Ford Escape & Fusion 2.3L 2.5L DOHC Engines: Valve Cover Gasket Replacement 

My day started with just a spark plug replacement until I found the oil on the spark plugs. Salute to you! Best tutorial ever. Just completed the job on my driveway after following every step. You rock Bro!

7 years later and it's still a great tutorial...thanks!

Best auto repair videoes on the internet. Dealer said $250 to do this and they could get me in 4 months from now. $40 and a couple hours and it’s done. Easy.

Well done. You deserve an award for having the best video lighting on the Automotive channel! Top notch explanations and instructions as well.

This is the best how to video. No cuts and showed every step start to finish. Thank you.

You know your a pro when you make the job look easy.

I'm a Ford mechanic and this is the only guy on here so far besides myself I agree with 100% go figure.

Just finished my gasket, followed your tutorial and it worked seamlessly. Saved me a lot of money, thanks.

Just finished changing the valve cover gasket and spark plugs on a 2006 Mercury Milan with just over 100,000 miles on a 2.3L. Was getting a slight burnt oil smell at stop lights and there was oil in two of the spark plug wells. Your video and torque sequence diagram were a great help. Thank you. I also bagged a new 8mm deep well socket to add to my collection of tools. Bonus!!

Thanks so much for this video. Just replaced this gasket on my 2011 Ford Fusion with 316,000 miles. Cylinder 1 had oil in the spark plug well. Also replaced the coil swapping out for a coil off my 2010 Fusion parts car with 409,000 miles. Ironically cylinder 1 on that car also had oil in the spark plug well for cylinder 1. Perfect instructions.

Thank you for your help. I completed my 2011 Ford Escape 2.5L replaced the valve cover gaskets easily thanks to you. Keep up the great work. I realize this is an older video but perfect for me and kept me from getting into any troubles.

Just followed this video step by step to do my Valve Cover Gasket on my 09 fusion 2.3. I own 3 fords and I appreciate all the help youve given me over the years. Thank you

This has to be one of the best how to video's I have ever watched on RU-vid! Well done Sir!!

Thank you my friend . Your are professional I have learned many things From you . Unfortunately, we don't have professionals like you in my country . Your fans from Saudi Arabia

Top notch video. Watched it and did the job today on my daughter's 2010 Escape without a hitch. There are so many RU-vidrs who need to follow your example on how to make a useful video. I reviewed several other videos doing the same or similar jobs and even at almost 6 years old yours still stands out as the best. Thank you!

Excellent video Brian, always a pleasure to watch your repairs. Thanks again.

Overall, great video! The lighting, the camera angle/quality, the explanations of each step and general "thoughts" throughout.. THANK YOU!

I need a 2011 Ford Fusion engine cover replacement and the mechanic in this video magnificently explained the breaking down process.I sincerely thank you because I am going to the junk yard tommorrow to remove it from the same model car there tommorrow.Much appreciated of your time and patience showing this video .

You are the man! Thank you so much for making a video that was clear and concise. You didn't skip around and you made a video that aged wonderfully

Can’t thank you enough! My repair went well! Couldn’t have done it without this video! You rock!

Replaced the valve cover gasket on my Escape today. Great tutorial - I'm sure this saved me a few hundred dollars. Thanks!

Great video! Nice to see a well lit, nicely narrated instructional. Covers all of the things you should watch for and take into account when changing the valve cover gasket. Very professional. Thank you so much! Now I need to pick up the gasket on my way home and put it in my wife's Fusion. No worries about any gotchas or time constraints. I bet I get it done in under an hour with this video guide.

Followed this video to replace the gasket on a 2010 Ford Fusion. Video saved me a good deal of money and allowed me to fix it myself. Thanks

Brian by far is the best on youtube hands down I have learned so much from him and saved so much money because of all his videos on the focus. I remember when I got my car back from the shop that did my gasket I went around and checked all of my bolts and I found a few loose they did a real sloppy job and probable did not even torque them

Great video thank you. I'm staring this job in the face and now I have a little extra confidence.

Just finished gasket, plugs and coil replacement on a 2.5L... Your videos helped a lot. Thank you! It took any guess work out of it. Just a note...I used 3 light weight bungee cords to keep the wiring harness clear.

I knew I could count on your demonstration. I'm about to tackle that project next. I always feel intimidated working on my vehicles. .

07/03/2019 Thanks to this awesome video, I replaced the gaskets in less time then it took to watch it! Awesome Job Dude!

Just finished the job on my girlfriend's 08 escape today, along with spark plugs. Never done a repair that involved gaskets or a torque wrench before in my life and was a little nervous, but it was simple. I just did everything you did to a T and it worked out. Just really messy because it was leaking pretty bad, lol. Thanks for the video!

Great video. Wifes 07 Fusion has that smell in car. Checked plugs and yep, a little oily. This video is perfect for my next step. Great job!!!

Replaced spark plugs at 100k miles and look at that... one spark well is full of oil. These videos are awesome and you include torque and torque sequence. Thanks so much!!!

You make things so much easier for us, thank you!!

One of the best instructional videos! Thanks a lot!

Just finished replacing the gasket on my Fusion. One of my spark plug boots was submerged in oil and causing misfires. Just like you said in your other video, there was never a check engine light. Thank you so much for taking the time to make videos for people like me.

Excellent video! I took off one extra connector (on passenger side towards the front) and was able to move the entire harness back behind the engine & zip tied it out of the way. It made it easier to put the cover back on.

Great video! You answered a lot my questions about what the certain sensors and stuff are on the cover on our 2.5 Escape. And yes, it is surprising how much stuff gets into those coil/spark plug hole areas. I blew mine out before changing plugs recently and even though I keep ours spotless even under the hood theres a lot of junk that collects. Thanks for sharing. They definitely aren't the most smooth sounding little engines but they do just fine for daily driving in our '11 Limited.

these are great videos, i keep running into them for my escape

Thanks Hoss. Just did this 30 mins ago on a 2008 and all went smoothly.

Thank you so much for your videos and attention to detail. You have saved me so much time and money on many different projects servicing my Ford Escape!

Good job!! I used your video to help guide me when I did mine on Christmas Eve day 2017. So far the repair has worked, although I still get a burning oil odor when I exit the vehicle after parking it. The engine has the cracked engine block and I can hear a little tapping noise. I'll drive it until it gets worse. Thanks for the video!!

Thank you for such a good video. Did this today and it was pretty darn easy on my wife's 2012 escape. I had a misfire after but one of the wires from a fuel injector came out 😁

I"m doing this repair this weekend. Thanks for the very informative video.

So glad I found this video... Doing a spark plug job and the 2 plugs on the end had oil in em...

Thank you sir! That was simple, though it definitely took me longer than 15 minutes haha

Great video. I just did my valve cover gasket and vct solenoid seal and plugs on my 2010 fusion. It took me about a hour. I did have a leak and the last spark plug hole was full of oil.again great instructional video.

Thanks so much sir I was pretty sure how to do this but felt much better about changing one for the first time with this guide to go by. Cheers to you!!

Thanks a ton that was excellent, mine is leaking around the spark plugs thought about bringing it in for service but you made it look so easy I'm going to do it myself. 👍👍👍👍

Doing this on my wife's Fusion soon, thanks for sharing! I had the dealer do this once about 20k ago under an extended warranty, I'm not sure what they did but it looks like they used a lot of grey silicone of some kind. Yet now it's leaking worse than it ever did before. We'll see what we find!!

Great video! Very much appreciate the step-by-step (and the use of a torque wrench). Good tips on putting the gasket in too!

Dude you are amazing I have never attempted this project before and you know what it worked flawlessly the first time I want to say thank you thank you thank you so much and thank you also for having the proper Lighting in your video and going step by step. And going step by step

While you have the valve cover off, it may be worthwhile to also replace the VCT solenoid gasket. Unlike many other vehicles, this gasket can only be replaced with the valve cover off. Mine was leaking at the same time as the valve cover gasket.

Very nice video. Helped me out with my 08 ford fusion. Thanks a lot !

Infinite thanks for this amazing and helpful video! I appreciate it!

Ha, auto repair videos brought me back here. Thanks for this, used this video to replace mine a few years back.

Ha, just did this on my 08 Fusion at just about 100k. Noticed the smoke coming from the compartment and saw it seeping. Pretty straightforward job. Way easier than replacing the stuck thermostat

Thanks for doing this vid. I just picked up a 2006 escape 2.3 that needs this. I'll be following your vid while doing the job. Of course it will take 2X longer just because it's my first and want it to be perfect. Thanks again.

thank you for this video. I'm going to try this tomorrow. see if it fixes my problem with oil in sparkplug well

thanks exactly what I needed to know in detail. saved my butt.

Excellent work. I went ahead and made documentation from your video. The job took 31 steps from start to finish. I'll be doing this to my 4 cylinder 2011 Fusion in a couple weeks (and am super excited/nervous to do it!!!).

Thanks for the video!! I have a 2014 Fusion with the 2.5 and this really help out. Slightly different then this video, but mostly the same. I was going to take it into the shop but the guy didn't sound like he wanted to work on Fords. He said bring it in and let me see what it is first. Great video! Thanks again!!

Thank you again for another outstanding DIY.

Great video. All your videos are concise yet very informative. Great video to see the details.

Great video. Also works for the 2.0 in the Mx5 NC.

Thanks for another great video with lots of great tips I just replaced my valve cover gasket and motor craft VCT solenoid on my 2012 fusion and the ford dealer in town couldn't do a better job than I did thanks to this great video! Again, ur the best buddy!

Thanks FordTechMakuloco for a well done video. I was able to change my valve cover gasket by following your instructions.

Great video, It walked me through my gasket change without a problem. subscribed too

Great video , you make it look uncomplicated , I'm about to do the same repair you just showed us . Keep your videos coming

Really great video. Great mechanic. Love the minute details.

Thanks for the video! Great job I enjoy watching!!

Thanks for your continued guidance and sharing your knowledge, it's very appreciated!

You are a really good mechanic I learned the cylinder head gasket trick from you

Just finished doing this today. Perfect video 👌

Perfect! I just changed mine to this video. Thanks bro. Now I just need to figure out how to get out the seized spark plugs. 💀

Thank you.Ford Escape 2009 in me. I go on it by Russia. Your video is very helping me.

Thanks so much for all detail, i really appreciate it including the names of the cleaners, sealent and grease

Great Video. I have done 2 already '07 escape and '08 fusion @45K miles Fusion is ready again @84K I learned from your job and it is much better than mine. I will change the plugs too while i have it apart but am dreading that because of the aluminum head.

Thanks, just did the gasket on a 2010 Fusion Hybrid- very similar, but more harnesses in the way. Couldn't move all of them, but was able to work around them. 2 spark plug wells were full of oil, so hope this takes care of it.

Great video. I just did this to my 2005 Escape. Thanks👍

Thank you, I'm wearing my "Ford Tech Makuloco" tee shirt right now. Oh! I support this channel, great cost saving videos.

Thanks dude. Very helpful. I have a 2012 fusion with the same engine, so that was very helpful. Thanks man.

Well done video! I am having a hard getting started. The threaded insert on the far left coil was free spinning cracked coil mounting hole. Now I'm having the hardest time getting the center sensor connector off, it's like it's ceased on there.

Exactly the video demo I needed, You're very thorough. Thx

I dont commit on all your videos but they are very informative thanks.

Thank you! Great video. Fixed my son's last Sunday. Your video instruction helped it all go flawlessly. No more burning oil smell or oily spark plug boots!

Thanks for the awesome video. Your advice is flawless.

Awesome work style matey. Great video.

Great video. Helped make the job easy!

Just changed the cover seals on my 2007 Fusion 2.3L I4 (95,000 miles) after watching this video. It was easy after viewing this. I had leaks on the back side dripping down the exhaust manifold. When I pulled the coils, I also had a little oil in the center well for plugs two and three, maybe an eighth of an inch. Observe the warnings on the plastic parts getting brittle with age. The big harness clip near the throttle body popped off on me. Also, on reassembly, the retainer clips for my center two injector plugs won't spring back to retain the plugs. The outer two still give a solid click when I plugged them in, but the center two are done. I popped the clips out of the hole on each plug and threaded a nylock tie strap through the hole and around each injector. I see that those plugs are available as a replacement pigtails, but I don't know if I would trust a replacement plug any more than I would a nylock around the original. Also, the main alternator cable (red) was originally wrapped in one of those protective corrugated plastic sleeves, and that sleeve has completely degraded and is missing along the full back of the engine. I'll probably buy some split loom and re-wrap that when I get a chance. Does anyone on this thread know of a quality loom wrap that will take the heat of the exhaust manifold? Looking at the condition of the plastic under the hood, I think this spring will see a full heater/radiator hose change before next summer hits.

badass video man thanks. super helpful

Thanks for all the great info, you rock!!!

Very nice video. I particularly appreciate the links to the parts and the tightening sequence with the proper torque. Thanks.

Great How To, just got done doing my 2008 Fusion. I 100% agree that the use of Ford "Dealer" gasket is the way to go. I originally got a OEM certified and once I got it apart, just did not like the look of the old gasket against the new one, "Cheap Looking". Went to Ford Dealer and picked one up. They may say OEM certified, let me tell you. If I had used that aftermarket gasket I would have had a leak, no doubt in my mind. Anyways, Great How To, Thank You......

Excellent repair job , thank you

Really helpful just did exactly what you did Thanks

Thanks for the video. It helped out a lot!

I just finished this job on my 2006 Escape 2.3L with 133K miles. The old gaskets I pulled from the valve cover were blue around the outside of the valve cover and black around the spark plugs, plus there was barely a whisper of black/grey RTV at the timing cover joint (like none at all)...someone must have been in here before, but that is not why I'm commenting. Here's a tip for all you fat fingered folks like me: when trying to clean the mating surface on the top of the head, I had to use my 1/4" ratchet wrapped in old t-shirt for a rag, thoroughly doused in brake clean (and often re-applied) to get all of the cooked, dried oil off that surface. It did not just wipe away as shown around the 11:00 mark. Get it all clean, but don't use abrasives. I couldn't get my finger on a rag down in there especially beside where the cam caps are bolted down.

Love all your videos. On 2007 Mazda 6 2.3L (same engine as Fusion), I did this job (Felpro gaskets) and installed NGK spark plugs at 139k-miles. I'm meticulous about using a torque wrench and cleaning everything like in this video, but at ~180k miles, was getting misfires and I find oil in the area of the center two spark plug wells and a loose spark plug in that area. I re-torqued the plugs and the bolts of the VC, but I'm scratching my head wondering if there's an underlying issue. I'm at 188k miles now, so guess time to check them again. Hope everything's dry and tight.

Thank you. You are a life saver

Thank so much for your video!

Very nice video, thank you for taking the time and effort, great job!