My car won't start after I replaced the valve cover gasket.

[wuwei37405]

I just replaced the valve cover gasket on my 2005 Aveo LS because the spark plugs were oily. Now it won't start. It started easily before the gasket replacement.

I would appreciate a list of things to try before having it towed to a mechanic. Thanks.

[Mudbogger93]

make sure all wires are on good and all are in the correct order

[wuwei37405]

Yes, the condition and the routing of the wires has me concerned. I ordered a new set of wires which should arrive today. Of course, there is still the concern of the routing. I wrote down (maybe I should have taken a photo) the routing of the wires to the ignition box before I undid them, but there is always the chance of error.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll let you know what happens after I put in the new wires. Hopefully, today.

[wuwei37405]

Great news! I replaced the plugs and the wires and the car started. I guess that I had the routing correct afterall. It was just a case of oily plugs and wires because of the valve cover leak. Thanks for your help.

[Mudbogger93]

i just replaced the valve cover on mine today and them plugs are coated with oil so im replacing my plugs tomorrow. but the order of the wires on the coils should be (1,4,2,3) if you start from the back of the engine bay and go to the front. and im counting the cylinders from left to right, if that makes since.

[wuwei37405]

If you count the cylinders from left to right and the coils from back to front, then the #1 cylinder should connect to the #1 coil, the #2 cylinder should connect to the #3 coil, the #3 cylinder should connect to the #4 coil, and the #4 cylinder should connect to the #2 coil.

I hope that the next time that I am doing work on my car I will remember to take photos so that I can post them on the Forum. This is really necessary because I can't find a good service manual for my Aveo and I think that most people are in the same situation.

[jay]

i had a very similar issue after changing the valve cover gasket but my car started ok then ran crappier and crappier as i test drove it engine light camee on and it barely ran. replaced the plugs (cleaned out the plug wells as they had lots of oil in 2 of them) replaced the wires too and now runs like a champ

[DRUGE]

yea man, maybe your lines on your gasket aren't so good, maybe you got some oil in your spark boots, hard to start with no spark. good luck!!

[nova321fl]

On the coil pack in very small writing the wire order is there. Use a flashlight and you will see it. On the motor from passenger side its easy. 1 2 3 4. good luck with the oil leak on the valve cover. I add a silicon bead on it also and it seems to last longer. Just a bad design. Should have made a t gasket instead of a v. That would have placed a flat surface to the head. LOL, what were they thinking.