Infiniti M56 Valve Cover Gasket Replacement at your home or office.

Our mobile mechanics offer services 7 days a week. Upfront and transparent pricing.

Estimate price near me

Service Location

Customer Ratings

(6)

Included for free with this service

Online Booking

Mechanic comes to you

12-month / 12k-mile warranty

Free 50 point safety inspection

Our certified mobile mechanics can come to your home or office 7 days a week between 7 AM and 9 PM.

Customer Ratings

(6)

Valve Cover Gasket Replacement Service

How much does a Valve Cover Gasket Replacement cost?

On average, the cost for a Infiniti M56 Valve Cover Gasket Replacement is $242 with $88 for parts and $154 for labor. Prices may vary depending on your location.

CarServiceEstimateShop/Dealer Price
2011 Infiniti M56V8-5.6LService typeValve Cover Gasket ReplacementEstimate$345.62Shop/Dealer Price$396.33 - $532.87
2012 Infiniti M56V8-5.6LService typeValve Cover Gasket ReplacementEstimate$335.71Shop/Dealer Price$383.02 - $517.01
2013 Infiniti M56V8-5.6LService typeValve Cover Gasket ReplacementEstimate$335.71Shop/Dealer Price$383.07 - $517.09
Show example Infiniti M56 Valve Cover Gasket Replacement prices

What is a valve cover gasket and how does it work?

Each cylinder head on your car’s engine has an aluminum or plastic valve cover bolted to it. Between this valve cover and the cylinder head, there is a gasket that keeps engine oil from leaking out. The valve cover bolts keep the gasket compressed, thus preventing leaks. Over time the gasket becomes brittle from the engine’s heat or the bolts loosen, creating an engine oil leak.

When to consider replacing a valve cover gasket?

Look for these signs of oil leakage at the valve cover gasket:

  • Oil seepage or dripping. Should the joint between the valve cover and the cylinder head fail, oil often becomes visible on the valve cover or cylinder heads. Usually, the oil will attract and hold dirt.
  • Oil accumulating inside the spark plug well. The spark plug tube seals are part of the valve cover sealing system. If the tube seals are leaking, you will see oil on the spark plugs or wires. The valve cover gasket and tube seals are all replaced at one time if either fails.
  • Oil leakage at the rubber grommets. The bolts holding the valve cover to the cylinder head sometimes have rubber grommet seals under the bolt heads. If these seals are leaking, you will see oil seepage around the bolt heads.

How do mechanics replace a valve cover gasket?

  • Remove engine cover. Some engines have plastic covers over the entire top. The plastic engine cover is removed to access the valve cover(s).
  • Remove components. On 4 cylinder engines, the valve cover is usually readily accessed once any electrical components and emission control tubing are removed, plus any accelerator linkages that might be in the way. On 6 or 8 cylinder engines, depending on which valve cover gasket is leaking, removal of the air intake plenum might be required, as well as additional steps.
  • Remove valve cover. Once the valve cover(s) is accessed, the cover retaining bolts are removed and the cover pulled off. The valve cover sealing surface is checked with a straight edge to be sure the cover is flat and thus reusable.
  • Install new gasket. The new valve cover gasket is applied along with new rubber grommets under the retaining bolt heads. If there are spark plug tube seals, these are replaced as well. In some applications, oil resistant RTV (room temperature vulcanization) sealant must be applied to specific segments of the sealing surface, along with the new gasket, to ensure a complete and effective seal. The cover is bolted back on, using a calibrated inch pound torque wrench, and all other components are restored to their original position.
  • Check for leaks. Finally, the car engine is run and a visual check is made for oil leaks.

Is it safe to drive with a valve cover gasket problem?

Yes, as long as the amount of oil leaking is small, and there is no leak onto hot engine parts such as the exhaust manifold, it is safe to drive your car until you have an opportunity to fix it.

If you notice oil leaking on to the ground beneath your car after it is parked, you do not have a small leak, and it needs to be found and repaired as soon as possible. Any leak, of course, means your oil level is dropping as you drive the car. If you have a leak, be sure to check your oil more frequently than usual so you do not run low on oil and damage the engine.

When replacing a valve cover gasket keep in mind:

  • The mechanical components of a car engine will typically outlive the gaskets used to seal the engine. However, many of these gaskets, including the valve cover gaskets, are relatively easy to replace.
  • Never add stop leak type products to engine oil or other vehicle fluids. Not only are these materials not approved or specified by the original equipment manufacturers, but they also can create additional problems that may be costly to repair.
  • Often, if a car is old enough to have a valve cover oil leak, there will be oil leaks elsewhere on the engine, so you should request a complete leak inspection. It may be more cost effective to repair multiple leaks during one service call.
  • Often, the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve is inserted into a rubber grommet in one of the valve covers. An old rubber grommet is a potential leak source, as well as connections to the PCV valve. These components should be inspected and considered for replacement while there is access to the valve cover.

Fast and easy service at your home or office

Backed by 12-month, 12.000-mile guarantee


Meet some of our expert Infiniti mechanics

Real customer reviews from Infiniti owners like you.

Excellent Rating

(6)

Rating Summary
5
1
0
0
0
5
1
0
0
0

Chris

19 years of experience
600 reviews
Chris
19 years of experience
Infiniti M56 V8-5.6L - Steering Rack/Gearbox - Houston, Texas
Great service

Keith

27 years of experience
231 reviews
Keith
27 years of experience
Infiniti M56 V8-5.6L - Brake Pads Replacement (Front) - Keller, Texas
Keith showed up on, got right to the job, and finished up quickly. And did a great job.

Genaro

14 years of experience
309 reviews
Genaro
14 years of experience
Infiniti M56 V8-5.6L - Brake Pads Replacement (Front) - Richmond, Texas
does good work and arrives on time

Patrick

9 years of experience
48 reviews
Patrick
9 years of experience
Infiniti M56 V8-5.6L - Car is not starting - McDonough, Georgia
He definitely knows what he's doing & will give you options to resolve the issue. I really appreciated him taking the time to explain what's going on & answer all my questions so I understood everything.

Excellent Rating

(6)

Rating Summary
5
1
0
0
0
5
1
0
0
0
Number of Infiniti M56 services completed
66+
services done by our mechanics
TOTAL NUMBER OF EXPERT Infiniti MECHANICS
1000+
experts on our platform

Recent articles & questions

Electric Vehicles vs. Hybrid Cars
If you’re considering a car that requires less gas power, look into the benefits and drawbacks of both EVs and hybrids.
How to Change Your Spark Plugs
Tune-ups Tune-ups have changed a lot over the years. Your grandpa’s car had a distributor with points that required periodic replacement. Thankfully, computers have taken control in modern cars, eliminating the need for a lot of these archaic parts. One...
P2744 OBD-II Trouble Code: Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor B Circuit Interm
P2744 means that the transmission is overheating usually caused by low transmission fluid due to leakage or a failing transmission or a bad sensor.

My low beam headlights will not work how can I fix this?

Hi there, thanks for writing in. If the headlamps are not coming on at all, then you may have an issue with the control circuit. The controls for these lights come from the body control module. It is common for...

Turbo oil leak cost Audi A6 Quattro 2002 twin turbo

Hi Hhh, Thank you for contacting YourMechanic! To set up the quote for the oil gasket leak for your vehicle, we need some extra information in order to get you the most up-to-date prices on parts and labor. Please go...

Van don't turn over

Hi B.B. There are several reasons why a car won't turn over, however, if you are able to bypass that by manually activating the starter, then it's quite possible that the dealership is correct in this case. The ignition system...

How can we help?

Our service team is available 7 days a week, Monday - Friday from 6 AM to 5 PM PST, Saturday - Sunday 7 AM - 4 PM PST.

1 (855) 347-2779 · hi@yourmechanic.com