'98 4R and Taco - valve cover bolts loose

[SteveH]

On both of these trucks, the valve cover nuts (at the lower edge) were finger tight, or backed off a full turn from being tight. Neither had been touched since they left the factory, as far as we knew. My buddy's Taco was leaking oil badly down the pass. side of the block, and my 4Runner was just starting to.

So, check the lower-edge valve cover bolts on both sides of your 3.4. When I saw how loose they were, I was surprised.

 

[thatcabledude]

Yup, seems to be a very common problem..... I've heard of people tearing down the intake manifold to replace the gaskets only to find that the bolts were loose.

 

[btfielding]

4runner: loose valve cover bolts

@steveh:

im 17 and have a '99 4runner sr5 v6 and i had the same problem today. i noticed a smell coming from the engine and found oil leaking out from the engine and into the exhaust manifold and burning. all but one of the bolts were extremely loose. after tightening, however, the problem went away. i have seen people posting the same problems for tacomas and 4runners on other forums also.

-Bryan

 

[liljlandon]

The torque specs are so minimal I couldnt find an inch lb wrench that went that low. Use some medium strength thread locker as well.