A sizable portion of my PCV Valve Grommet fell into the valve cover during replacement. (1 Viewer)

[LXKevin]

New to me 2002 LX 470 168,000 at miles. While doing a little maintenance of pcv valve & grommet a pretty good sized chunk of the hardened rubber pcv valve grommet slipped off my needle nose vice grips and fell down into the valve cover . Should i disassemble the driver side valve cover to attempt to retrieve it immediately? I removed the Oil Fill spout but could not locate it looking into the valve cover. Thanks in advance.

 

[jahawk]

I wouldn't be overly concerned with it. It's not going to run into anything that won't destroy it.

Jim

 

[LXKevin]

Thanks for the reply Jim. That was my first instinct, then my concern became what ifs, like what what if the little bits of rubber clogged something like the oil pressure sensor etc. I did run the engine and go for a short drive and oil pressure looks normal as far as i can tell from the gauge cluster . I have a set of valve cover gaskets coming in early next week so i'll update after i pull the cover.

 

[nukegoat]

Hmmm. I don't know what I'd do. That seems less than ideal. Might clog a return passage or something

 

[e9999]

I would try a vacuum cleaner and borescope if you have one before taking anything apart. I would not leave it there.

 

[Njck22]

At least on the 1FZ, the valve cover has a “maze” or baffle that helps prevent oil droplets going into the PCV, in other words, I don’t think the grommet fell directly into the valvetrain. If it was a pretty large chunk there is little chance it could get out of that baffle.

 

[Eyedaho]

At least on the 1FZ, the valve cover has a “maze” or baffle that helps prevent oil droplets going into the PCV, in other words, I don’t think the grommet fell directly into the valvetrain. If it was a pretty large chunk there is little chance it could get out of that baffle.

There's also a baffle plate on the 2UZ. I would try a shop vac on the PCV port to see if I could suck it back out. Just empty the canister first so you can tell if you suck it out. I also wouldn't want to leave it in there. If you can afford down time for the rig, it would be a good time to just get valve cover gaskets and replace them, if you can't retrieve it another way. My thought would be that I'd rather retrieve one chunk now versus worry about it breaking into small bits in there, but that's just my personal paranoia.

 

[LXKevin]

Thanks Gentlemen. Have parts will procrastinate.

 

[LXKevin]

Hmmm. I don't know what I'd do. That seems less than ideal. Might clog a return passage or something

Yep definitely less than ideal. and Your Hammersaurus Lex is bad to the bone!

 

[Eyedaho]

Thanks Gentlemen. Have parts will procrastinate.

View attachment 2413221

There are good write ups here for the valve covers. Some people recommend changing the cover bolts too, since they have a rubber seal incorporated. I did, but I was missing a couple of the seals from a previous "mechanic". Also take note of the FIPG usage in the front corners and near the half moon plugs.

 

[LXKevin]

Excellent
I will check the write ups here for sure before proceeding. Don't have the FIPG or know which type to get yet may have to wait to get at the dealership on Monday. I did order the bolt seals 90210-07001, and the spark plug tube seals 11193-50010 . My plan is to re-use the bolts themselves, if that is advisable.

 

[Eyedaho]

Excellent
I will check the write ups here for sure before proceeding. Don't have the FIPG or know which type to get yet may have to wait to get at the dealership on Monday. I did order the bolt seals 90210-07001, and the spark plug tube seals 11193-50010 . My plan is to re-use the bolts themselves, if that is advisable.

Oh sweet, I didn't even realize that they sold the seals alone. I think you want 00295-00103 black Toyota FIPG, but you may want to double check. I'm not able to look it up atm.

 

[LXKevin]

Watching a you tuber do this valve cover gasket replacement.

And now i understand the baffle below the pcv valve that you fellows have described. It is most likely holding my broken pcv valve grommet for sure. Now i'm only lacking the proper FIPG for the valve cover job. Will swap out the plugs and fuel filter while i'm at it tomorrow.

Today i did surgery on my electric antenna. The white plastic antenna gear cable was broken off clean inside the housing. It was quite a chore which i made more difficult by removing the motor from the housing. Had to use fishing line and lots of swearing to get the motor spindle back seated properly with the brushes and tiny springs that push the brushes into contact with the motor spindle. Two hours a few broken inner fender clips later i now have a working antenna.

 

[LXKevin]

Oh sweet, I didn't even realize that they sold the seals alone. I think you want 00295-00103 black Toyota FIPG, but you may want to double check. I'm not able to look it up atm.

Yep they sure do, but i would order the Wits End valve cover gasket kit 100 Series 2UZ Valve Cover Gasket Kit- PRE 08/2002 if i ever do the job again as it includes new bolts with the seals and spark plug seals as well and it's twenty bucks less than what i paid elsewhere. Hopefully i wont have any broken or missing bolts.

 

[JACA]

The same thing happened to me when changing out the PCV valve. I used my headlamp and "claw" extractor tool on flexible rod to pull all the pieces out. To make sure I got everything, I put them all back together to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I also used a shop vac to vacuum up any smaller pieces.

 

[gregnash]

yeah there are plenty of videos out there for replacing the valve cover gaskets and everything.. Seems like the PCV valve is easiest with the cover off.

 

[LXKevin]

Yep

 

[zhloea]

I just curious if there is a piece of exceeding FIPG fell into the valve cover then what gonna happen？or should we do something if we have this case？I have this question because I saw some exceed FIPG around the Halfmoon when I change the valve cover, I am not sure if part of it already felt down or not. Thanks for any suggestion.

 

[LXKevin]

Probably nothing to worry about.

 

[zhloea]

Probably nothing to worry about.

Thanks man, the most painful thing about DIY, particularly after a little bigger DIY is to keep thinking some non-sense like what I am doing now~