I Caught This Auto Repair Shop Scamming My Customer (Valve Cover Gasket Replacement)

# Fixing an Oil Leak: A Step-by-Step Guide

## Introduction

Have you ever been driving down the road with your AC on, enjoying fresh air instead of recirculated air, when suddenly you notice a burning smell? In this case, it was an oil-burning smell, and it smells exactly like oil. What do you do? You put on your gloves and get to work.

The narrator in the video explains that he has been wearing gloves for years, long before the COVID-19 pandemic made gloves a necessity. He wears them not only to protect his hands but also to keep from getting sand and chemicals on them. These gloves have proven to be very handy, especially when dealing with car repairs.

## Diagnosis: Identifying the Source of the Oil Leak

When you smell oil, the first thing to check is where it’s coming from. In this case, the culprit is a valve cover gasket. The narrator explains that the oil seeps down and gets on the exhaust manifold, which is hot and causes it to smolder. He emphasizes the importance of checking the entire area for any signs of leaks.

The narrator shares a valuable lesson he learned from his father: when you smell oil, don’t just check one thing—check everything. In this case, the lady who owns the car had taken it to a chain discount auto repair shop, where a young kid worked on it. Despite the shop claiming they fixed the issue by putting in a valve cover gasket, the car still smelled the same. This made her suspicious that the job wasn’t done properly.

## Tools and Materials Needed

To fix this issue, you’ll need:

- Flashlight

- Screwdriver

- Pliers

- Socket set (10mm)

- Ratchet

- Extension

- Ignition coil wire puller or flathead screwdriver

- 3M weatherstrip glue

- New valve cover gasket

- Oil cap gasket

## Step-by-Step Repair Process

### Removing the Covers and Coils

The first step is to remove the beauty cover, which is a simple process of unscrewing two bolts. Next, you’ll need to remove the ignition coils. The narrator uses a 10mm socket for this as well, noting that there are four coils in total.

He advises organizing the screws and parts by placing them on a clean surface or taking pictures with your phone so you don’t lose track of where they go. This is especially helpful if you’re forgetful or new to car repairs.

### Detaching Hoses

The next step involves removing the hoses that are in the way. The narrator mentions two specific hoses: one PCV hose and another that can be removed with a screwdriver. He emphasizes the importance of being thorough, as missing even one bolt or hose could lead to further issues down the line.

### Inspecting Bolts

Before proceeding, it’s crucial to inspect all the bolts holding the valve cover in place. The narrator loosens each bolt one at a time, ensuring he doesn’t miss any—even those hidden in hard-to-reach places. He uses his flashlight to make sure he hasn’t missed any.

### Replacing the Gasket

Once the bolts are loosened and the ignition coils are removed, it’s time to replace the gasket. The narrator points out that the previous repair job was done incorrectly because the gasket wasn’t glued properly. This caused it to slip and pinch, leading to a leak.

To avoid this mistake, he uses 3M weatherstrip glue on the new gasket. He applies the glue evenly around the edges and suggests letting it dry for about an hour before proceeding. This ensures the gasket stays in place and doesn’t slip or twist during reinstallation.

### Reinstalling the Gasket

After the glue has dried, the narrator carefully places the gasket back on the valve cover, ensuring it’s aligned correctly. He feeds it into place slowly so it snaps evenly around the edges. This step is critical to prevent future leaks.

The narrator then puts the valve cover back on, starting with the middle bolts and working his way out. He tightens them finger-tight initially before using a ratchet to snug them up properly. This method ensures that the cover is secure without overtightening and potentially warping the gasket.

### Reattaching Components

Once the valve cover is back in place, it’s time to reattach the ignition coils and hoses. The narrator carefully lines up the wires and secures the hoses with clamps. He also checks for any leftover debris or oil residue that might cause future leaks.

### Checking for Oil Leaks

After completing the repair, the next step is to check for any remaining oil leaks. The narrator inspects the area thoroughly, ensuring no oil is dripping or smoldering. This is a crucial step in confirming the success of the repair.

## Replacing the Oil Cap Gasket

The narrator also takes the opportunity to replace the oil cap gasket, which he notes often gets overlooked. He demonstrates how to remove the old gasket and install the new one, ensuring it’s snug and properly sealing the oil cap.

## Bonus: Volkswagen Transmission Issues

In the video, a viewer asks about a similar issue with their Volkswagen Passat. The narrator explains that in this case, the problem was due to the shop installing a computer for a standard transmission instead of an automatic transmission. He emphasizes how important it is to ensure that any new parts or software are compatible with your vehicle.

## Conclusion

Fixing car issues like oil leaks can be daunting, but with the right tools and approach, it’s manageable. The narrator’s step-by-step guide demonstrates that even a seemingly complex repair can be tackled with patience and the right materials. If you ever encounter a similar issue, don’t hesitate to roll up your sleeves and get to work—you might just save yourself some money in the process!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enokay it's happen all of us we're drivingdown the road we got the AC on fresh airnot recirculate and we can smell aburning smell in this case it's an oilburning smell smells like oil so what doyou do you put on your gloves and get towork now I've been wearing these gloveslong before there's any kind of virusattackcuz I'm lazy and I washed my hands andit actually keeps you from gettingcaught sand chemicals on your hands sothese gloves are real handy let's openthe hood see that smells coming from nowwhen you smell oil the number oneculprit is a valve cover gasket whichthen seeps down and gets on the exhaustmanifold which is really hot and then itsmolders now in this case it's quiteobvious cuz when you look closely youcan see oil is dripping down getting allover the place and that's what'ssmoldering but if I learned one thingfrom my father hello I said when we werefixing flat tires in the old Texaco gasstationcheck the whole tire you find one nail itmight be more so you still want to lookall around to see if there's any otherobvious oil leaks get your bright littleflashlight all around and I don't seeanyI think place else that's getting on anything the rest is pretty bone-drynow the lady who owns this car is a newcustomer she had taken it to one ofthese chain discount auto repair shopssome young kid was working on it whenshe got it back it still smelled exactlythe same she knew something was up thatthey didn't do a very good job fixing upthey said they put a valve cover gasketin well we're gonna take it apart see ifthey actually did or if they totallyripped her off or probably even worsethey put the gasket on crooked orsomething and it was leaking even worseso let's take it apart it's a relativelyeasy job and I just got a few my toolsand spikes the case I have to keeprunning back and forth basically justneed two sockets a ratchet and a littleextension and the first thing we'regonna do with the 10 millimeter socketis take off the stupid beauty cover justin the way really doesn't serve anyother than making it more annoying torepair take the two bolts off get out ofthe way then we're gonna remove theignition coils cuz they're in the wayit's another 10 millimeter it's four ofthem one two three or we can take themall out easilyI put the screws up here so I don't losethem and if you're the forgetful sorrytake a picture of it with your phonethen you'll know what your gods wearingyou won't screw up putting it backtogether and we'll just move them out of the way put them overhere and how they're all in the way thenwe gotta take these stupid hoses offjust twist this off comes a PCV hose andthere's another hose here on this urn wesqueeze it a clamp this one's a littlestock so we'll probably with ascrewdriverthat's easy way to get them off nowthat's out of the way and we just haveto move all the bolts that hold intoplace and handy enough they're all tenmillimeters too well just loosen themone at a time there's a whole bunch ofthem they're all over the placedon't forget the ones in the middle andthe ones in the back can't even see backthere so get the old flashlight out sowe don't miss any of them now they'reall loose and we'll take them off canremove them one at a timeI'll put them in the front here so Iremember where I put them want youloosen them they're really to get off myhand just look close make sure we're allgone alright nothing the halls now knowwe'll pull it off cock we pull it comesoff they put a new gasket its supplesilicone but they twisted it and had itcrooked so it was leaking down now we'renot gonna make that mistake so I usethis 3m weatherstrip glue when I get thenew gasket I'm gonna put all glue on theinside if you notice when I pulled thisoff it just fell out not being glued inwhen he put it down it pinched sidewaysand then leak you glue certain spotspush it in and let it dry for about ahalf an hour then it won't slip andpinch like it did with them yeah whatwe're waiting for the gasket to comethey're delivering it I'm gonna wipe theedge off to get all the oil off it fellthrough when it was pinched all the wayaround get it nice and clean while we'rewaitin we'll see this thing at seventytwo thousand threeforty a mile which for Toyota rav4 isnothing even though it's 12 years oldbarely broken in and when we look at thetop of the inside of the engineit's an immaculate shape cams are allclean there's no sludge buildup oranything everything's nice and shinythis cars been taken care of in a timingchain tight as can be which is a goodthing it was a much better design whenthey went to timing chains originally atime he bounced it a rubber would breakand they were pain in the butt to changethese up chains change they already takecare of it they can last basicallyforever since the chains inside theengine the covers off so we see insideits bathed in oil the whole time so itstays lubricated and it can lastindefinitely oh we have the gasket whatwill deal with fog little bits of thisweather trim sealer in little partsevery once in a while little hair alittle middle little layer then a coupledots in the middle there and a littlethere with that on tight so it doesn'tleak dry out then you just get the wholegasket assembly check out which way itgoes goes this way and we'll startputting it on and realize this goes inthe middle so push that in a little thenyou just feed the whole thing arounddress it in so it snaps you want it intight that's nice and tight and makesure it's all in its groove the wholeway around the previous person didn't doit this fell off when I picked it up cuzit was just in loose when he put it onand twisted this way it can't twist youmake sure it's nice and solid in withthe 3m weather stripping and the middletoo and then let it dry about an hourokay now it's dry you can see and hangit upside down it's not gonna fall offand mess up like the previous guys worthdid then we simply place it back inplace line up the spots get all thewires out of the way so a little wirestuck over here then we'll start withthe big bolts in the middle because youwant to tighten it from the middle outwe want to do all the middle one so putthis one here and there's one in theback and we tighten from the moreout we'll do the back metal one get itfinger tight in the front middle onefinger tight then the inside so we getthem finger tight then we do all theother boats working our way out don'twant you Snug them all up from theinside out you then get them talkingwith a ratchet from the inside out sowe'll start on the back you'll get ittight the touches then a little snug thesame thing here with it so it's snugthen we'll do the inside one here theother inside one then we do the outsideones and the other outside one the topone here and then the top one on theother side and on the last two now weknow they're nice and tight and we knowthey didn't bend and twist and leak andlike before cuz we had glued parts in soit didn't fall down and overlap we findthe holes it's over here somewhere thereit isput that back on squeeze that clamp onit goes yeah we'll go over to the otherside through the PCV hose ways to coilthe ignition coils go back on it getthem out of the hole they fell into thatone go there and goes here and that onegoes there and we touch the four 10millimeter bolts back in you got awiggle or line them up nobody elsetighten them all up then we got theratchet out and finish them off the next thing we're gonna check the oil cap to the old onethe gaskets pretty much flushed it'sworn out here's a new one with a newgasket you can see this gaskets gonnaseal better than this one so we're gonnachange the cap to know people oftendon't think about the camp and that dumbgasket can wear out so it's on theirneck get it nice and snug and of courseyou don't know how much I was lost solet's check the oilwhat's not even on a dipstick so we'regonna have to add some oil so I'll addsome oil put in 1/4 stand as we measureit we can see it's on the bottomthat means it needs a whole quart so ingoes in the other quart so check itagain and now it's on the top dot it's fullscrew the cap back in make sure thatgasket doesn't follow any of courseyou're gonna start it up check for oilleaksvoila no more lake all dry so the nexttime your car starts to smell why notfix it yourself with a little betterwork it's an easy job to do in manycases and here's some bonus questionsand answers Jenny says I got aVolkswagen Passat 2-liter turbo a shopreplaced my main computer cuz it wasn'trunning now it runs but the transmissiondoesn't shift right what could possiblybe wrongVolkswagens are endless money pits asyou're finding out yet to buy hisexpensive new computer for it welleverything on Volkswagen is so computerrun and I had that same problem happenwith a customer years ago they had thecomputer changed at another shop and itran ok but it didn't shift right well itturns out that Volkswagen has thecomputers they're coded and when they're made they're coded either for a standardtransmission for an automatictransmission when I hooked up my fancyVolkswagen scan equipment I found outthat the ECM that the other shop had putin had been coded for standardtransmission but my customer had anautomatic transmission so go to a battermechanic I have them check all theygotta do is plugging in it and they cango through their Volkswagen stuff andthey can see what it's coated for and itcould very well be that yours is coatedfor a standard transmission and all ithas to do is be recoded for an automatictransmission I've seen it before butthat's how Volkswagens are she's you'vechanged a stupid part on them you got arecode the computer they're justabsolute monstrosity when it comes tofixing them which is why I tell peopleif you have brains don't buy aVolkswagen not any modern onesso if you never want to miss another oneof my new car repair videos, remember toring that Bell\n"