Frustrating oil leak - Valve cover

Hey guys,

Anyone know the torque on the valve cover bolts for '04 Tacoma Prerunner V6?

They keep working loose on me and then oil seeps out onto the exhaust manifold. Really getting frustrating. I'm afraid of over torquing them but I'm sick of smelling burnt oil. The main area now is the rear of the RH valve cover. (When sitting in cab looking forward.)

Should I be doing something else? Replacing gasket etc..? I notice the bolt heads have what appear to be rubbe gaskets under them. Any advice is appreciated. Taking off the valve cover looks like it will be a bit of a pain.

And how would I keep the bolts from becoming loose again? Or once I tighten them correctly will they stay tight?

Thanks again,

Scott

 

Try using blue locktite.

 

I'm guessing that you need a new gasket. You have to be careful with how much torque you use on those bolts because it doesn't take much.

It should be 13 ft-lbs. If you overtighten it, it can cause the gasket to leak as well.

 

If I'm reading that right shouldn't it be 52 in lbs.? (For valve covers)

 

Forgive me for asking this stupid question, but what exactly does that do? It doesn't make it impossible to remove them later?

 

Blue Locktite is removeable, red is the kind that requires heat to remove.

 

You are correct. 52 in-pounds is the same as 4.33 ft-pounds.

 

I have the 3.4 in my T4R and replaced valve cover gaskets, re-sealed the cam plugs and half moons. It was leaking from the rear and running down to my exhaust manifold and rear main seal (which is what I thought was leaking at first). Check the link below it may help.

Link

 

Be carefull not to tighten valve covers to much or you will crack the valve cover. Sounds like you need new gaskets. Is it leaking by the firewall? If so take a small mirror,put it between firewall and valve cover and look for cracks. The area should be cleaned first with brake clean so you can see if it's cracked. Hope this helps.

 

Ok, I finally got an opportunity to read through all this. It's like watching Youtube videos where one vid takes you to another vid and so on. I kept hitting links to additional great write ups. Lots of great info there.

The key for me will be to try and have everything I possibly need before getting started. I hate having to jump into the wife's car and run into town and get some little part or sealant or something.

I have a couple of questions.

The half moons, I've seen them referenced a few times but I don't think I've seen where they actually go in the head. Are they dabbed with sealant?

Also I watched a couple of videos last night and they both mentioned that no sealant should be used on the cover gasket itself, does everyone agree with that?

Thanks (as always) to everyone that helped me out here and offered advice. A great community here.

 

What did you end up doing on the halfmoons? Just some sealant around them with the VC gaskets?

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't dealt with it yet. I just monitor it, it's not leaking much. Some day. 160k miles.

 

There are eight easily accessible valve cover bolts. In order to properly tighten all of the bolts, including the ones you can't see, you have to remove the intake manifold. By then you should just go ahead and replace the gaskets. There are sixteen total valve cover bolts in all.

 

Same thing happened to me after hours with a flashlight and camera I found valve cover was actually cracked