1st gen Tacoma - 3rd gen 4runner - swapping out valve cover gaskets - **Pictures!**

Well, here's how it's going, lol. I'm only getting about 4 hours of tolerable (to me) warm daylight temperatures, so I'm working in stages.
Day 1 - I got the valve covers off, with little to no cursing, bleeding, or other issues (2.5 hrs). Then another hour to clean the nasty ass grimy covers. The old tube seals were STUCK in the covers and are breaking off in tiny chunks with all the methods I have tried. Meanwhile, I made the decision to check the valve clearances on Day 1 also. My buddy who was helping me rushed through checking the clearances (improperly) and came up with some weird results, so since we were running out of daylight, I called it a day and decided to do some valve clearance research.

Day 2 - I checked the clearances by myself, with the help of Timmah's video and the FSM, etc. I did it for "fun" and "learning", hoping that they would all be in spec. But what I found has me in a state of slight annoyance, bc now I can't unsee what I have seen, hahahahaha!!! A few were out of spec (on the exhaust valves) and others were at tight end of tolerance, so now I am trying to decide if I wanna do anything about them or not.

Anyone interested in checking out these clearances and giving an opinion on where to go from here??

I'm inserting a pic of my very scientific clearance worksheet, but there are my main findings. Also, for more info, the truck has 230k, i know very little of its engine history (bought it 2 months ago), and I do have time to wait on parts/tools to arrive as I have another vehicle I can drive, even though having my truck down for even these 2 days has me already wanting to drive it again.

Exhaust (0.011 - 0.014")
1) 11/9
3) 11/9 (10 will go with much resist)
5) 13/12
2) 12.5/13
4) 10/12.5
6) 10/12

Intake (0.006 - 0.009")
1) 7/7
3) 7/7 (with slight resist)
5) 6/6
2) 8/8
4) 7/7
6) 8/8

And yes, I know half steps aren't really a thing, but they are helpful to my understanding of this project, as I'm a complete engine newbie.

Any help appreciated on analyzing these values is greatly appreciated. I've opened up a can of worms and trying to decide if I wanna just cinch this dang thing back up as is and feign ignorance about these clearances , or to order shims and appropriate tools and try to tackle this tedious math and fine-dexterity repair.

Oh, and I had to eyeball rotating the crank to 240 degrees and then another 240, so if anyone has a more precise way of doing this, lemme know!

Thanks, fellas! Happy Hump Day

 

Great write up, Just have one comment. Do you need to unbolt the Throttlebody from the Intake Manifold? Wouldn't you be able to just unhook the throttle body cables and leave it assembled with the upper manifold?

 

You can do this

 

yes

 

Thanks for the write up! Doing this job next weekend and feel much more confident after reading the posts and replies. Lots of great tips!

 

Do you have to drain coolant before doing this? I've seen mixed answers across the internet.

 

UPDATE: repair went great! Replaced the spark plugs while I was at it. Thanks for the help!

 

how long did it take you?

 

Most of Saturday, including a couple breaks to eat and whatnot. Took my time. I also did spark plugs while I was down there.

 

In post #120 Mistafier posted a copy of the invoice. It's a good list if anybody is going for Toyota parts. Also be sure to add Tesa tape, which I sourced from Amazon. I bought a similar list of part from Camelback Toyota (Phoenix) last February, with the only differences is that I added spark plug wires but didn't buy the half moons.

Since I'm numbers oriented, and I had my invoice in front of me, I compared Misty's line item prices against mine. On a same-same basis, it came in a $5 dollars cheaper from Camelback, before including my TW discount. It looks like the TW discount was another 3% reduction off that amount. I entered the entire order through their online system, including the TW discount code. In my case, shipping added another $20, but there was no sales tax (which I'm assuming is because it was an out of state order for me).

One interesting observation from comparing invoices is that the list price (full retail price) on the invoices can vary quite a lot. I always thought that dealer parts departments had similar list pricing but I guess not. For instance, Misty's invoice shows a list price of $41.83 for a single valve cover gasket! My invoice from Camelback shows $35.50. However the net pricing is within 50 cents of each other. I don't know if the dealer service departments charge full retail for customers who take their car in for service, but buyer beware!

 

Also, along with that Tesa tape, get some clamps from Napa. I got blue NGK spark wires from Rockauto.

Glad you had a good time comparing invoices! I typically use Boch Toyota to price out my parts online. They seem pretty comparable to Camelback pricing (not including the TW discount). Sometimes, Boch has been significantly less expensive. For example, right now I'm shopping bumper prices for an insurance claim from when this guy hit my parked truck last week. Camelback price is $764, Boch is $649.
I always order through my local dealer though, bc I want to keep my money local, plus they pricematch me exactly to Boch or Camelback's prices, or they come extremely close. Plus, that way I don't have to wait more than 24 hours on my parts to arrive, and of course no shipping costs. And I get to know the local fellas and they get to know me! They recognize me as soon as I call now lol (since I'm probably the only chick that calls about 1st gens and knows exact part numbers, etc).

Yes, buyer beware with the list prices. They always attempt to charge me the list price, but they already know I'm gonna ask them to price-match, which they readily do (Southern hospitality?). I guess they think they'll catch me slippin' one day lol.

 

Here's the quote from my local dealership for the valve cover gasket job (parts only). Obviously going to have to look elsewhere.

 

With online pricing, you would save somewhere around $350 in parts alone. Dude, if you have the time and space to do this job, why not do it yourself?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/N5fAXAuGozI

 

I am planning on it -- and your video is the reason. Thanks Timmah!

 

Very Nice Job, well done, for the future!

 

Thanks for making this guide. Looking to get this done over the weekend.

 

About to do this myself tomorrow or Friday. I'm not going to replace the camshaft plugs, plenum gaskets, or the half-moons and hope to re-use them.

I don't have the PCV plugs though, how critical is it to replace those when doing this job?

Any tips for the brittle wire harness on the driver's side? Really don't wanna crack it

 

You might as well replace everything while it's apart. Doesn't add much cost or time.

 

I'm preparing a parts order to do my valve cover gaskets soon. The parts lists and videos have been helpful.

Is it best to replace the 4 half moons and 2 camshaft seals rather than try to clean?

Any trick to scraping the old gasket off the engine side without dropping bits into the engine?

The old brittle plastic wiring looms sound like the biggest problem. I'm buying new wire looms, Tesa tape, and loom clamps as recommended. Will any other clamps besides these work? I prefer an Amazon or ebay order.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NW_784665

Any more 26 year old parts that could break on me? I'd like to get all parts and do it in one shot. I've done throttle body work, so most hoses I've been able to reach that far on the passenger side have been good or replaced. I'm more concerned about the driver side. Any hoses that will be newly accessible somewhere and worth replacing? (if you have the inside diameter that would be great)

 

Paint or powder? Get it done or DIY? I am in the middle of this job and I really like that look. It will probably be covered in mud and grime a lot but would look nice for a little lol.

Also to all those who want to put off this job, DON'T! Unless you live in like So Cal and mud isn't a thing. The time it's taking me to clean the center valley in the motor between mud and oil mixed together has taken so much time already.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr