Valve Cover Gasket - Where did I go Wrong?

[bryarblue72]

Folks:

I replaced the right side valve cover gasket (nearest the firewall) last weekend on my 2001 Camry 6 cylinder engine. I used a Felpro gasket set from Auto Zone. I also replaced the piston tube seals in the cover and replaced all 6 spark plugs. After back together, the leak is worse than before I replaced the gasket. I did use some Permatex silicone type sealer on the corners on either side of the camshaft and at the 4 recommended spots on the other end. When I tightened the 6 valve cover hold down bolts, I turned them all the way to a hard stop (didn't take much torque and I only used a 1/4 drive 10mm socket to tighten them. And it appeared that it was designed to tighten all bolts to the same amount such that the valve cover has the same clearance all the way around it once tightened).

From reading the above description where did I go wrong? Should I have gone to the Toyota dealer and gotten an official Toyota replacement gasket set? Is there a trick to this that I missed? Oh also, after tightening the valve cover bolts you can still clearly see the red rubber valve cover gasket as it appears to have some clearance between the bottom of the valve cover and the head.

Finally, using a torque wrench would not have been possible as the only way I could tighten the valve cover bolts nearest the firewall was with a 1/4" drive 10mm Snapon swivel socket

Thanks in advance for your repsonses!!

Roger

[73sport]

Did it leaked instantly? If it took a while to leak, it could be high up. That bank is almost always under oil so any defect at the edge (by the exhaust manifold) of the gasket will result in instant leaks.
Get a mirror and light and take a look. Sounds as if the gasket came out of the track and got pinched.

Grab another gasket and try again. Which way you put the tube seals in? Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover. Otherwise you can fold them in while installing the cover.

Pull the plug boots and look. You can see if the seals missed the tubes with a mirror, but those would typically fill the tube and then leak all over the outside.

When I did mine, I didn't apply anything to the cover, but put a very thin skim over the outside and all the sharp transition areas. Be sure to clean the head and cover good with lacquer thinner so the RTV sticks.

Sorry and Welcome all in the same sentence!

[ASG14]

HAHAHA!

I wonder if you did the same f-up I did when I used FelPro gaskets on my friends 1MZ.......ugh

The FelPro gaskets did not stick into the valve cover well, like the Toyota ones. So when I put the rear cover back on, the gasket on the rear (right against the firewall) had fallen out. When I turned it on, it was like a waterfall of oil.

Run your hand along the back and feel the gap and see if the same thing happened.

[sykou]

that happened to me too. Best way i found was to hold the back side of the valve cover with my fingers keeping the gasket in place. Slide it on and then pull your fingers out slowly ensuring the gasket stays in place.

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by bryarblue72

When I tightened the 6 valve cover hold down bolts, I turned them all the way to a hard stop (didn't take much torque and I only used a 1/4 drive 10mm socket to tighten them. And it appeared that it was designed to tighten all bolts to the same amount such that the valve cover has the same clearance all the way around it once tightened).

From reading the above description where did I go wrong?

I'm not a fan of "a little dab will do ya" when it comes to gasket sealer. When I did mine I cleaned the groove in the valve cover, wire brushed it with lacquer thinner, and then applied a thin coat to the entire groove, and the gasket. Put the gasket in the groove, seated it, and let it set for 10 minutes to tack up a bit. I did the same to the mating surfaces on the head. My guess that this probably isn't your problem, though.

I think it's the bolts. Toyota did a crappy job of engineering these bolts. Way too much thought *and* cost went into these simple bolts. When you said you bottomed out, that's the problem. If the replacement gaskets were a tad thinner than stock, there is no way you can properly tighten the bolts. An easy fix, is to add two washers to the bolts. That will give you some extra and needed room to properly tighten the bolts to make sure that the gasket seals, with lots of sealer on it.

Here's some more info on the bolts. Scroll down to #5.
OEM VS Felpro Valve cover gasket

Good luck, hope this helps.

[Nervous]

Originally Posted by 73sport

Which way you put the tube seals in? Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover. Otherwise you can fold them in while installing the cover.

This is not how it is installed by Toyota, btw. At least, not how it is on my two Toyotas (I believe nobody replaced these seals on them before me).

[73sport]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 73sport
Which way you put the tube seals in? Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover. Otherwise you can fold them in while installing the cover.

__________________

Originally Posted by Nervous

This is not how it is installed by Toyota, btw. At least, not how it is on my two Toyotas (I believe nobody replaced these seals on them before me).

I tend to sorta agree that no replaced yours or mine, but think about this:

The spring it is retain tension on the seal and close its opening. If you install it such that the tight part of the seal encounters the sparkplug tube 1st, it tends to NOT want to go over as easily and catches the lip potentially destroying the seal.

Because these seals go completely over the tub, not just partially it really doesn't matter which way it goes as they are not Sheilding the flying oil with any kind of deflector. If they had a built in deflector, yes that would go towards the oil splash inside. They don't!

But if you try and force them over the tube with the spring "closing the hole" the odds of catching the and wrecking the seals lip during installation go WAY UP!

Always grease the seal to make sure the lips slide over the tube and not catch and tear!

[Nervous]

There is one counterargument against your way of putting spark plug tube seals. You need to hammer the seal into valve cover well. If we use the original orientation of the seal, the hit goes to the metal seal's ring (you hitting through the socket and sockets walls push the seal by applying pressure on that metal ring that is embedded into the spark plug seal). If we put the seal your way we will hit to the rubber (originally upper) part of the seal and can easily destroy it. Ask me how I know. That is why I don't recommend to do this.
Just use a little bit of universal grease to lubricate seal ring at the spring before installing the valve cover. Worked for me very well.

[73sport]

^ Good point.

Just curious, did you use Toyota seals or aftermarket?

The Toyo ones I used had sufficent area to drive them in and not damage the seal. Also, I found something that fit the seal casing perfectly and it was cinch to drive them in.
Just be sure to support the cover under each seal while driving so as not to distort or crack the cover. Again - grease the seal so it slides on the tube.

[Nervous]

I used aftermarket (FelPro and Beck & Arnley), but they look exactly the same as the ones I removed (i.e. most likely Toyota ones).
+1 about supporting the valve cover underneath while hammering the seal in.

[bryarblue72]

Originally Posted by 73sport

Did it leaked instantly? If it took a while to leak, it could be high up. That bank is almost always under oil so any defect at the edge (by the exhaust manifold) of the gasket will result in instant leaks.
Get a mirror and light and take a look. Sounds as if the gasket came out of the track and got pinched.

Grab another gasket and try again. Which way you put the tube seals in? Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover. Otherwise you can fold them in while installing the cover.

Pull the plug boots and look. You can see if the seals missed the tubes with a mirror, but those would typically fill the tube and then leak all over the outside.

When I did mine, I didn't apply anything to the cover, but put a very thin skim over the outside and all the sharp transition areas. Be sure to clean the head and cover good with lacquer thinner so the RTV sticks.

Sorry and Welcome all in the same sentence!

Folks:

Thanks for the replies. I haven't looked again since my wife has had me working on a bathroom remodel (and we have a 3rd car so I have time to go back and fix the leak.

It leaked immediately after I replaced the gasket. After I completed tightening the cover bolts, I took a mirror and looked at the firewall side of the gasket (you can see the edge of it showing between the cover and the head). Looked the same all the way around. I may try adding a couple of washers as suggested.

Also, what did ya'll mean about the "Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover" ? I installed the tube seals into the cover using a light film of white lithium grease to help them go in. Also I didn't see any springs on them. I installed them with the widest inside diameter facing the tubes (also with a light film of the grease on the seal to help them slide over the tubes).

Finally, I have a very small video camera that I believe I can get into the area between the firewall and the cover. I'll slip it in there and run the engine to see if I can tell exactly where it's leaking from while running.

I'll let ya'll know. Thanks for all the replies. You guys are great!!

Regards,
Roger

[JohnGD]

I don't think there's anything wrong with Fel-Pros. I always seal with Fel-Pros. Often times the OEM parts come right out of the box.

Did you get new valve cover bolts from Toyota? Those stinking wavy washers loose their tension and when they come to the hard stop they can't seal properly. It's a common problem.

Or you can go to Home Depot (no pun intended while you remodel the bathroom ) and get some washers and add them to the cover bolts to help hold down.

You will need to wipe the gasket contact surfaces free of oil with alcohol to prevent leaks when you re-do the bolts. And those dabs of RTV (don't let them fall into the cylinder head).

I don't think the plug tube seals are the problem from what I read in your original post.

Originally Posted by bryarblue72

Folks:

Thanks for the replies. I haven't looked again since my wife has had me working on a bathroom remodel (and we have a 3rd car so I have time to go back and fix the leak.

It leaked immediately after I replaced the gasket. After I completed tightening the cover bolts, I took a mirror and looked at the firewall side of the gasket (you can see the edge of it showing between the cover and the head). Looked the same all the way around. I may try adding a couple of washers as suggested.

Also, what did ya'll mean about the "Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover" ? I installed the tube seals into the cover using a light film of white lithium grease to help them go in. Also I didn't see any springs on them. I installed them with the widest inside diameter facing the tubes (also with a light film of the grease on the seal to help them slide over the tubes).

Finally, I have a very small video camera that I believe I can get into the area between the firewall and the cover. I'll slip it in there and run the engine to see if I can tell exactly where it's leaking from while running.

I'll let ya'll know. Thanks for all the replies. You guys are great!!

Regards,
Roger

[Nervous]

Originally Posted by bryarblue72

Also, what did ya'll mean about the "Springs should be exposed to the outside of the cover" ? I installed the tube seals into the cover using a light film of white lithium grease to help them go in. Also I didn't see any springs on them. I installed them with the widest inside diameter facing the tubes (also with a light film of the grease on the seal to help them slide over the tubes).

There is a spring ring that tighten the rubber of the seal around the spark plug pipe, it is just hidden. Here is how seals should be installed according to Toyota:


73sport proposes to install them other way around. I don't know, I have an argument against this way, but seriously it doesn't that matter how you install them.

[Kevin89AllTrac]

Two years ago I replaced both cover gaskets per post #13 of this thread:

Solving The Valve Cover Gaskets - Permanently

Reused the old bolts. Didn't add any washers. Torqued to whatever the the factory says.


Dry ever since.

[bryarblue72]

Hi Nervous...that pic looks like the way I installed the tube seals.

Kevin, can you come over and do mine over for me... :^)
How is it possible to torque the valve cover bolts while the engine is in the car? I can only get to the bolts nearest the firewall using a 1/4" drive swivel socket! Too many obstacles....

Regards,
Roger