HELP - 2001 Aurora 3.5L V6 rear valve cover removal
 

I would like to know advice on removing the rear valve cover from a 2001 Aurora with the 3.5L V6. The valve cover is basically stuck. We already replaced the gasket on the front valve cover, but the rear one is stuck because of several things.

First, we just couldn't remove the bolts. Then, we finally managed some tool arrangement to undo all the bolts. Now, it's unbolted and just sitting away from the engine. It looks like the firewall and the transmission dipstick tube are holding down the valve cover from being removed.

The firewall is such a blockage that the ignition coil plate had trouble coming out. We barely squeezed it out past the firewall and AC lines. It looks like I would have to unbolt the trans dipstick tube and remove it entirely, but if you guys know of a trick, I'd really appreciate you letting me know. Thanks a lot in advance! Here are some pictures.

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This is the front valve cover. Look at the size compared to the oil cap!

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I don't know if this would work, but maybe you could roll the engine towards the radiator might give it enough clearance. Of course that would depend on how warn out your mounts are.

Per Alldata step #1 is to remove the dipstick tube. Make sure you have a drain under the trans it might spill some fluid. Make sure you top it off when done :) When you say stuck does that it is stuck to the cylinder head? If so gently use a screw drive and pry it off. If it is loose and you just cant get it off maybe this would work. You might try to loosen or remove both frt cradle bolts. This will let the front of the engine roll forward anf give you some clearance in the rear. Hope that helped

Thanks for the info so far! It looks like I should unbolt the front trans mount, but it's so insanely obstructed by exhaust and the starter that I can't see how to take it out. Also, the starter is blocked by the front trans mount. So this basically makes no sense. Can I unbolt the mount from the subframe and then somehow find a way to remove the rubber part of the mount? That would mean I can leave the mount in place on the transmission but still drop the engine enough. 2000+ Bonnie guys, does that make sense?

We finally, with 5 people wrenching away and looking at it from all angles, finished it. The front trans mount came out, and the valve cover still had clearance issues but wiggled loose. There's no reason that something as simple as changing valve cover gaskets should take so long.

The three new people we added to the mix needed an extra 40 minutes just to remove the front trans mount. These three guys work on cars every single day, doing everything from changing oil to changing drivetrains. For them to find a complication in one trans mount is confusing.

But yes, it is done! Remove the front trans mount w/ about an hour of work, and the engine will drop to let you struggle for a few minutes with the rear cover.