Also, did you get some grommets in that kit? Those little rubber seals between the bolt heads and the valve covers should also be changed.

Oh yeah, didn't even think about that. One of those out of sight out of mind moments. I think it'* fairly accessible, meaning if I climb up inside the hood I think I can do it. I replaced those spark plugs, can't be any worse than that. Maybe I'll go ahead and replace that one too.

My power steering pump is the only thing back there, hopefully it'* off to the side enough I don't have to. My concern would be the fuel rail getting in the way, but that'* easy enough to remove.

No they didn't come with any grommets. The gasket runs inside the bolts though so that shouldn't be extremely necessary should it?

Don't know if they're vital, but sounds like a good idea. I think a complete set (enough to do both covers) is under ten bucks, so hey.

I don't have any advice for how to get to the rear cover. My engine happened to be out of my car at the time.

Went ahead and did the rear valve cover as well. I had to disconnect fuel lines, move some spark plug wires, and disconnect a bracket by climbing up inside the hood, but overall not bad. Power steering pump hose was about a half inch above the cover so it was a bit difficult to maneuver. Overall, probably worth it. These bolts were quite a bit cleaner than the front ones, so I have a feeling it was fine (or in a lot better shape anyway) for the time being. Better to have it done and not have to worry about it though. I'll probably replace the grommets next time I stop in Autozone. I don't feel like they're urgent enough to run right away and get them, since they are external to the gasket. Thanks for the help. Going to go ahead and replace the drain pan gasket as well soon. Probably going to drive around for 50 miles or so to let anything that feel into the valves circulate, then change the oil and drain pan gasket.