Valve cover gasket, distributor o ring, vacuum switching valve (VSV)

[pedro]

I plan to replace the valve cover gasket, distributor o ring and the vacuum switching valve. I took it to the local dealer and gave me an estimate of 640 bucks. They said the valve cover gasket and distributor o ring jobs will take 2.5 hours to replace and the vacuum switching valve takes 3.0 hours. Is it really this long to replace these parts?

I am looking into purchasing these parts on the web. Do you know where can I purchase them. Looking into OEM parts on these.

Any recommendations also on which part I should replace too so I could save time on the work. I was thinking the PCV valve, distributor cap, distributor rotor, spark plugs and the spark plug wires.

I would really appreciate any help you can provide.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Beowulf]

Pedro,

Send a PM to CruiserDan with information on your vehicle and he will help.

Is there a reason why you are replacing the dizzy o-ring, VSV, and valve cover gasket? Is there a leak somewhere?

As normal PM, the PCV valve & grommet, dizzy cap, rotor, plugs, and wires are good things to change. The wires can be tested and kept if in spec.

There are two VSV's under the intake manifold on the 1FZ-FE engine. You don't specify which engine you have.

-B-

 

[semlin]

Pedro judging by the time estimate on the VSV valve I hope you own a 93-97 because the vsv valve on a 91-92 takes about 30 seconds to replace. If it is the VSV for EGR valve check the FAQ section here for the EGR post and take a look at the section on the shortcut on how to remove the VSV valve without pulling the intake chamber. If you can do this yourself or persuade your mechanic to do it you will save about 2 hours of labour.

having said that I agree with b-wulf. why exactly do you need to change these parts? The combination is a little odd.

 

[turbocruiser]

Pedro, welcome, I'll try to answer in the hope it helps ... I removed and replaced my VSV in about 1.25 to 1.5 hours the first time I did the job. The reason for me was a recurring PO401 code, I do not think of this as a tune up procedure or even a scheduled procedure, simply a repair to do when that particular part poses problems. Anyways, if I had to R&R it again, I would think that I would do it in about .75 hours. The trick for me was removing the stamped steel support bracket that runs from the block up to the intake plenum/intake manifold. Laying on the floor and using several long extensions and swivels, the part was easy to get off and relatively easy to get back on. The tricky part was reconnecting the various vacuum hoses.

As far as tune up parts, contact "CruiserDan" via private message for the parts; he can subtly suggest where smart shoppers go. I think of distributor cap, rotor, pcv, pcv grommet, spark plugs, spark plug seals, oil filter, air filter, and possibly spark plug wires as tune up items. If this is the first time that this vehicle is getting tuned by you, I'd also keep in mind the gas cap, wiper blades or wiper inserts, etc. just look around and observe what looks worse for wear.

I guess I would not replace the valve cover gasket unless oil was leaking from it. Again, welcome. Get some good parts while saving some good money, then save some more good money by doing these things yourself - you can learn how to do almost anything here and you will likely love the mental meditation of working on your rig. Anyway have some happy wrenching and then some happy wheeling and lastly, reward yourself with several s !

 

[cruiserman]

IMO 2.5 hrs to replace the valve cover gasket and the dizzy o-ring is extremely generous.

 

[pedro]

Thank you very much for all the input. The reason why I am planning to replace the valve cover gasket is because it is leaking. This is the same as with the distributor o-ring.

The check engine light is also on and I had the local dealer check it for 99 bucks . The dealer said it is a faulty VSV of the EGR system.

The land cruiser is 1996 and the engine is 1FZ-FE.

I plan to replace the distributor cap, distributor cables, rotor, and spark plugs as part of the maintenance. Although there is no visible cracks on the cables and distributor cap, I just thought that it would be worth replacing them as they are still the stock that came with the car. It has 158K right now.

Thanks

 

[cruisermaine]

$99 to pull a code??

 

[MoJ]

$99 to pull a code??

That seems to be a popular amount. That's what they charged my mother-in-law at the Saturn dealer. Shame a lot of folks don't realize you can get it done for free at Autozone and others.

 

[robbie]

When we first opened slee we looked at some book times from the dealership. Some are spot on, some was generous, some a little skimpy. To just change the valve cover and the spark plug seal it takes about 1 hour or so. the distributor o rin about 20 minutes with adjusting the timing. One thing about valve cover is the valve body needs to be removed and this is where the extra book time comes in, radiator drain down, cable removal etc, this can be by passed by using clamps on hoses and not removing the cable on the Throttle body. As for the VSV the proedure is to take the intake manifolds apart, drain the radiator etc, but a smart wrench can bypass certain procedures to make the jpb quicker and more cost efficent for the wrench (more dollars per hour by cutting corners, but not quailty of job). That is why the times quoted are more than it does take by cutting these corners. hope this helps later robbie

 

[semlin]

Pedro did they do anything other than pull the code before diagnosing a bad vsv valve? If not, then they are just guessing at why you have a po401 code. many times replacing the vsv valve either does not fix the problem or only fixes it emporarily. Read the EGR FAQ which is linked in junk's sticky FAQ threads at the top of the list of threads. the problem could also be your egr modulator, a blocked throttle body port, blocked vacuum lines, a bad egr valve, or a blockage in the intake air chamber between the egr valve and the throttle body.

Many on this site can tell you the folly of trying to fix the egr code by just replacing parts willy nilly. there is a systematic way to do it and you can do a lot of the steps yourself even iof you have never seen a wrench before.