Sure it's basic, but damn if I didn't wish I'd read up on it here first, heheh, so feel no pain in asking. I'm definitely guilty of breaking those stupid things when I went to do my plugs.

My advice to you is remove the bolts that are towrd the front of the cover (Note: one is a captive bolt, so you'll end up pulling out the whole bolt from the head, so don't freak out when you see that while you only get the nut on top to come off of the other side, it's completely normal). After you've removed those, just grab two good handfulls of the engine cover and try to pry it up. It decreases the likelihood of breaking those brittle plastic fasteners, even if it may take you a few tries to get the cover off. If you try to pry the fasteners out of the cover you'll very likely snap the heads clean off and then have to pry the plastic threaded portions out of the head with pliers (like I did).

When you go to reinstall, just keep pressure on the plastic heads of the fasteners when you go to press them back in place (after partially threading the real bolts back on, or at the very least getting the captive one started so you don't have to fish around trying to blindly find its hole later). Once those plastic ones are home, finish bolting the real bolts back down, alternating between the two every few turns to keep things even. Don't overdo the tightening on those either, or you'll just be warping the plastic cover. Once they're snug, you're done and it's not going anywhere.

 

Those rear engine clips are almost always 1 time use. You are much better off converting them to bolts (same M6 x 1.25 as the front). I do on every car I get a chance to.

 

Sheesh...did Toyota really save themselves a nominal amount of money foregoing 2 extra bolts? :facepalm:

Good to know, though. May just do that the next time I pull the cover off.

 

I broke both of mine on my 2005 LE but the 2006 LE that I have now, they just popped out easy peasy and popped back in, no sweat. I popped them out with a needle nose

 

See this thread for a solution: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...h-generation-2003-2008/309425-diy-replacing-engine-cover-plastic-retainers.html

 

Mine fell off the first time I attempted to service my vehicle. I never replaced them because there's no reason to.

 

Good to know i am not the only one to have broken those things trying to take them off.

 

Thanks all! I figure most everyone on this forum has had to deal with them at least once. I've just never had to do it before. I think once I get them off, they get replaced with real bolts

 

Can't hurt. I drove around with them missing for a day or two after I broke them, and there was really no issue. The only thing I can figure they do is keep the cover from vibrating against the engine's head and causing a little more rattling than the car already makes normally.

 

Mine must have broken off looooong ago with the previous owner because I never noticed such clips. Just two nuts/bolts holding my cover on for the past 40,000 miles without issue.

 

I went ahead and removed the engine cover tonight ahead of the spark plug and intake manifold gasket replacement that lie ahead for this weekend (hopefully). I used SaGa's method (removed front 2 bolts first then pulled up on the cover. Both clips popped out and one fell under the car, but I found 2 metric bolts of the correct size in my bolt collection, so I won't be reusing the clips anyway.

 

I can almost guarantee that the clip that fell off under the car is sitting on the cross member underneath the car. It's very difficult to see. You kind of have to feel with your fingers, IF it hasn't falled out already. I have heard of so many people popping those off only to lose one down in the engine somewhere. Replacing with bolts is a must. Much easier to remove too if you ask me. Just use the same wrench/socket on all of them at once instead of worrying about breaking them off or losing them. Good on you for doing that now! Enjoy that Yota for another 100K

 

Prepare to have your minds blown. You can use a pair of long nose pliers or snap ring pliers to turn the clips, they'll un-thread from the valve cover bolt holes. The holes are threaded.

 

Must have just been unlucky then. That's what I tried to do and the heads snapped right off.

 

Yea, I've had luck with that once I realized it. Maybe a little penetrating oil before hand will help?

 

Possibly. They were the original clips and had gone through about 8 summers and winters at that point. Probably just got too brittle to hold up. We'll see if I manage to wreck the replacements too...then I'll know it's me. :whatthe:

 

This question may seem dumb but why do car manufactures even put a plastic cover on the engine?Is it for looks or does it do something?I remember that older cars don't have plastic engine covers like the 1987 Corollas.

 

It dampens some engine noise, the ZZ engines are loud and clicky.

 

They also do it to keep people from tinkering or persuade them not to. They cover up the stuff that's not the basics (oil dipstick, trans dipstick, other fluid containers) and want you to bring the car to them for as many things as possible. I'm sure you've seen the engine bays of some other cars, like recent Jaguars, which are basically a giant plastic cover over everythingand you're lucky if you have access to any fluids...bit of overkill.

And yes, to a point it's done for looks. Our engine isn't exactly something eye-catching and impressive by any stretch of the imagination, and while I'm not going to recoil in horror when I pop my hood if it's not covered, some folks get jollies from a bay lacking in mechanical appearance. :dunno:

 

I don't see the point of using these cheap clips again since a fine threaded bolt with 10mm head will fit just fine (and use the same sized socket as the front two bolts).

 

it saves money

 

assembly speed as well. Snap the cover down, run two bolts in.

 

I felt like a retard when I broke one of these fasteners that seemed so simple