Leaky RH Cylinder Head Cover

[Travis351]

I noticed my first leak today at 164,656 miles. It appears to be coming out of the RH Cylinder Head Cover Gasket. There was motor oil dripping off of the front diff, PS Lower Control Arm and PS manifold cover. I thought I smelled something burning on Friday!

It doesn't seem to be a fast leak, but I probably should tackle this job when I put the 3rd timing belt in there.

A search showed a couple of head gasket failures, but this is simply the head cover leaking motor oil.

Anybody else have this issue yet? I am still running 5w30 conventional oil, but I was about ready to switch to synthetic...probably not a good idea until I replace that gasket.

 

[lowtideride]

Sure its not just a valve cover gasket?

 

[SINCITY100]

Anybody else have this issue yet?

I`ve noticed some oil "seepage" in the exact same area Travis. I say seepage because oil has yet to actually drip off of the head.. its just a damp spot thgat doesnt seem to be getting any worse


I guess I`ll worry about it when there is a pool of oil under my rig ;p

 

[Travis351]

Sure its not just a valve cover gasket?

Yea Al, it is just a valve cover gasket. I guess I'm trying to act smart using the terms in the FSM .

I`ve noticed some oil "seepage" in the exact same area Travis. I say seepage because oil has yet to actually drip off of the head.. its just a damp spot thgat doesnt seem to be getting any worse


I guess I`ll worry about it when there is a pool of oil under my rig ;p

Maybe I'll try some of that fancy high mileage oil first. Mine isn't dripping too bad as it doesn't register low on the dipstick yet. Hard to notice without pulling the fiberglass skid plate. I probably had a tablespoon's worth laying in the skid plate and shining up the front diff. I'll watch a little closer over the next 5k(I noticed it during an oil change). I only started smelling the oil burn on the manifold heat insulator last week, so it could be a little quicker than a seep. Stay tuned...

 

[cpcc]

This is unfortunate to hear.
I remember that Race Tech used to sell head bolts that would prevent head gasket leaks. I'm not sure this is cure a leak. They can be used for prevention without having to pull the heads.
If this becomes a common problem, we may want to switch over.

Anyone have any experience with these bolts?

 

[lowtideride]

a head gasket and a valve cover gasket are two totally different animals.

 

[Jim_Chow]

If it's oil leaking, it's likely the valve cover gasket (maybe the bolts that hold the cover down are loose). There's a special order in tightening them. If it were the head gasket, you'd see coolant leaking. A leaky valve cover is no biggie. Back when I owned a toyota mini w/ 22re in Upstate NY, one summer they were repaving the road downtown (i.e., no pavement for 3 months). From all the jarring and potholes, the bolts holding down the valve cover loosened. As I didn't bother to pop the hood for a few months, I finally did so and was aghast to find oil splattered everywhere! The bolts holding down the valve cover weren't even finger tight. I re-tightened them, cleaned up the mess, added more oil, and all was well.

 

[Travis351]

If it's oil leaking, it's likely the valve cover gasket (maybe the bolts that hold the cover down are loose). There's a special order in tightening them. If it were the head gasket, you'd see coolant leaking. A leaky valve cover is no biggie. Back when I owned a toyota mini w/ 22re in Upstate NY, one summer they were repaving the road downtown (i.e., no pavement for 3 months). From all the jarring and potholes, the bolts holding down the valve cover loosened. As I didn't bother to pop the hood for a few months, I finally did so and was aghast to find oil splattered everywhere! The bolts holding down the valve cover weren't even finger tight. I re-tightened them, cleaned up the mess, added more oil, and all was well.

Yes, Jim it is only oil leaking from the valve cover gasket. There is no coolant leaking. I'll try tightening them in order (1999 FSM Says 18 Bolts Uniformly Tightened in several passes to 6.0 N-m) before I bother with a gasket replacement or any special oils or additives. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Travis351]

Jim was, like Marissa Tomei's torque wrench, "Dead on balls accurate." The Valve Cover Bolts were barely finger tight. If my calculations are correct, they need about 4.4 ft lbs of torque each. (53 inch lbs / 12 = 4.41 Ft Lbs)

My Torque wrench doesn't go that low, any of you guys have a torque caliberated wrist? I am thinking a deep socket in the fist twist would give me enough edge over finger tight to make it to 4.4 ft lbs.

 

[lowtideride]

Jim was, like Marissa Tomei's torque wrench, "Dead on balls accurate." The Valve Cover Bolts were barely finger tight. If my calculations are correct, they need about 4.4 ft lbs of torque each. (53 inch lbs / 12 = 4.41 Ft Lbs)

My Torque wrench doesn't go that low, any of you guys have a torque caliberated wrist? I am thinking a deep socket in the fist twist would give me enough edge over finger tight to make it to 4.4 ft lbs.

Sounds good. Clean up the gasket and just tighten it down....


Since your gasket was fine, you wanna come up and change my oil pan gasket? ;p

 

[Travis351]

Sounds good. Clean up the gasket and just tighten it down....


Since your gasket was fine, you wanna come up and change my oil pan gasket? ;p

Sure thing...I'm on my way dude! See ya in 8 hours. When are y'all coming down to the Keys? We have yet another timing belt to install.

 

[lowtideride]

I was there just recently so I doubt Ill be back again anytime soon.....When are you going to come up and hit the rocks again? you can swap it out at camp

 

[Travis351]

Well check in next time, I'll buy the first round.

The fam is in town until the New Year, so probably January or February. Swap it out at camp...ha, your generosity is overwhelming.

It also wouldn't hurt if I got a slee back bumper for x-mas, but that is probably not going t happen.

 

[Jim_Chow]

Jim was, like Marissa Tomei's torque wrench, "Dead on balls accurate." The Valve Cover Bolts were barely finger tight. If my calculations are correct, they need about 4.4 ft lbs of torque each. (53 inch lbs / 12 = 4.41 Ft Lbs)

My Torque wrench doesn't go that low, any of you guys have a torque caliberated wrist? I am thinking a deep socket in the fist twist would give me enough edge over finger tight to make it to 4.4 ft lbs.

You don't have to be that exact for the torque. To get an idea, a brake bleeder valve is usually torqued to about 10 ft-lbs or so, which is reasonably tight for a little 10mm open-end wrench. Just use a normal socket wrench and try to get the bolts equally snug. Those valve gaskets last a long time, like years, so no need to change it unless you see damage like a cut.

 

[drmwvr]

Old thread but very helpful. My '99 starting leaking oil from the passenger side valve cover and I too found my bolts (especially on the bottom) loose. I could turn them by my fingers either way! Anyway, I tightened them up and cleaned up the leaked oil and will monitor for future leaks. Great info on this site as always; thanks!

 

[Nottajeep]

I am getting a whiff of burning oil and I know my valve cover gasket is seeping oil onto the exhaust. Are most folks just retorqueing the cylinder cover bolts or replacing the gaskets?

How difficult is the gasket replacement?
What has to be removed to get the valve/cylinder covers off?

 

[Nottajeep]

Stopped into the stealership to check how much they would charge for the replacement of these two gaskets. Quoted $625. Holy $hit. I walked right over to the parts dept. $40 in parts and I will do these myself. Pics and yota drawings to post up for the thread later this weekend.

 

[ENGINE er]

Just did this last weekend, very easy job. My gaskets were hard as a rock.

 

[Nottajeep]

I got the passenger side completed today. I would say it's about .5-1hr longer than doing the spark plugs. I was confused how the FSM says to add sealent pooky on to the head as shown and then the dang image doesn't show any pooky applied. Anyone have insight here?

Here are some pics and a drawing.
The engine was so clean I could practically eat off it or the cover. Pretty good for 13yrs and 132k miles.

My old gasket was still fairly malable. I couldn't find any tears or cuts. I assume the leak is caused directly by shrinking compound in the gasket over time. The constant temp changes are harsh on rubber over time.

 

[Nottajeep]

More pics... I was just amazed how clean the camshafts and all components were. The 2UZ is a badass.