What is a Valve Cover?

The valve cover, which is sometimes called a rocker cover, is an important component of the engine. It's a plastic or metal component that is bolted to the top of the cylinder head.

The gap between the valve cover and the cylinder head is sealed by a valve cover gasket. The whole setup keeps oil inside the engine, which is important to the engine's overall health and performance.

Where is valve cover gasket located?

The valve cover gasket sits between the engine and the valve cover and seals the oil inside. Time and many miles can dry out or crack the valve cover gasket.

What is the role of valve cover

The valve cover is a casing found on the top of the engine. It covers the valves of the engine, protects the machinery from the elements, and prevents oil leaks. Cracks, corrosion, and misalignment of the valve cover can cause fluid to leak into the engine compartments and lead to engine failure.

Symptom of bad valve cover

With any gasket over time it can become hard and brittle while losing its ability to seal correctly. When this happens oil will drip out and onto the engine or exhaust manifold which produces an undesirable odor not to mention to mention the mess it makes when parked. Spark plugs are sometimes accessed through the middle of the valve cover. When the valve cover gasket fails it can allow engine oil to gather and fill around the spark plug well. Sometimes this can be confused with the engine cylinder having an issue when in reality the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced.

What is the impact of continuing to drive without replacing the valve cover?

You can drive it until one of the two following conditions occur:

A significant enough amount of oil leaks out, causing low oil pressure and damage to the engine.

The oil leaking out saturates any wiring harness between the rocker cover and the intake/exhaust manifold, and the heat around the saturated wiring writhe causes the insulation on the wiring to break down and short out, or even worse, the heat causes the oil to combust and a fire breaks out in your engine bay.

In either case, you will no longer be able to drive your vehicle. Rocker cover gaskets, valve cover gaskets, however, you wish to refer to them, are relatively cheap to have replaced. They're definitely cheaper than an engine or automobile replacement.

How Much Does a Replacement Valve Cover Cost?

There's no good reason to put off a valve cover replacement. It's a simple fix and replacement valve covers don't have to be expensive. If you order a genuine OEM GM valve cover from us, you'll save a lot of money. Look up your vehicle in our catalog to see if we have a valve cover for you at a steep discount. You can also see if your vehicle is in this list of our most popular valve covers:

Part No. 96473698: For 2004-2005 Chevrolet Aveo,

Part No. 11127565284 : For 2012-2013 BMW 335is,

Part No. 11127512839E : For 2004-2005 BMW 325Ci