Thread: About to do rear valve cover gasket a few ???

Im going to change out the rear vcg on my 97 gtp tomorrow. I checked things out tonight to see what kind of work im looking at. I know a lot of people say the alternator should be removed but in my case it looks like the alternator doesn't interfere much with the job. There is no bolts on the valve cover below the alternator that are blocked and the alternator doesn't really seem to get in the way of removing or reinstalling the valve cover there is enough room to work around it. I heard it depends what year the car is if it has to be removed or not? It looks like the worst part is a couple vacuum solenoids and hoses/wires in the way. Is there anything else I should look out for when doing it?

You're in luck, as you are correct in that the 97 GTPs do not need the alternator bracket removed to removed the valve cover. You may be able to leave the entire alternator assembly in as well if you can access all the VC bolts without the alternator itself getting in your way. When it comes time to do the job, just remove anything that looks like it will prevent the VC from coming off and you should be all set. Should be a pretty quick job on your car!

None of them need the bracket removed if you're good. 97-98 are easier than 99+

Ding Ding Ding.. do enough and you figure it out.

Please give us an idea of what was hard to install and maybe we can give you pointers for the next time.

To help you next time.. take a piece of paper and put it over the bolt head, then insert it into the socket. That will hold your bolt and life could be slightly easier... I can't loosen the other bolts for you, that should have taken only a moment to realize.