just put the silastic on the half moon seals and the metal joins on the top of the head where the rocker cover gasket rests on top.

yeah if its a name brand gasket it tells you were to put the sealant.

thanks for the help ppl.. much appreciated

']Yes but your rocker cover is easier then say the front and rear of a 3rd gen. or any V6 for that matter.

Is the front gasket really that difficult on a V6? Had no idea they were so complex to perform an otherwise simple task.

Point taken then.

Apparently it was $55 for 2x gaskets. According to my $1600 repair bill :(

Apparently it was $55 for 2x gaskets. According to my $1600 repair bill :(

You got ripped mate, you can get ACL gaskets for 15 each which are pretty much the same as the originals, so long as you get the monotorque not the ezfit ones.

Meh, I'm in a country area... Delivery alone was prob about $10 per gasket.

Apparently it was $55 for 2x gaskets. According to my $1600 repair bill :(

holly crap! :shock:

OEM Mitsubishi ones are $22.50 each, you don't need gasket goop either.

Take off the rocker cover, remove old seal, clean, replace with new seal, bolt down. Check its still not leaking. Easy. Took 3 beers and half an hour. Would have taken 10 minutes without the beers.

i just finished doing the gaskets on my TH. about 3 hours all up and $26 per gasket for ACL ones from repco. the first one was easy. second was reasonably easy. to get the manifold out of the way i just undid the 2 bolts on the EGR, the 3 mounting bolts on the back of the manifold, the main manifold bolts and the intake pipe from the filter box to the throttle body and then just lift it out of the way and tie it to the bonnet.

i must say that the design of the rocker covers on the third gen is terrible. they are a 2 piece design that makes them prone to leaking. once the inner shell pulls away a bit from the outter if the gasket goes with it it will leak as the gasket will provide no seal at all. this is what was happening with mine. so i squashed it back in and used plenty of good gasket glue to fix it..... hopefully.

i just finished doing the gaskets on my TH. about 3 hours all up and $26 per gasket for ACL ones from repco. the first one was easy. second was reasonably easy. to get the manifold out of the way i just undid the 2 bolts on the EGR, the 3 mounting bolts on the back of the manifold, the main manifold bolts and the intake pipe from the filter box to the throttle body and then just lift it out of the way and tie it to the bonnet.

i must say that the design of the rocker covers on the third gen is terrible. they are a 2 piece design that makes them prone to leaking. once the inner shell pulls away a bit from the outter if the gasket goes with it it will leak as the gasket will provide no seal at all. this is what was happening with mine. so i squashed it back in and used plenty of good gasket glue to fix it..... hopefully.

2 piece gasket?

The ones I did on mine where a one piece very easy and I smeard a bit of gasket glue just to be sure.

no the gasket is 1 piece, and rocker cover itself is 2 pieces. there is a join in the centre of the groove that the gasket sits in and that join opens up and lets oil past the gasket.

i just finished doing the gaskets on my TH. about 3 hours all up and $26 per gasket for ACL ones from repco. the first one was easy. second was reasonably easy. to get the manifold out of the way i just undid the 2 bolts on the EGR, the 3 mounting bolts on the back of the manifold, the main manifold bolts and the intake pipe from the filter box to the throttle body and then just lift it out of the way and tie it to the bonnet.

i must say that the design of the rocker covers on the third gen is terrible. they are a 2 piece design that makes them prone to leaking. once the inner shell pulls away a bit from the outter if the gasket goes with it it will leak as the gasket will provide no seal at all. this is what was happening with mine. so i squashed it back in and used plenty of good gasket glue to fix it..... hopefully.

Please do not take this the wrong way but CRAP

I have been working on these cars since Mitsubishi released them and have never had ANY issue with a recurring leak

The reason the rocker covers distort is when idiots that do not know what they are doing over tighten them

YOU DO NOT need any sealant on a third gen rocker cover gasket full stop!!!! if you use a silastic, grab yourself a new O2 sensor and Cat as well as the silica burns and will destroy both.

The reason they also leak is because people do not locate them properly when they put on the rocker cover gasket. Lots of people use the cheap rocker cover gasket with out the plug tube seals, these also need to be replaced.

You gen generally get the rocker cover gasket kit for around $45 each side, I know that Burson charge about this or a little more complete with the tube seals.

that might be all well and good to say that you don't need any sealant, but due to the stupid design of the rocker cover, once they have distorted they are going to leak without it. if they had designed it better there wouldn't be any chance of it distorting.


Please do not take this the wrong way but CRAP

I have been working on these cars since Mitsubishi released them and have never had ANY issue with a recurring leak

The reason the rocker covers distort is when idiots that do not know what they are doing over tighten them

YOU DO NOT need any sealant on a third gen rocker cover gasket full stop!!!! if you use a silastic, grab yourself a new O2 sensor and Cat as well as the silica burns and will destroy both.

The reason they also leak is because people do not locate them properly when they put on the rocker cover gasket. Lots of people use the cheap rocker cover gasket with out the plug tube seals, these also need to be replaced.

You gen generally get the rocker cover gasket kit for around $45 each side, I know that Burson charge about this or a little more complete with the tube seals.

i replaced both of the gaskets on my girlfriends 2g last week end and there quite easy. it took me 3 hours to do because i was taking my time with it all + i cleaned the manifold + TB. The seals were $11.70 each + 80c each for the bolt rubbers and i used the genuine Mitsubishi seals. the only places where i used gasket goo was on the rises on the head (thats what it said to use in the manual)

Wurth Motor Seal - comes in a little squeezy bottle works aswell.

I personally, wouldnt use any sealant on any surface that has oil run past it.

It has a tendancy to erode after some time, or even the excess breaking off - this running through your oil galleries can easily block them. Rotaries have a tendancy to go bang due to people using gasket goo everywhere.......

If the rocker cover is warped, just buy a new rocker cover.

Even if you do put gasket glue just put a thin film thats all is needed.

thats what i did with mine just a thin film just enough to make contact with the seal.

Too much you are asking for trouble.

wow, if you payed that much for rocker cover gaskets, you were severely ripped.. i paid 9.30 (from mitsu) each for mine.. and a note, if your going to replace the rocker cover gaskets.. replace the spark plug cylinder seals as well..

wow, if you payed that much for rocker cover gaskets, you were severely ripped.. i paid 9.30 (from mitsu) each for mine.. and a note, if your going to replace the rocker cover gaskets.. replace the spark plug cylinder seals as well..

If I didnt know any better, I'de swear these were designed to start leaking at the same time.

One leaks, then the other within a week......

My Diamante had been spotting the driveway so I took it to my mechanic who put it up on the lift to take a look. Oil was all over the bottom on the tranny side (that would be the driver's side for a N/A car, reverse as necessary for you "southerners"...) and it seemed to be
"wet" upwards.

He replaced the front valve cover gasket and told me the original gasket "crumbled" in his fingers when being removed. The gasket kit, including PVC seals, was $95.00/USA and he charged me $60.00/USA for labo(u... ;-)r. I was surprised how expensive the gaskets were, but Mitsu parts are generally expensive over here, and that is especially true for Diamantes.

He only replaced the front one since we couldn't see any leaks from the back (and that one is kind of a bitch to reach).

Are Diamante/Magnas generally known for having oil leaks anywhere else?

Any more 'common' leaks?

Power steering pump will leak eventually (over 80 000miles) which can either be fixed, or if its a slow leak, just top it up every 10 000 miles.

Auto boxes will leak, same as above - depends on how bad it gets.

Lower sump seals tend to break down, but they're easy, something you can do with a socket wrench and new gasket and oil.

i was about t start a thread on this, lucky i didnt!!

My car is leaking about a litre of oil every few thousand km's because of the rear gasket, and a little from the front. Looks like the charger is coming off :rant:

i was about t start a thread on this, lucky i didnt!!

My car is leaking about a litre of oil every few thousand km's because of the rear gasket, and a little from the front. Looks like the charger is coming off :rant:

Mechanic advised me to replace this sooner rather than later.

The issue isnt dropping oil (if its topped up), since the gasket is broken down, the head sucks in air - this can lead to tappet damage.

Mechanic advised me to replace this sooner rather than later.

The issue isnt dropping oil (if its topped up), since the gasket is broken down, the head sucks in air - this can lead to tappet damage.

i think this will be a good thing for Jas gives him an excuse to rebuild the motor for moar POWAR

Ok, lets clear up a few myths here

I have changed hundreds of these on third Gen, too many members to bother listing here and NONE have ever leaked again on the THIRD gen once replaced with NO sealant. If you check the covers before you put them on and ensure they have not been damaged you will have no issues. Also do not over tighten these little buggers as then you will have ongoing issues and no matter how much sealant you use they will end up leaking again.

Price, no one has been ripped, if you get a gasket on its own then you will pay 10 bucks but it is often the plug tube seals that leak first causing the rubber on the plug leads to swell and then need replacing. rrp for the kit with the 3 tube seals and gasket is $42ish each kit.

On the second Gen I sue a LITTLE sealant only on each end where the cover lifts over the ends of the head. This is also recommended in the factory manual.

As for what ERS stated about air leaks, 100% spot on. Magnas as well as most other cars post 1986 have fully sealed crank cases, even a worn dipstick seal can cause economy issues. I have seen Magnas suffer from badly leaking cover gaskets and the rockers near the leak have been covered in dry carbon. The MAF, airflow or map sensor, depending on the car, needs to measure every bit of air entering the engine, leaks allow un metered air. The older 4.0 (ea - el) falcons that had had gasket issues had issues with economy, try telling your customer that the reason the car drink fuel is because of that moist bit at the front of the engine lol

Well bugger me I have to replace the F & R gaskets on the TF
I done the front one in under 30 mins with a beer in there as well BUT now I have tackled the rear one what a biatch of a job
After an hour I have removed the plenum - I have never done one so I was taking my time - and the only drama I have now is trying to remove the rocker cover breather hose - under the water pipe, it is becoming a hassle is there a knack to it - I squeeze the clamp and try to wiggle and pull it off the rocker cover and it does not want to budge:rant:
I downed tools when the temper was getting up there

Well bugger me I have to replace the F & R gaskets on the TF
I done the front one in under 30 mins with a beer in there as well BUT now I have tackled the rear one what a biatch of a job
After an hour I have removed the plenum - I have never done one so I was taking my time - and the only drama I have now is trying to remove the rocker cover breather hose - under the water pipe, it is becoming a hassle is there a knack to it - I squeeze the clamp and try to wiggle and pull it off the rocker cover and it does not want to budge:rant:
I downed tools when the temper was getting up there

Squeeze the clamp, move it backwards off where it usually sits, then grab the hose tightly and twist it in both directions, you should hear a slight 'crack' sound, thats the seal breaking. You then should be able to take the hose off.

Make sure you place the clamp on the same spot as before - otherwise you can crack the hose.

I went looking today for gaskets, Mitsu wanted 28 odd for the rocker cover gaskets and $17 a pop for the plug seals, $160 all up, why are some people saying they got them cheaper from them, do different dealers charge different prices? trade discount?

repco and autobarn both wanted $25 for the rocker cover gaskets and couldn't supply the plug seals, i gave up there, but looks like if bursons can do the ones for $45 with the plug seals in them that might be the go.

when refittingthe inlet manifold, do you need a new gasket for that?

is there anything else at the rear of the motor that can leak and should be replaced whilst the inlet manifold is off, i know the distributor is back there, but it looks like it can be accessed from the side at any time, anything else?

when refitting the inlet manifold, do you need a new gasket for that?

is there anything else at the rear of the motor that can leak and should be replaced whilst the inlet manifold is off, i know the distributor is back there, but it looks like it can be accessed from the side at any time, anything else?

Go to repco or mitsi and pick up a inlet manifold gasket kit (around $20) This will have the upper, lower intake manifold gaskets, throttle body (from memory) etc.

Once you take anything off that has a gasket, you need a new gasket.

Personally I would go to Mitsi for the inlet manifold gasket - as they stock the metal one's. Repco have paper gaskets (which work, but can rip if handled poorly....)

Squeeze the clamp, move it backwards off where it usually sits, then grab the hose tightly and twist it in both directions, you should hear a slight 'crack' sound, thats the seal breaking. You then should be able to take the hose off.

Make sure you place the clamp on the same spot as before - otherwise you can crack the hose.
Done that and to my absolute horror the breather pipe and about 1cm into the hose was TOTALLY BLOCKED with old oil and gunk
Now I have it apart I will be changing the rear plugs as well as I don't want to go thru this crap again

I went looking today for gaskets, Mitsu wanted 28 odd for the rocker cover gaskets and $17 a pop for the plug seals, $160 all up, why are some people saying they got them cheaper from them, do different dealers charge different prices? trade discount?
repco and autobarn both wanted $25 for the rocker cover gaskets and couldn't supply the plug seals, i gave up there, but looks like if bursons can do the ones for $45 with the plug seals in them that might be the go.

Got mine from Repco here in Brissy
Gaskets were $22 ea and the set of 6 tube seals were $35

I got a mate who had his 3 gen front and rear covers, and plug seals done last week at the ampol at rocklea here in brisi,took the mechanic 3 hours, all up including labour, $209

I got a mate who had his 3 gen front and rear covers, and plug seals done last week at the ampol at rocklea here in brisi,took the mechanic 3 hours, all up including labour, $209
two words.. ripped off


and apart from that.. if they took 3 hours.. then they are useless.. it took me about 1.5.. and im no mechanic

209 is a bit steep... Took me about 45min to do my front one, but I was very carefull and cleaned everything.

I got a mate who had his 3 gen front and rear covers, and plug seals done last week at the ampol at rocklea here in brisi,took the mechanic 3 hours, all up including labour, $209

That price is not too bad for a business, they have to charge labour and when you look at 90 odd bucks for the 2 kits and then perhaps 2 hours all up, not real bad at all

And not you do not need an inlet set, even the metal gasket can be used many times over

Thought I'de post up a result:

My rocker cover has been leaking for some time, finally had the money to replace both gaskets.

Fuel economy was around 11.5lt/100km in the city.

Rocker cover gaskets changed, and as MadMagna said, fuel economy improved, by around 1-1.5lt/100km.

A few strange noises on start up have gone aswell, probably the best money spent so far on this car - so props to MadMagna for his advice :cool:

I pushed my cam seal in to the rocker cover/head by accident while installing a new one durring the timing belt replacement.

Pretty easy to do the front cover, is the rear easy Ers?

There's nothing hard about it, just a pain in the rear end.

Its a little more effort than changing the rear plugs. Just make sure you pick up an inlet manifold gasket kit, which should have the throttle body gasket aswell.

Its roughly 1.5hours start to finish, with a beer in your hand lol

Pick up some plug tube seals aswell, may aswell change them while you're in there :)

How bad was the leak?
I have a leak from the front gasket that is just enough to get on to the exhaust manifold at the end and cause an occasional smell. However my fuel consumption has increased at about the same time as the leak was noticed. Coincidence?
Phil



Thought I'de post up a result:

My rocker cover has been leaking for some time, finally had the money to replace both gaskets.

Fuel economy was around 11.5lt/100km in the city.

Rocker cover gaskets changed, and as MadMagna said, fuel economy improved, by around 1-1.5lt/100km.

A few strange noises on start up have gone aswell, probably the best money spent so far on this car - so props to MadMagna for his advice :cool:

Leak was bad enough to drop oil onto exhaust, check your oil weekly.

Check rear exhaust manifold, chances are the rear is leaking aswell......and factor in some plug tube seals - mine were rock hard lol

Does anybody know the official amount that the rocker cover bolts need to be "torqued up" to?

Does anybody know the official amount that the rocker cover bolts need to be "torqued up" to?

3.5 Nm.

to get the manifold out of the way i just undid the 2 bolts on the EGR, the 3 mounting bolts on the back of the manifold, the main manifold bolts and the intake pipe from the filter box to the throttle body and then just lift it out of the way and tie it to the bonnet.


I used this method on the TL yesterday and it seems to have worked. Replaced plugs, tube seals and gasket. Not much clearance to do the gasket this way, probably better to take the throttle body off and remove that lump of alloy right off the car so you can see what you are doing.

Only mistake I made was to start this job with the engine warm. Got a lot of oil smoke after warming the car up when I had finished, making me think the gasket had been incorrectly installed and was leaking. Did a lot of swearing and planned to pull it down again, but the joint between the head and cover seemed to be dry. Some degreaser and washing helped, but I'm still getting some oil smoke coming from the exhaust lower down where the flexible joint is. Still looks oil soaked. Must have leaked a lot of oil down the rear exhaust system when I pulled the cover off, didn't check for that while doing the job. More degreaser and a couple of idle warmups should clear the smoke hopefully.

Put new platinum NGK BKR5EGP-11 in, double platinum NGK PFR5G-11 in good condition came out, so someone did the plugs at some stage. Why the gasket and tube seals were not done at the same time is beyond me. Someone paid about $20 each for those plugs, so I'm keeping them. lol

yeah dealership costs are up their! :O, I got quoted 500+ too time/labor intensive for them,
so i did it myself $50 for gaskets(front n back)/seals/silicon n all that fairly easy,
luckily to find out MYSELF that my front "RocketCover" was actually hair-lined cracked and warped fairly badly inside,
so i saved $450 on a otherwise wasted gasket service and bought a new front rocket cover for 85 bux at Mitsubishi n popped it on :D ,
who knows how much they would of charged to do the cover aswell,

highly encourage doing it your-self
DIY FTW ! (Y)

Indeed.
DIY saves bux. Well known fact lol

That price is not too bad for a business, they have to charge labour and when you look at 90 odd bucks for the 2 kits and then perhaps 2 hours all up, not real bad at all

And not you do not need an inlet set, even the metal gasket can be used many times over

Mal, How many turns is 3.5nm roughly once it is tight to tighten the bolts. I am now taking miy front rocker off and putting it back on as it is leaking a fair bit. My torque wrench wont go that low. I hope it isn't warped. My 380 is leaking rom the front bank as well how much for the ofront bank plus the tube seals?

Speaking on behalf of all the times this has been covered before . . .

Notice the manual specifies 3.5 Nm, not "finger tight + a bit more"?
It is impossible to "guess" 3.5 Nm, you need a 1/4 inch drive torque wrench, extension and 10 mm socket to get it right. Need to do a couple of laps of cover to get them all even. Guessing will only warp the cover or cause it to leak soonish.

Mal has his own website, check prices there.

Mal, How many turns is 3.5nm roughly once it is tight to tighten the bolts. I am now taking miy front rocker off and putting it back on as it is leaking a fair bit. My torque wrench wont go that low. I hope it isn't warped. My 380 is leaking rom the front bank as well how much for the ofront bank plus the tube seals?

as stated above "my torque wrench wont go thay low" hence I was asking an expert for his opinion

I used a socket and screw driver to tighten mine. Just done it up firm but not too tight. A year later when I changed to full synthetic oil there was a bit of a leak, I tightend the screw near the leak and it stoped.

If you have luggauge scales you could use them. Put them at 10cm from the center of the socket and pulling at just over 3.5kg would give you 3.5Nm

as stated above "my torque wrench wont go thay low" hence I was asking an expert for his opinion

I would be interested in his answer too . . .

It is not a matter of turns, what brand gasket, how still is the rubber, how well have you reshaped the rocker cover etc etc. I never use a torque wrench personally on rocker covers but then again over the years I have done so many up I know what to fee for in so far as where the bolt should be at the correct torque if that makes sense. You can feel the gasket push into the cover and I only use a small 1/4 inch ratchet as well.

In short, dont allow the cover to bend at all when doing these up and you should be fine, if you do them up too tight the area where the bolt contacts will start to pull in

Fair enough Mal.
On the other hand, I was quite happy to pay $40 for a mini torque wrench so I'd get it right first time, without relying on experience on that job (=none) or by guesswork, seeing the rocker cover bolts are not easily accessible.

Supercheap Auto currently have a special on 1/4" torque wrenches

Thanks Mal, I put the front rocker gasket back on today after another 2 attempts and now perfect no leaks. I think the lesson I have learnt here is look at the gasket brand

Just about to start on the job of replacing rear plugs and resealing the plug tubes. I'll be getting gaskets on Monday and I've also found a pcv hose between the rocker boxes which I might as well replace while I'm at it. I've read through this thread but wondered if anyone has anymore tips that might come in handy. It's a 2001 3.5 TH.
Thanks.

I found that hose was quite heat hardened where it connects to the rear rocker cover and impossible to remove even with cover loose so I undid the front end only and straightened out the hose an dragged it through still connected to the rear rocker cover. Even with it out of the car it didn't want to come off. As I couldn't get a replacement with the car in bits I cleaned all the gunk out with petrol in a spray gun and lots of compressed air - let it dry and put it back. It's a really 2 person job to get it back into place without damaging the new gasket.

anyone have a part number for the plug seals and the front and rear rocker cover?

Just get em' from Mal (Mits Fix), see here: Mitsubishi Magna 6G72 / 6G74 Rocker Cover Gasket Set
Or here if that link doesn't work:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mitsubishi-Magna-6G72-6G74-Rocker-Cover-Gasket-Set-/201124246107?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ed3f0725b&_uhb=1
$40 each side, both rocker covers and plug seals, and free postage, what's not to like!

anyone have a part number for the plug seals and the front and rear rocker cover?

Rocker cover gaskets x 2 (MD321352)

Get the rocket cover gasket and the plug seals in a kit from Rockauto for about $17 each side:

BECK/ARNLEY Part # 0361533 {#AW343777, MD198128, MD303148, MD321352} Includes Grommets and/or Spark Plug Tube Seal; Single Valve Cover Gasket
Category: Valve Cover Gasket
Part Image
$16.82

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=477546

There are even cheaper rocker covert gasket and spark plug tube seal kits for $10 each side (http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1428252,parttype,10710). However, the above is what I bought for my Magna.

I used the genuine mits seals when doing mine($30). didnt use any sealant. seems to be holding up fine. key is to reshape the rocker cover to the gasket so it is tight and not to over tighten the rocker cover when putting it back on, as this causes it to warp which will cause a leak.

need the part number for the actual rocker cover not the gasket

best you call a dealer?

thanks Mal