this engine is very easy to work on, except the cam seal on the rear head, and the power steering pump...... everything else is cake work
is this car a manual transmission? if so this makes it even easier to work on, no EGR to mess with
this website has almost a step by step pictorial guide on how to do the upper 60k service(shimming the valves) which pretty much involves everything you will need to do to remove a valve cover.
http://www.shophoenixproject.com/upper60k/upper60k.htm
use the proper tools, work slow and steady, and don't miss place anything
while you are doing this, I would also replace the front valve cover
I would do both valve cover seals, spark plug tube seals, replace the spark plugs, and if you have some extra money-or if they look really old, also replace the spark plug wires at this time...
you might also find it beneficial to do a Throttle body coolant bypass mod, information on this can be found on the forum by searching, since your a new guy and from Florida, maybe I'll point you in the right direction on this later.
it makes it easier to remove the intake later on down the road.... and there are also a few things you can take off as well to make it easier. On mine I have the brackets that run from the intake on the front and back, down to the heads. I think they have two per side... these can be a pain in the ass and time consuming...... so I ditched mine in favor of quick disconnect and have had no issues at all with them gone. with air tools I can remove my intake manifold in about 2 minutes.......
once you get down and dirty with it, you will find its not that bad to work on. It just can be intimidating the first time. I work as a mechanic and I find this engine very simple and easy to work on, that being said I have removed stuff from my engine(noted above) that makes it even easier to work on.
so what do you think? can u handle it yourself?
if you want to be a real badass, you would also check your valve clearance with a feeler gauge, to atleast see if anything is really out of spec........ that procedure is also on the website I showed you...
