I am helping my son replace the valve cover gasket on his 2013 Elantra. I ordered a new valve cover gasket and it comes with new spark plug gaskets. I watched a video of a guy replacing this an he easily popped out the spark plug gaskets and put the new ones in. However, my seem permanently installed in the valve cover. Is this possible or do I need to use more force. I have tried pretty hard so far.
Thanks,
Roger

 

They have been in place for a very long time
And they have went through many heating and cooling cycles
So, they would be very hard to get out
For me, if there is no signs of oil leak in the spark plug wells then I skip it.
The thing is to try to fix something without making it worse
But, I would guess that this is a personal choice

 

There was signs of leak in the spark plug, so I did want to replace it.
I ended up getting it out. I used these needle nose type pliers with curved ends (bought from Harbor Freight a while a go to help pull some hoses off).
With the curved head, I was able to pry it out by apply pressure nearly all the way around simultaneously.
(hammer shown for size reference)

 

Hope it works for you.