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Maintenance & Repair 350Z up keep and diagnosing/fixing problems

Replacing Valve Covers... Should I Replace More?

Old Feb 22, 2013 | 03:09 PM
  #1  
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Shoji
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From: South Bend, IN
Default Replacing Valve Covers... Should I Replace More?

Title says it all.

I have a 2003 mostly stock VQ35DE (non-Brembo) with just under 135,000 miles. Oil is getting into the spark plugs wells and messing with the spark plug ignition on the rear-most driver-side plug. I literally just had the Nissan Dealership install new plugs at the 130,000 mile mark.

Plan: Replace Valve Covers.
Extras thanks to tax return:
- Motordyne 5/16" copper iso thermal spacer
- MREV2
- R1 Concepts Cross-Drilled/Slotted Rotors
- Hawk HPS pads

Thoughts: Should I go ahead and tear off the heads and replace the head gaskets? I do not drive it recklessly, although every now and then I will go full throttle from 0 to "5 over" the speed limit. I have maxed out the engine (top speed) going to the hospital or racing to some other emergency 3 times in the 7 years that I've owned it. I have never had any other problem with the engine; just the oil messing with the one spark plug.

Random other upgrades currently on the Z:
- JWT Pop Charger
- JWT Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 12:49 AM
  #2  
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RENFRO
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Is your exhaust spewing out white smoke at all? Usually that's a good sign of coolant getting into your cylinders from a bad head gasket. I wouldn't think you'd need to go through all of that. However if you did, make it worthwhile and get some headwork done (maybe a stage 1 or 2 setup) with a nice street cam, arp head studs, and fresh gaskets. I wouldn't want to go through the whole deal of taking the heads off just to put it back to stock specifications
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