This is prolly a restarted question, but if I want to pull off my valve cover, besides replacing the gasket, what else do I need to do before I put the valve cover back on?

 

scrape off the old gasket, clean out the inside of the cover.... dont over torque the bolts they break easy

 

What's the torque specs? You wouldn't happen to know off the top of your head would you? The reason I'm wanting to do this is my oil has turned a chocolate milk color and I'm wanting to clean it up some.

 

Chocolate milk color you say.... don't want to scare you but sounds like you've got coolant mixing in your oil. either cracked block or blown head gasket. check your coolant levels over the next few days and see if you are losing coolant. change your oil to a fresh 5 quarts and see if it "milks" up again.

Good luck

 

I just changed my oil (and radiator too over the weekend.) I have had to keep adding anti freeze :/

 

Like mentioned above! Sound like you need more then a valve cover gasket. Time to pull the head and check the gasket and the head. Personally the valve cover gasket would be the least of my worries.

 

friendly advise.....before asking a buncha what next questions. seach milky oil, head gaskets, cracked blocks, ect... do a full days worth of reading and determine if infact that is your problem and are you going to fix it, have the shop fix it, or sell it?

Be confident in your abilities to work on your own rig (cause it is a pretty straightforward fix) but also know your mechanical limitations.

 

You have bigger problems than that gasket, but to answer your question: clean the mating surfaces THOROUGHLY with brake cleaner. Use a good silicone and a GOOD gasket. Put a small bead of silicone on the valve cover, then apply the gasket, then another small bead of silicone. Then put the valve cover on and just snug the bolts to where you see silicone start to ooze. Stop. Come back the next day and tighten the bolts.

 

Do you have over heating issues?

 

No over heating issues. I have had a clicking nose the last couple weeks tho. I'm thinkin my head is either blown the gasket or cracked :/

 

You should stop driving it as soon as possible. Completely drain all the oils and water from the crank case before you damage the bearings. The water/antifreeze do not play well with the bearings.

 

Use the felpro blue silicone gasket for valve cover after you get fluids being mixed issue solved.

 

Like freegdr said, use a Felpro gasket. They're reuseable, and after you change the cracked head on your 2000 XJ, you can reuse it.

Edit: The VC bolts are 85 in. lbs. torque.

 

Ok so I'm thinking about replacing my lifters (how many are there?) along with my cylinder head. How long roughly would it take to do this? Btw my xj is my daily driver. Also does anyone wanna give me the money to fix my baby lol jk

 

Leaking coolant into your oil is an almost definite indicator of a broken head gasket or head. If it is the head gasket only, you'll be able to remove the head and see the damage to the gasket. If the cylinder head is cracked (which you may not be able to see (google magnaflluxing)) then you'll need a new cylinder head, and they usually come with the lifters installed and torqued to spec (you also have the option of welding it but I wouldn't go that route...). In either case, you should check the torque of the lifter bolts prior to bolting the valve cover down. If your old cylinder head is intact you might as well bring it to a machine shop to have it surfaced- this will ensure a completely flat surface for the new gasket to be sandwiched between (BONUS- surfacing your head usually results in higher compression).

Labor-wise this can all be done in a day. You don't have to remove your intake or exhaust manifold if you can get at the bolts holding them to the head. The time consumption comes from waiting for the new head to ship or a machine shop to inspect and surface the cylinder head you currently have.

There are products you're supposed to dump in your antifreeze that are used to repair broken head gaskets but they often do more damage by clogging the rest of your engine than the leak itself.