CharlotteFire
New member
So I went to toyota of charlotte today to get a oil change and they said my Valve Cover Gasket was leaking oil....Is this a big deal? Is it hard to change myself? They wanted $670.00 to do the job!
Valve Cover Gasket is leaking oil....
- Thread starter CharlotteFire
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jsmarine
New member
well heres the part if you are thinking of doing it yourself: 96-02 Toyota 4-Runner T100 3.4 5VZFE Valve Cover Gasket : eBay Motors (item 250560559180 end time Apr-08-10 15:48:17 PDT)
hairysrunner
New member
If you have the 4 cylinder it's a piece of cake.
Mine is leaking too. I plan to do it once I find a valve cover. It's cracked.
Take your time and save yourself alot of money. Good luck.
Mine is leaking too. I plan to do it once I find a valve cover. It's cracked.
Take your time and save yourself alot of money. Good luck.
CharlotteFire
New member
Yeah, it is the 3.4....I looked on how to do it and looks like a lot of stuff. I don't have a garage which sucks. It's not leaking too much...will it be fine?
Clemsonfan15
New member
I was told mine was leaking probably two years ago. I haven't done anything about it. You should be good for a while.
I'm sure another auto shop would do it for less though.
I'm sure another auto shop would do it for less though.
CharlotteFire
New member
Sounds good, I'm gonna leave it be.
seymourwaterz
New member
Mine had a small leak when i started using Mobil 1 (not saying it caused it) I gave the cover nuts a nice turn and the leaking stopped. This was last year. The area where it was leaking the nut was pretty loose..
Mandelbaum
New member
Oil leaking due to bad valve cover gaskets can get into the spark plug holes and cause some arcing issues. That will lead to misfires and some check engine lights.
stir_fry_boy
New member
It's not hard. I would try to tighten the bolts first, retorque to about 60 in-lb. If it's still leaking, then replace them. It's more tedious than anything.
These engine's aren't hard to wrench on. Take your time, mark bolt/hoses, and replace them yourself if anything. Leaks are super common as mentioned due to the weak torque spec's and time/vibration. Don't crank on the bolts, the valve covers will crack and you'll have a new bigger problem.
I torque mine with an extension and my hand only.
I torque mine with an extension and my hand only.
Or get a inch pound torque wrench for $20 from harbor freight [emoji14]
I suppose either would work
The vcg job isn't that straight forward if you don't normally wrench on a decently regular basis...there are a decent amount of vacuum lines, coolant lines on throttle body, electrical connectors, fuel rail, the covers being a pain to get out and back in, the half moons and all that jazz, etc.
It's only easy when you can't put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't wrench at all, which often happens on this site since most who frequent here are wrenching enthusiasts
[MENTION=136525]nbizzle[/MENTION], if you're going to for sure pay for this... I suggest you go to the regional section and find an AZ thread and ask for mechanic references there. Find people in your area like [MENTION=79826]absalom[/MENTION].
A shop is going to try to slam you on this, try to find one of those "out of their home" garage mechanics. Otherwise, as he said above... wrenching on a Toyota is not impossible, especially the 3rd gen 4runners if you want to get your hands dirty.
Try to tighten the bolts as 99Runnr said first. ,Be careful with what force you use.
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Or get a inch pound torque wrench for $20 from harbor freight [emoji14]
I suppose either would work
The vcg job isn't that straight forward if you don't normally wrench on a decently regular basis...there are a decent amount of vacuum lines, coolant lines on throttle body, electrical connectors, fuel rail, the covers being a pain to get out and back in, the half moons and all that jazz, etc.
It's only easy when you can't put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't wrench at all, which often happens on this site since most who frequent here are wrenching enthusiasts
[MENTION=136525]nbizzle[/MENTION], if you're going to for sure pay for this... I suggest you go to the regional section and find an AZ thread and ask for mechanic references there. Find people in your area like [MENTION=79826]absalom[/MENTION].
A shop is going to try to slam you on this, try to find one of those "out of their home" garage mechanics. Otherwise, as he said above... wrenching on a Toyota is not impossible, especially the 3rd gen 4runners if you want to get your hands dirty.
Try to tighten the bolts as 99Runnr said first. ,Be careful with what force you use.
Thank you! I do understand that one of the things that is so appealing to many regarding these four runners are the ease at which they can be worked on. But yeah, I'm not that handy and I certainly don't want to mess something up. At the same time I'm always glad to hear suggestions and tips when someone thinks a job is easy to do. It can be motivating. I just bought this 2000 4runner 161,000 miles 3rd owner all service done at the dealer, last timing belt done at 60,??? miles. I think it's due for another timing belt. Before I bought it for $5,500.00 I was almost ready to give up on looking for a quality 96-2002 4runner. In fact I was at a dealership getting ready to buy a 2004 4.0 for $8,500.00 but said I wanted to look at my computer and found this one. So, I bought it. It's super clean and sounds great, all AZ car no rust, but the valve covers are leaking, I can see that the dealership diagnosed this about a year ago and the last owner swore he hasn't had to out any oil in between oil changes in the 3 years he's owned it. So, I figured with the 3k I saved by not buying the 04 I could put some money into this 2000 and make it last for a good 100k. To me it looks like the rear main may be leaking as well but that could be from the valve gasket covers. I want to make it leak and seepage free but I want to know the most reasonable, trustworthy place to go. I would be super happy if [MENTION=79826]absalom[/MENTION] could give me some advice. I live just like 30 minutes from Scottsdale and am willing to travel to anywhere in the Phoenix valley for good work. Thanks for your words of wisdom and any advice is welcome. Thanks again!
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I believe this is what caused mine to blow a plug out..
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?t=153419
Really! Thats awesome! You mean camelback Toyota? And what are your available times?
absalom
New member
We're painting a 4runner at my bud's place in Tempe next Monday. If you bring it by there, we should be able to help you tackle it in between coats.
