Valve cover gasket tips

[Deadmilenko]

Getting ready to tackle this on my 00 lx470 with 218k. I must say I feel much more equipped to tackle this. Just need to order the parts, think I am going to go with OEM parts. This only gets down once every 100k-200k and why not make sure its done right.

 

[Mark WV]

when I changed mine out a year or so ago I went to the dealer to get the gaskets / plug tube seals, etc. Toyota dealer Parts guy suggested I get the FelPro kit as tube seals, bolt seals etc are included. He indicated that their mechanics prefer the FelPro over the OEM valve cover gaskets on the 4.7 I went with the Felpro kit and didn't / havent had any issues

 

[Deadmilenko]

Well I am going to tackle this right now. Hope all goes well.

 

[Deadmilenko]

all went well, use all Toyota parts, ran into no real issues. I changed the valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets, PCV valve, and the valve cover gaskets bot washers. Oh yeah, and I had to change the passenger side crankcase breather hose as it was original and ripped on reinstall.

Changing the spark plug gaskets was a PIA but was doable. Torque spec for the valve cover gaskets was 6 lbs pounds torque. Hard to find a torque wrench that will go that low. Used FIPG oil pan sealer to seal the corners on the valve covers. Drivers side took longer as it has more hoses on the way and you have to play the angle game with the AC line and another group of wires that I did not remove for the install.

Props to all who have written up something on this before and posted pictures as that assisted in doing the job right. Make sure everything is cleaned and ready for install before you apply the FIPG as it has a set time of 10-15 mins I believe. I applied it to the corners and forgot to remove the old valve cover washer seals and clean the valve cover bolts so I had to remove it and clean the bolts first and put the washers on the bolt.

OEM Parts price list to follow if anyone needs it

 

[ItGoesTo11]

all went well, use all Toyota parts, ran into no real issues. I changed the valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets, PCV valve, and the valve cover gaskets bot washers. Oh yeah, and I had to change the passenger side crankcase breather hose as it was original and ripped on reinstall.

Changing the spark plug gaskets was a PIA but was doable. Torque spec for the valve cover gaskets was 6 lbs pounds torque. Hard to find a torque wrench that will go that low. Used FIPG oil pan sealer to seal the corners on the valve covers. Drivers side took longer as it has more hoses on the way and you have to play the angle game with the AC line and another group of wires that I did not remove for the install.

Props to all who have written up something on this before and posted pictures as that assisted in doing the job right. Make sure everything is cleaned and ready for install before you apply the FIPG as it has a set time of 10-15 mins I believe. I applied it to the corners and forgot to remove the old valve cover washer seals and clean the valve cover bolts so I had to remove it and clean the bolts first and put the washers on the bolt.

OEM Parts price list to follow if anyone needs it

You did it right! Also, you can convert foot lbs to inch lbs using (X12), so 6 ft lbs is 72 inch lbs. Easy to find a torque wrench that will handle that number.

 

[badlander]

I thought someone mentioned that the bolt washers were not available separately. I already bought the gaskets and tube seals but i would like to get new washers if they are available. Has anyone actually purchased just the OEM washers by themselves, less the bolts, from Lexus or Toyota?

 

[Deadmilenko]

yeah I did, I will upload a picture of my parts order from Toyota. Just need to do it from my phone not the desktop.

Bolt washers 90210-07001 listed @ $4.90 ea, I paid $1.96 ea. parts manager was very nice

 

[Deadmilenko]

I would also suggest changing the PCV valve and the spark plug gaskets. If you have the valve cover off do them now. Mine look original and if that was the case then they had been then for 216k miles. They were hard as a rock. I got 4 extra bolts just incase I snapped one or the threads on one were all boogered up. Did not need then tho.

 

[Deadmilenko]

Here is the parts I bought when I change mine

 

[badlander]

yeah I did, I will upload a picture of my parts order from Toyota. Just need to do it from my phone not the desktop.

Bolt washers 90210-07001 listed @ $4.90 ea, I paid $1.96 ea. parts manager was very nice

Good to know. Thanks for that information, I'll check into that with my dealer prior to starting the job.

 

[aharlan001]

I would caution anyone thinking about tightening these things to NEVER over-tighten! It looks like the previous owner or mechanic somewhere down the road overtightened the bottom row of bolts on the driver side of my 98 LC. I was able to get all but the middle back bolt out. It snapped off while trying to back it out . I went for the vice grips and PB blaster after I got the cover off and again the bolt snapped this time nearly flush with the hole. Then I went for the drill and reverse thread bolt remover which snapped off in the hole I drilled in the broken bolt. If anyone gets to the point where they are thinking about using a drill/bolt remover I would advise just drilling the bolt out and rethreading the hole. Now I'm trying to grind the bolt remover out of the hole and I've already gone through 4 dremel grinding stones. It's a major PITA and it's going VERY slow. I'm going to pick up some more dremel grinding stones tomorrow along with some expensive cobalt drill bits and hopefully put this behind me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Qtonic]

I’ve hit my first problem.
This harness cuts across the valve cover and I can’t figure out how to make room.
I don’t see a clip of that I can remove to move that harness wire out of way.
Can anyone help me please?

View attachment 1678820

Is it bad if that brass colored port with the hose still attached moves a bit? I noticed mine move while disconnecting things. Play is from about 11 to 1 o'clock positions. Not super loose, but sort of a notch-y rotation.

 

[2001LC]

I would caution anyone thinking about tightening these things to NEVER over-tighten! It looks like the previous owner or mechanic somewhere down the road overtightened the bottom row of bolts on the driver side of my 98 LC. I was able to get all but the middle back bolt out. It snapped off while trying to back it out . I went for the vice grips and PB blaster after I got the cover off and again the bolt snapped this time nearly flush with the hole. Then I went for the drill and reverse thread bolt remover which snapped off in the hole I drilled in the broken bolt. If anyone gets to the point where they are thinking about using a drill/bolt remover I would advise just drilling the bolt out and rethreading the hole. Now I'm trying to grind the bolt remover out of the hole and I've already gone through 4 dremel grinding stones. It's a major PITA and it's going VERY slow. I'm going to pick up some more dremel grinding stones tomorrow along with some expensive cobalt drill bits and hopefully put this behind me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Good advise to use caution when re-torquing the head cover bolts. The spec torque is only 53IN-lbf (note that is INCH not foot pounds).

But these tiny little bolt could not likely be so overtighten you can't get out without breaking.

What happens is they become frozen/corroded in. In part, because they are steel going into aluminum (galvanic reaction). The problem seem to be more prevalent in the rust belt. Often times, by first tightening just a little we get lucky and the free up. It's just one more good reason to re-torque at least ever 90K mi or 7 year if not sooner. Just that little movement helps. Better yet, use anti seize on threads.

 

[ItGoesTo11]

I would caution anyone thinking about tightening these things to NEVER over-tighten! It looks like the previous owner or mechanic somewhere down the road overtightened the bottom row of bolts on the driver side of my 98 LC. I was able to get all but the middle back bolt out. It snapped off while trying to back it out . I went for the vice grips and PB blaster after I got the cover off and again the bolt snapped this time nearly flush with the hole. Then I went for the drill and reverse thread bolt remover which snapped off in the hole I drilled in the broken bolt. If anyone gets to the point where they are thinking about using a drill/bolt remover I would advise just drilling the bolt out and rethreading the hole. Now I'm trying to grind the bolt remover out of the hole and I've already gone through 4 dremel grinding stones. It's a major PITA and it's going VERY slow. I'm going to pick up some more dremel grinding stones tomorrow along with some expensive cobalt drill bits and hopefully put this behind me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Those bolts on a 2UZFE have a shoulder on the bottom the bolt above the thread, so they can't truly be "overtightened". They are designed to "bottom out" and then torqued in with very little torque to secure them in place. 53 INCH lbs. I'm presuming it's the same engine.
Some of those bolts are not easy to access to begin with, and if they have corroded in place the angle already required to break them free inhibits straight line torque down the socket extension. Looks like a re-drill is already the solution, be sure to use never seize so you can have an easier time in 150k miles from now...

 

[sean2202]

@aharlan001 here is a write up I did a few years back on my broken valve cover bolts. broken valve cover bolts
A broken tap or drill is not fun. If you are good with a welder or know someone who is you could weld a nut on the broken part and hopefully it will thread out. I have had success with this recently on a broken tap. For some reason the valve cover bolt holes on the head threads all the way through which is good for drilling a broken part out but is a trap for moisture, salt and corrosion. Antiseize is a must on these. If I was going to take these out on a new "rust belt" rig I would probably heat on the lower portion of the head and use a small impact to break free. Use Kano Kroil as well. Good stuff.

 

[aharlan001]

I ended up grinding/drilling the broken extractor out with a combination of cobalt drill bits (slow speed with cutting oil), dremel grinding stone, and dremel diamond bit. The diamond bit worked the best? or maybe I had already got through most of it when I got to the diamond bit. The drill bit seemed to work the slowest however progress was so slow overall it was hard to tell what worked the best. The grinding stone worked reasonably well but I chewed through 5 of them very quick. Now I've got it drilled out to a 1/4 bit and I have to pick up a thread repair kit tomorrow. I agree with the statements above that it was likely not overtightened but seized due to being a 20 year old cruiser from the salt belt .

 

[Porter]

Just pulled the PS cover on my 99 tonight. Took a little work to get the wiring harness figured out – I ended up pulling it upward. On my 99 there is a clip holding the wiring harness to the front lower block. Hard to reach 10 mm mini bolt released that clip/bracket for needed clearance.

When removing seals, (and they were quite brittle at 20 years/315k), I used a small block of wood and pried with a screwdriver the inner lip, removing the inner ring with spring.

I then used a spike and hammer to remove the remaining seal adhered to the cover, after bending small ears to 90deg. One minute per seal to remove.

 

[TintedOut]

I ended up grinding/drilling the broken extractor out with a combination of cobalt drill bits (slow speed with cutting oil), dremel grinding stone, and dremel diamond bit. The diamond bit worked the best? or maybe I had already got through most of it when I got to the diamond bit. The drill bit seemed to work the slowest however progress was so slow overall it was hard to tell what worked the best. The grinding stone worked reasonably well but I chewed through 5 of them very quick. Now I've got it drilled out to a 1/4 bit and I have to pick up a thread repair kit tomorrow. I agree with the statements above that it was likely not overtightened but seized due to being a 20 year old cruiser from the salt belt .

This happened to my truck on Christmas eve. Was able to sneak away for a bit and knock out a easy 2 hour job that turned into a nightmare. Broke three lower bolts on the pass side. Had to go out and get a right angle drill, Cobalt drill bits, and Dewalt 6x1 tap. Problems was the timing with it being the holidays. You can only imagine.

Ended up getting all three bolts the drilled out and retapped. Just take your time. You can do it.

 

[a31gun]

Ok....I'm finishing up my passenger side. Everything went smooth. Now for the silicon.....
Do I dab the corners on the motor itself or under my gasket on the valve covers too. Quick reply needed.

 

[shadow247]

Apply the sealant to the Cylinder Head itself. It's on the FSM page in the middle of Page 4 of this thread.