100 Series Valve Cover Gasket WrIte up - 2001LC

[BrownAce]

Almost done with driver side. 1/4 worked better then 3/8. However one of the bolts for one of the attachments dropped into the bay, where the starter is. I tried to find it using light and magnet but no luck. Should I be worried about it ?

One of the first cars i had, over several years i probably lost 5 different sockets somewhere in the engine bay. I was always so stressed about it but nothing ever happened. These days there's usually a lot foul language and I'm more mad about losing tools. I wouldn't worry unless it's inside the engine or something crazy

 

[AtoyotA]

since each side has a different part number, is it easy to tell which seal goes where? is "left side" the driver side on US cruisers?

 

[Les Summer]

@StickyNotorious Hey man, I just snapped a very old bolt off in the 9-slot on the drivers side valve cover... do you have any advise/input on trying to get that out of there? I've never had to address something like this and figured see if you had any guidance. Thanks for any help!

how did you snap it off if I may ask? power ratchet or just from turning it out with socket wrench by hand? thanks. I'm lookin at this job, and trying to avoid nightmares.

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

how did you snap it off if I may ask? power ratchet or just from turning it out with socket wrench by hand? thanks. I'm lookin at this job, and trying to avoid nightmares.

I actually remember this one being an oddly light amount of force and then snapping off. Not sure if it was some sort of anomalous fatigue on the bolt, or it had been abused prior to my ownership. I do remember the threads were less than smooth when extracting and reinstalling the new bolt (I think this was the job that gave me an excuse to buy a good tap and die, if IIRC).

Long story short, there was something else going on there on my particular rig, so as long as yours is torqued and maintained properly, you should be A-OK.

 

[Les Summer]

I actually remember this one being an oddly light amount of force and then snapping off. Not sure if it was some sort of anomalous fatigue on the bolt, or it had been abused prior to my ownership. I do remember the threads were less than smooth when extracting and reinstalling the new bolt (I think this was the job that gave me an excuse to buy a good tap and die, if IIRC).

Long story short, there was something else going on there on my particular rig, so as long as yours is torqued and maintained properly, you should be A-OK.

Thanks.

 

[foolforthecity]

I realize this is an old thread but I am looking for some advice. Was moving too fast on this job and misread the torque value as 53ft lbs instead of 53 in...doh! Luckily as I was tightening the PS I became very skeptical that I was going way too right. Think I can back these off a bit and drive and check for leaks or should I just start over with a new gasket? I am leaning toward backing them off a bit and rolling with it. If it leaks then it's a do over.

 

[medtro]

I would get new bolts if they were over torqued. You will have a lot more work to do when one or more of them break.

 

[foolforthecity]

I would get new bolts if they were over torqued. You will have a lot more work to do when one or more of them break.

I bought new ones as part of this project. Think I can reuse or are the threads likely too stretched? This cruiser has 300k on it and I would guess this is the first gasket change. Southern truck so no rust and no problems with removal of the old fasteners but the gaskets were toast so I tossed them.

 

[medtro]

I bought new ones as part of this project. Think I can reuse or are the threads likely too stretched? This cruiser has 300k on it and I would guess this is the first gasket change. Southern truck so no rust and no problems with removal of the old fasteners but the gaskets were toast so I tossed them.

I don't have a good answer for you since I have no idea how bad you over torqued or stretched them. I would reuse the old fasteners instead of the new over torqued ones if I needed to get it running soon.

 

[ffpmsam]

I realize this is an old thread but I am looking for some advice. Was moving too fast on this job and misread the torque value as 53ft lbs instead of 53 in...doh! Luckily as I was tightening the PS I became very skeptical that I was going way too right. Think I can back these off a bit and drive and check for leaks or should I just start over with a new gasket? I am leaning toward backing them off a bit and rolling with it. If it leaks then it's a do

I don’t own a torque wrench that went that light, if I remember right I just got them nice and snug when I did them.

I am no expert. If I were in your shoes, I would just try and back them off and see what happens with the valve covers and how bad they leak. Maybe they won’t at all. Oil only gets thrown up there when the engine is running anyways…

If it leaks the same or worse, you can just start over. I highly doubt you did any damage, but even if threads are slightly more worn or stretched now, you should still be able to get new (and honestly probably the old) bolts to seal a gasket well enough.

Put simply… you should be fine. Worst case you need a new gasket. But you will be able to do the job much faster now

 

[foolforthecity]

I got up today thinking I would redo the whole thing but then thought better of it and just decided to roll with it and see what happens. It's a 300k truck and if it leaks I will just redo it.

Truck seems to be running very smoothly after cleaning the throttle body, the MAF and replacing the PCV valve and hoses. I highly recommend that anyone doing the gaskets and plug seals to do that while you are in there since it isn't much extra work. The valve on top of the throttle body was disgusting underneath and really needed a cleaning.