Help. How to replace this seal? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Ken4 · 02-26-2006, 05:20 PM

My rubber plug seal on the cylinder head (near intake camshaft, tranny side) is leaking oil now. How to replace this seal? Do I have to open up the valve cover again? There looks like 2 bolts holding down and clamping the seal. It that how? Or is that a redundant clamp to hold down the old 5SFE distributor that is no longer used in the new 5SFEs. Should I access the rubber plug from the outside without removing the valve cover? Do I remove the TB support bracket and pull the rubber plug from the outside? Help. Thanks.

Camryamnesty · 02-26-2006, 10:46 PM

if its the cam shaft seal, you need to take mark your timing belt, remove it, remove the cam shaft, make sure the timing marks are aligned on the cam shafts!!!!(before you mark or remove the camshaft) or you will have timing problems, pull the seal off, replace, and re-assemble.

*edit*

I didnt see where you edited the pic, remove valve cover, remove the 2 bolts, i think there is actually silicone in there i cant remember and also, i have a 92 so i have a distributor there

Ken4 · 02-26-2006, 11:02 PM

Well I bought the $7 plug today. Wish me luck.

Cyorke · 02-27-2006, 12:07 AM

put a small amount of silicone around the plug before you install it. ALso when you remove the old one you will more than liley notice there is silicone RTV sealant in the corners where the cap meets the cylinder head. Put a small bead of RTV in these corners when you reinstall the cap.

Ken4 · 02-27-2006, 04:14 AM

Thanks guys. Now I know what is causing the leak. The seal plug is still good. It is the clamp or cap piece holding down the seal plug (bolted down with 2 bolts) that is causing the leak. It only has a metal to metal seal and oil is getting past here. I've put silicone on this cap piece in addition to the 8 dabs of silicone. Fingers crossed.

ruoknow · 02-27-2006, 07:16 PM

How clean this engine is!

JetspeedCamry · 02-27-2006, 08:01 PM

Fuck me! Thats Beautiful! Bloody clean. What year is the engine?

I replaced this on mine too. A word of advice, put some black RTV on the corners and round the edge of it....it leaks like a siv otherwise!!!

Ken4 · 02-28-2006, 12:30 AM

That's a '00 5SFEwith 94,000km. Made in Japan RHD JDM camry. Uses synthetics with 5000km OCI. Auto-Rx treatment done at 85,000km.

97&02camryleI4 · 04-27-2006, 02:35 PM

Sorry to bring this thread back but the question I have is related to this end cap leak. My mechanic said that I have an oil leak coming from the end cap of the driver's side cylinder head (as mentioned above) OR a leak from a seal behind the coil packs. Now I've looked in the Haynes and also in the pdf files that is available in the sticky thread of this forum but it doesn't mention any seals behind the coil pack. I trust that my mechanic would not lie to me about this because he's a family friend so maybe he's just giving me ideas as to what may be leaking. I do know there is a leak but not sure if it's really coming from the end cap because the view is obstructed from the coilpacks sitting right in front of it. The oil makes its way down to the top of the transmission and starts pooling there right next to the vehicle speed sensor. I'm planning to change it out this weekend but I'd like to know if there's a seal behind the coilpacks so that I can buy the seal before tackling the job. Even if it's not leaking from the seal behind the coilpacks, at least I'd have it in case to prevent a trip to the dealer.

Also, should I replace this semi-circular plug that's next to/near the end cap seal? There's no oil leaking from there but I figured that I might as well change it as preventive maintenance. Is it easy access to semi-circular plug after the valve cover is off or are there other parts I need to remove before being able to remove it? Thanks for all the help!

Ken4 · 04-27-2006, 08:21 PM

Just buy the end cap, the valve cover gasket, and gasket sealer. I use this:

Put some sealer on the end cap clamp mating surfaces. Also 8 dabs of sealant on the valve cover gasket as per Haynes instructions.

Are you spark plug tubes leaking too? If so, have a look at my DIY pics:

Help. Oil on spark plug threads.

97&02camryleI4 · 04-28-2006, 12:05 AM

+1 Thanks Ken4 for the reply, esp. with pics.

I have a tube of Hondabond which is pretty much a gasket sealant I believe. I used it for the valve cover of my Integra, so can I use the same thing for the valve cover on the Camry?

Also, Haynes says to tighten the valve cover nuts to 33 ft. lbs. Some members here have instead said to tighten only to 17 ft. lbs. or 25 ft. lbs. Which is it? I don't want to crack my valve cover by over tightening it but I also don't want to have it start leaking because I didn't tighten them enough.

As for the spark plug tubes, I think they might be leaking because the threads of my spark plugs are soaked in oil. It also appears to have some dried oil residue on the white ceramic portion of the spark plugs. I initially thought that replacing the spark plug grommets will fix this, but apparently not, based on what you had to do to fix yours. I should take care of this at the same time since the valve cover is off, but I'm a little weary of using the adjustable pliers that you (Ken4) had used to remove yours. Did you at least wrap them in some cloth before making contact with the tubes? Is it better to use a "spark plug tube remover" (as mentioned in the thread you have linked) to remove the tubes and also so that the proper torque can be applied to the tubes when reinstalling them back onto the cylinder head? But I've yet to find a local place that sells this tool. Thanks for the help I appreciate it.

EDIT: I added pictures of the sparkplugs.

Ken4 · 04-29-2006, 03:30 AM

I torqued mine to 33ft-lbs as per haynes specs. No problems.

Hondabond will probably work.

The spark plug tubes need a thread locking sealant though. Something like this:

I first tried wraping the pliers with cloth but it kept slipping. So I ended up ditching the cloth, but it still keep slipping. Then I realised the adjustable pliers only work really well in one direction. The tubes did get scratched but I made sure I gripped them well below the place where the grommet seals would sit. BTW, my adjustable pliers are about 15" long, it's no the itsy bitsy small type.

97&02camryleI4 · 04-29-2006, 11:36 AM

^The thread locking sealeant you used, seems to be more for permanent applications. Is this okay to use because what if I'd need to remove the tubes again in the future? How much sealant is necessary (a thin film around the entire thread or a liberal amount and then wipe off excess?).

I have a long adjustable plier as well and I guess I'll have to figure out which direction the pliers work best. If you saw my other post, I was trying to get this job done but the spark plug wire boot came off the wire and I had to call it a day because I was frustrated as to how to get the boot out of the cylinder head which is stuck onto the spark plug. When I have the time again I'll be using a coat hanger to hopefully get it out and finish this task. Something as easy as removing spark plug wires can turn into a big headache (at least for me, usually) and delay me for another week since I have to order new ignition wires.

BennyO2367 · 01-04-2012, 04:45 PM

I hope I am not breaking any rules bringing back this old thread, I searched and I did not see any rules about posting in old threads.

Has anyone done this fix with success? I have an oil leak that is coming from behind the coil pack on my 99 Camry 4 cylinder. I know it is not the valve cover gasket, it was changed. It is pooling on top of my transmission. Do I just pull those two bolts off an replace the cap? Obviously I need to redo the valve cover gasket as well. Do I have to mess with the timing belt or anything of that sort? Thanks, Benny.