Done. I hope. Drove around last night and to work this moring with no leaks at all and what I was previously told was "the noise Toyotas make" is gone too. (engine noise, not quite 'pinging' more like quite thumping at idle)
Cover was on there like superglue. Finally broke it loose with small block of wood/hammer and flat blade at 4 corners. Kept thinking there was something else I needed to remove but nope. The original cover gasket LOOKED ok but no way was I going to put that thing back on. New one was only $23US even with the spark plug tube seals. Why risk it?
The only 'real' issue was getting the old plug tube gaskets OUT of the cover. I thought they had been adhered to the cover or something. Had to pop out the centers and then pry (gently) the outer edges off. I got 3 out before I thought to check what side was up...assuming the last person to do this was right...the flat/inset side is UP and the somewhat tapered side is DOWN.
Don't have a torque wrench so I counted the tuns to get the 3 nuts off the top. Other than that, real easy. Took the time to clean crap off the back of the cover while it was off too. No one can see it when installed, but I KNOW ITS CLEAN! hahaha
The only other thing I can suggest to others is to make sure you clean off the crap that was left by the old cover gasket and the grease and grime on the outer edge before putting the new seal back on to eliminate the risk of leaks.
Easy DIY job and now my neighbor thinks I am a mechanic.
Thanks for your help!
)
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