Glad you found the issue! As you now know, you have to move everything out of the way when doing this job, there really isn't any room for compromising the process. Now you can look forward to another 200k miles of leak free valve covers!
Valve cover gasket tips
- Thread starter okryan
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
On my 5VZFE engine the plug tubes have a slight taper at the top of the tube. The Fel-Pro tube seal taper mates up with the smaller tapered end, facing the top and prevents oil from escaping at the smaller end. I usually reseal the half moon cam lobes on other Toyota engines.
Also, when I put the tube seals in the freezer the night before, they pop into place without much effort. I've had the best luck with Fel-Pro gaskets on other Japanese vehicles that usually have chronic oil leak conditions. I've seen people get happy with RTV on Fel-Pro gaskets and make a mess out of the installation.
I did receive a package of o-rings and a couple of washers with the kit. I'm not sure what to do with them. I guess I'll figure it out.
There are definitely extra parts you don't need. The kit is generic for the 4.7L engine. Some stuff in there not used on the LX/LC.
Having just completed this job, thought I would add a few comments.
- This job took a whole weekend, which included heavy degreasing, soaking bolts in rust penetrant, and replacing the valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals, PCV valve & grommet, and spark plugs. For those on the fence about paying someone, I'd say a quote up to $500 parts & labor would be fair, given the time involved.
- I highly recommend going OEM with the parts. I went with the Mahle kit that had good reviews on Amazon, but the spark plug tube seals weren't an easy fit. Ended up purchasing those seals at the dealer to avoid possibly damaging the valve covers on the install. This negated the savings of the Mahle parts since I couldn't shop around on a Saturday afternoon.
- Many of the kits come with the bolt sealing washers. However, those washers are also included with each valve cover bolt purchased new (part # 90080-10330). If you don't know the entire history of your installed bolts, I'd say change them out. Anybody could have torqued down the valve cover previously to "fix" a leak. The bolts would have then stretched and will not necessarily hold correctly if reused in that situation. Plus the full set of 18 bolts with sealing washers included is ~$20 (cheap insurance).
- The spark plug tube seals were the most difficult part of the job. The four tabs holding each seal must be bent all the way up so that the new seal can be pressed in. A combination of screwdrivers and pry bars will then remove the seals. The new seal can be hammered in with a makeshift SST, which in this case turned out to be a 30mm impact socket.
- The earlier suggestion to remove the LF wheel and fender lining was gold. Much better access to the bolt heads.
- The spark plugs were ridiculously tight. The new ones got anti-seize, even if Denso says they don't need it.
- I would replace the PCV grommet only once the valve cover is removed. It's almost a certainty that broken off pieces of the grommet will fall into the inaccessible space in the valve cover unless you remove the grommet while the cover is upside down; i.e. while removed from the vehicle.
- All that degreaser residue will smoke for a few minutes when you run the engine the first time.
Thanks for the info. Having completed this job, I'll second the fact that replacement of the spark plug tube seals should only be with OEM. I tried Fel-Pro tube seal gaskets and they didn't fit, so I ran off to the dealer and bought OEM and they fit perfectly. Saves a lot of time and headache. Be sure to take a photo of the orientation as they should only go into the valve cover gasket in one direction. (they'll fit in either orientation, but only one is correct)
Also very good advice on the PCV Grommet. It should most certainly be replaced as it will be brittle. But...as you pointed out, do it after the valve cover is removed as it will break into pieces.
Also, for those who have yet to do this job, be sure to always replace the valve cover hold down bolt sealing washers, the old seals will be brittle and wont seal correctly. This is not an expensive job and there is no need to ever skimp on parts, replace all the seals as noted in the above posting.
Bump so I can find it later today
hey guys. This thread was very helpful tackling the valve cover gaskets! Thanks for all of the contributions.
I put the passenger side on last night (after replacing plug seals and putting new FIPG on half moons and the 2 corners in FSM), and have a question...does this look tight enough? too tight? Between the gasket and the new bolts/grommets, i was really paranoid about both snapping bolts, and not tightening enough. I watched a few vids on youtube, and couldn't see the result of what the new gasket should look like when compressed.
I put the cover on, got all the bolts hand tight, then tightened down some more uniformly, then got everything to 53 in/lbs, then i went further because it seemed like i barely did anything. I walked over to my wife's RX350 and the gap between the cover and where it sits seemed much closer, which is why i went a bit more. Not sure what the gasket on that looks like, though. I already had the driver side off, but there seemed to be a bit of gap in a photo i had. About 2 hours later i second guessed myself and backed off all the bolts, didn't reseat the cover becuase i didn't want to mess with the FIPG, but got everything hand tight again and then torqued down to 53 in/lbs and stopped there. I think i ended up where i left off last time since i already compressed the gasket, though.
If i went too tight, should i just pull off, clean FIPG, reapply, and reseat? One of the vids said to snug down bolts with a wrench until you felt a positive stop. Then torque down to 53 in/lbs. Not really sure i felt that on this job due to all the rubber. Again, didn't want to snap bolts. My positive stop was a far as i could tighten it with my hand, which wasn't much.
Pass side (done as described above):
driver side (before replacing valve cover gasket...and cleaning debris):
thanks for reading. hoping to get some answers before doing the driver side.
I put the passenger side on last night (after replacing plug seals and putting new FIPG on half moons and the 2 corners in FSM), and have a question...does this look tight enough? too tight? Between the gasket and the new bolts/grommets, i was really paranoid about both snapping bolts, and not tightening enough. I watched a few vids on youtube, and couldn't see the result of what the new gasket should look like when compressed.
I put the cover on, got all the bolts hand tight, then tightened down some more uniformly, then got everything to 53 in/lbs, then i went further because it seemed like i barely did anything. I walked over to my wife's RX350 and the gap between the cover and where it sits seemed much closer, which is why i went a bit more. Not sure what the gasket on that looks like, though. I already had the driver side off, but there seemed to be a bit of gap in a photo i had. About 2 hours later i second guessed myself and backed off all the bolts, didn't reseat the cover becuase i didn't want to mess with the FIPG, but got everything hand tight again and then torqued down to 53 in/lbs and stopped there. I think i ended up where i left off last time since i already compressed the gasket, though.
If i went too tight, should i just pull off, clean FIPG, reapply, and reseat? One of the vids said to snug down bolts with a wrench until you felt a positive stop. Then torque down to 53 in/lbs. Not really sure i felt that on this job due to all the rubber. Again, didn't want to snap bolts. My positive stop was a far as i could tighten it with my hand, which wasn't much.
Pass side (done as described above):
driver side (before replacing valve cover gasket...and cleaning debris):
thanks for reading. hoping to get some answers before doing the driver side.
Looks good to me.
I mean, the torque spec is what it is to compress the gasket correctly. It felt not very tight to me, too, but I imagine a lot of the bolt snapping issues come from a mechanic deciding the torque spec wasn't enough.
I mean, the torque spec is what it is to compress the gasket correctly. It felt not very tight to me, too, but I imagine a lot of the bolt snapping issues come from a mechanic deciding the torque spec wasn't enough.
2001LC
SILVER Star
Torque wrench is your friend. Here I use a 1/4 in-lbf torque wrench. By torquing to 53in-lbf (Inch not foot) evenly and in a cross patter. We get a very nice even seal.
You can't really look and see if a good job. You may see if a bad job. In that it would look fully compressed at spots (over torqued) and wide gap at other parts of cover (under torqued).
Fare disclosure:
I have never replaced these head cover gaskets. I have re-torqued many more head covers, than I can remember. Knock on wood. Each has stopped leaking from just re-torquing.
Takes about 30 minutes!
You can't really look and see if a good job. You may see if a bad job. In that it would look fully compressed at spots (over torqued) and wide gap at other parts of cover (under torqued).
Fare disclosure:
I have never replaced these head cover gaskets. I have re-torqued many more head covers, than I can remember. Knock on wood. Each has stopped leaking from just re-torquing.
Takes about 30 minutes!Torque wrench is your friend. Here I use a 1/4 in-lbf torque wrench. By torquing to 53in-lbf (Inch not foot) evenly and in a cross patter. We get a very nice even seal.
You can't really look and see if a good job. You may see if a bad job. In that it would look fully compressed at spots (over torqued) and wide gap at other parts of cover (under torqued).
Fare disclosure:
I have never replaced these head cover gaskets. I have re-torqued many more head covers, than I can remember. Knock on wood. Each has stopped leaking from just re-torquing.
Thanks! I'm going to do the driver side and just trust the 1/4 in torque wrench. I think what i'll end up doing is redoing the pass side since it's easy. I more than likely would've been fine re-torquing rather than replacing, but i had everything else off in the area, and figured i'd learn how to do something new.
2001LC
SILVER Star
Try loosen and then re-torque. You'll know soon enough.
Thank you @2001LC and @MUDnHUNDY for your input yesterday. I got the driver side on without any issue and confirmed that what i did on the pass side was correct. I was just overly paranoid about having to redo this job, since it really didn't NEED to be done in the first place. Will check for leaks whenever i get this back up and running.
The valve cover bolts have a shoulder that provides positive stop when the shoulder contacts the head. Then you torque them to 53 INCH pounds so they stay in place. The shoulder ensures the gasket isn't over compressed and also so the bolt grommets are not squeezed out of place. There is no need to crank down hard on these valve cover bolts. The photo you provided of the passenger side looks correct and is similar to the result I had from when I did this job.
Looks like you are doing other work to this engine so replacing these gaskets is a very good idea, they become brittle over time and then begin to leak, so if it wasn't leaking yet, it would have at some point.
Looks like you are doing other work to this engine so replacing these gaskets is a very good idea, they become brittle over time and then begin to leak, so if it wasn't leaking yet, it would have at some point.
Thank you for the explanation of positive stop. I threaded the bolts by hand in pattern, then snugged them with just the 10MM and a 3 in. extension (with my hand, no ratchet) until i couldn't anymore. Then in the same pattern i did a pass at 30 in/lb, then a pass at 53 in/lb, then a final pass at 53 in/lb.
Yeah, i'm doing a bunch of PM due to the starter going out and having the intake manifold off already. I figured $60 in parts for OEM valve cover gaskets, tube seals, FIPG, and bolts was worth it versus them failing later on and having to deal with moving all the hoses and wires around again.
Thanks for the pointers everyone, going to get this done once parts arrive.
Generally speaking, will the old gasket come of with minimal effort or should I buy a scraper or something to aid in removing it ?
Any harm in letting the Toyota black silicone cure overnight if temps could dip below freezing ?
Generally speaking, will the old gasket come of with minimal effort or should I buy a scraper or something to aid in removing it ?
Any harm in letting the Toyota black silicone cure overnight if temps could dip below freezing ?
Last edited:
I know what you are talking about. My Nissan VQ engines have that shoulder stop on the VC bolt. I haven't seen it on my 5VZ and 2UZ Toyota engines.
What's the verdict on applying FIPG to the cam seals /circular plugs? It looks like everyone with the exception of this post of FSM has only applied to the corners.
do the plugs. it's in the FSM
I've seen mixed opinions on that, did you do yours ? How did it hold up ?
