valve cover gasket question.. loose bolts?

9

95bb2

New member
Hey guys, I noticed I had some oil leaking from my valve covers, I washed the side of the motor to keep an eye on it and it started leaking and i can smell oil burning on the surface of the motor. So I did a bit of research and found out how to replace them but I read about so many people having the bolts loose and causing a leak..

so I went out this afternoon and looked at mine, and ALL of them were loose to the point that they could be tightened by hand.. why is it that the bolts loosen up? It kind of scares me about what else could loosen up without me knowing..
 
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Hey there 95bb2, another thread recently popped up regarding this same issue. I posted a couple of links on it, and I'm feeling too lazy to post them again. Just read through a few responses. The VC bolts need to be torqued, but I can't remember the specs. Be careful with them as well, cuz they can be nasty if stripped.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/120841-valve-cover-gaskets.html

Oh, and if you're worried about anything else, I'd take a quick look at the 3rd Gen Buyer's Guide if you haven't done so yet. It addresses some issues that Runners are known to have. It's a sticky at the top of the forum. Good luck.
 
I was wondering why they loosen up as well. My hypothesis is that you first tighten the bolts, but after the engine has it's heat up and cool down cycle for a little while the rubber on the washers breaks down a little and then you end up with loose bolts. Either way though, you just need to tighten them back up again. If it's not too bad on the driver's side I would just tighten the lower 4 bolts. It's a bit of a PITA removing the intake manifold for the upper 4 bolts.
 
:D
I checked earlier to see if mine were loose and they were all snug but still oil leaking pretty bad. New seals are like 250-350 from what iv seen.

But yours may have loosened so much maybe from heat and pressure on them? I was thinking it could be something like that causing them to just get loose from over time, something like what scottyb said
 
thanks for all the info, I didn't have the correct specs so i tightened them very carefully so they wouldn't snap or break.
JasetheDamager said:
Hey there 95bb2, another thread recently popped up regarding this same issue. I posted a couple of links on it, and I'm feeling too lazy to post them again. Just read through a few responses. The VC bolts need to be torqued, but I can't remember the specs. Be careful with them as well, cuz they can be nasty if stripped.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/120841-valve-cover-gaskets.html

Oh, and if you're worried about anything else, I'd take a quick look at the 3rd Gen Buyer's Guide if you haven't done so yet. It addresses some issues that Runners are known to have. It's a sticky at the top of the forum. Good luck.
Click to expand...

and I went through that guide up and down like 299 times before i bought the car lol and even after, so I checked all of that out thank you! I'll look for the other thread and see whats up with the links
:keyboard:
 
I did mine snug, then additional 1/4 turn. That was when I first got it and it's been fine ever since. I'm not sure of the torque specs.
 
every 5vzfe i've worked on all have loose valve cover gasket bolts, and 90% of the time you just have to tighten them down (loctite wont work cuz of the heat) but the problen is you can only tighten the out side 8 bolts, cuz the inside are covered by the intake plenum. it is a PITA job to replace gasket, about 2-4 hours if you never done it b4.
 
jmildoc said:
2-4 hours isn't much for a job like that considering were mostly shade tree mechanics.
Click to expand...

the first time i did mine i took it super slow tagging all vacuum hoses, cleaning everything, i think the job took 8 hours, but i did couple after that for few member on the forum and it took about 30 mins, so thats how easy the job is if you done it b4.
 
the stealership mentioned i should replace my vc gaskets I checked them the other day while replacing my spark plugs and sure enough they were all finger loose. I gave them all a little tightening not too much will see if this works...
 
Mine were leaking really bad, and I bought the parts to replace them. Turns out, the bolts were just really loose. Since I had the intake off to tighten them all up anyways, I just replaced the gaskets. The last thing I wanted to do was tighten them, find out they still leaked, and have to pull everything off again.
 
My valve bolts were loose as well. Found drops of oil on the driver's side floor. Bolts were loose in the bottom half of the cover. I'm wondering if the upper bolts are loose as well. I tightened the bottom only because I didn't want to remove the intake. It temporarily fixed the problem. What can I add to the bolt to keep it torqued and not loosen? Buy new bolts? Would locktite be good for this application?
 
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cashflow50 said:
My valve bolts were loose as well. Found drops of oil on the driver's side floor. Bolts were loose in the bottom half of the cover. I'm wondering if the upper bolts are loose as well. I tightened the bottom only because I didn't want to remove the intake. It temporarily fixed the problem. What can I add to the bolt to keep it torqued and not loosen? Buy new bolts? Would locktite be good for this application?
Click to expand...

you will have to replace the vave cover gaskets and rétorque the bolts to 6 N-m or 53 inch pounds . And do not use loctite.it is not that difficult

here is a great writeup [MENTION=122940]ramonortiz55[/MENTION]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...cover-gaskets-true-write-up-**pictures**.html
 
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