I had been using the same Indy shop for probably over 12 years but recently the owner retired and sold to a Franchise repair outfit. I had given this shop all my cars and for the most part other than a few items, I had been pleased with the work. I always asked for the same tech (who still works there).. I had both my valve cover gaskets changed on my LS430 a few years ago. I picked up all the parts including the grommets, the spark plug seals, the PCV seal etc so that everything would be available. Recently upon inspecting something on my car, I noticed that some of the grommets holding down the valve cover looked like they were never changed being dried out, flat, and splitting. Now I have second thoughts that possibly even the spark plug seals were not changed (which are a pain to remove as they get very brittle) either. I have a current Indy shop which I have total confidence in and my tech will be replacing my spark plugs after 127,000 miles on my LS430 for no other reason than they have the mileage on them. My question is this.....Is it possible once the plugs are removed for the tech to see the the spark plug seals were replaced? I don't know if he has any access to inspect them to see if they are pliable and not brittle. I know it's not possible to change them without removing the valve cover but I would definitely be planning on going back to the old Indy shop and speak my mind if they were not replaced. Thanks all.

 

You can't see the seals simply by removing the plugs. You can tell if the seals are leaking by looking for oil accumulation at the base of the tube where the plug screws into the head. And if you see oil, be sure and blow it out before you remove the plug to avoid extra oil getting into the cylinder.

 

I used an indie for my maxima egr tube cleanout and valve cover gaskets, in retrospect they did not clean out the tube (issue came back 12 mos later). They are always working on Porsches and Audis, so I guess that means nothing. Took my BMW to an indie to mount/balance the Pilot Super Sports. Could find no wrong and when I came to pickup the car, they were washing it by hand....have a good feeling about them....integrity is a tough thing to find all the time...my .02

 

Thanks for this info Legender.....but isn't it possible that even if the spark plug seals were replaced ( which I now doubt)....there could have been some oil left there from the old seals that was never blown out by the previous tech?

 

Thanks Johnhav430....One of the most difficult finds these days and probably for many years gone is a reliable, trustworthy shop/tech who really cares about the quality of their work and does the job as it should be done without shortcuts or ripping the client's A..s H...e out.. Most of the public still thinks that going to the New Car dealerships for service is a guarantee that work is done properly....far from realty....and with the new dealerships, many of the techs are fresh out of school still learning the trade on our New Cars! You just can't win!