[Speedy]

Starting on the valve cover gaskets this week. I'm planning to paint mine and was curious how hot they get. This was after about a 30 minute drive, stopped to run some errands, and a 30 minute drive back. This was the hottest spot I could find.

[JoeT4R]

Originally Posted by Speedy

Starting on the valve cover gaskets this week. I'm planning to paint mine and was curious how hot they get. This was after about a 30 minute drive, stopped to run some errands, and a 30 minute drive back. This was the hottest spot I could find.

I cannot wait to see some pics of what's underneath the covers. I bet everything still looks immaculate. I have no clue how hot the covers get but I'm sure that's pretty standard temp wise.

[Speedy]

Took some time off work this week to work on the 4Runner among other things. Weather's been good and I have to be strategic when I plan to do any painting. Gets too hot and humid around here in the summer and too cold and wet in the winter so I usually get from like March to early May and late September to late October to do any painting.

Got the valve covers off and I plan to paint them wrinkle red. So far not too big of a deal, just lots of hoses and clips. Toyota book time is supposed to be like 3 hours, not sure how they're getting it done that fast. I'm decent with a wrench and getting them removed took me about 2 hours and I've not cleaned up all the old FIPG off the surfaces yet.

I wrapped the plastic wire cover with cloth electrical tape. That was a life saver to keep it from disintegrating.

3rd post has video as usual.

[Spiker Engineering]

Originally Posted by Speedy

I wrapped the plastic wire cover with cloth electrical tape. That was a life saver to keep it from disintegrating.

I did the same when I did my VCGs the first time. But when I removed them this time around to paint them, I switched tactics to self fusing silicone tape. That stuff is da bomb, I will never go back to electrical (unless I plan to open up a harness). It fuses to itself into essentially a continuous one piece "tube", so it'll never unravel.

BTW, the beauty of it is that it doesn't need to (and won't) stick to whatever it is being wrapped over - only to itself. So if you wanted to "add" it over your electrical tape, you can. Just sayin'...

[Speedy]

Interesting, I'll keep that stuff in mind and go check it out. That little plastic housing felt like it would explode if I even looked at it sideways.

[Spiker Engineering]

Originally Posted by Speedy

Interesting, I'll keep that stuff in mind and go check it out. That little plastic housing felt like it would explode if I even looked at it sideways.

What it's also great for are all those old taped harnesses where the tape is beginning to come off - you just run one quick look of this stuff over the electrical tape, and it's permanently prevented from unraveling.

This is what I used, but there are many others - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B3JSJF3...roduct_details

[Speedy]

If I touched it I cleaned it.

[Speedy]

I'm getting there. Got the valve covers prepped and painted, supercharger oil changed (it was dirty after 100K miles), and cleaned the throttle body and AFE air cleaner.

I hope the red looks good on the truck.

Video in third post.

[Speedy]

Originally Posted by Spiker Engineering

Let me know if you find a good solution to that. I'd love to get some new ones, but I don't think they're available from Toyota.

Well, almost none of the under hood decals are available from Toyota. Looks like I'll have to have some custom made.

[Spiker Engineering]

Originally Posted by Speedy

Well, almost none of the under hood decals are available from Toyota. Looks like I'll have to have some custom made.

Make a few while you're at it, wink wink. Seriously, do you have a good source for that? Are you talking vinyl stickers, or metallic?

[Speedy]

Originally Posted by Spiker Engineering

Make a few while you're at it, wink wink. Seriously, do you have a good source for that? Are you talking vinyl stickers, or metallic?

I'm hoping the place I have in mind can mimic the factory metallic decal. I'll do vinyl as a backup option if I have to.

They've made me lots of custom stuff in the past.

[Spiker Engineering]

Originally Posted by Speedy

I'm hoping the place I have in mind can mimic the factory metallic decal. I'll do vinyl as a backup option if I have to.

They've made me lots of custom stuff in the past.

I'd seriously be interested in a second set if you can track it down. Seems like half the battle is finding an original label image for them to use.

PM me if you're up to this, I'll definitely split the expense with you.

[Speedy]

On the home stretch now.

[Speedy]

Finished up the valve cover gaskets, half moons, cam plugs, and paint. I wasn't sure how the red would look, but it turned out awesome. Just enough shows to be an accent in the engine bay. Not sure I'd have done red without the supercharger. Woulda probably gone with a metallic silver with the stock intake.

Valve cover gasket job was a lot easier than I expected. 3 outta 10 on a 10 point scale.

The VHT Wrinkle paint is very durable and went straight on the aluminum with no primer. I did use a heat gun to get the texture more uniform but it seems to have gotten even better after a couple drive cycles in the truck.

Next up I need to detail the engine bay to make sure I don't have any other oil leaks. Kinda hard to tell at the moment with all the gook from the valve cover leaks.

Video in 3rd post.

[brillo_76]

I like the red. Goes well with the super charger.

None of my engine bays are that clean, though. It would be almost impossible to be with the amount of dirt roads around here.

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