Was it aliens or sabotage? Valve Cover

I am a happy 3rd owner of a 2004 Tacoma. I bought it at 113,000 miles. I bought it from some oily bohunks near D.C. who put new tires and brakes on it. I took it to my local Toy dealership and spent $1200 getting the PCV, timing belt, and other things done to get it to its 120,000 check since the 90K was surely never done. I have been taking it to this dealership for 2 years, no one else has ever touched it. I drive about 80 miles a day to and fro for work, no heavy traffic at all. My best friend is a car guy, we have modified more trucks and cars since 1992 then we remember. He was with me when we bought the truck and inspected it thoroughly.

In May I took it in for an oil change. They told me my vale cover gaskets wear starting to leak and suggested a change to the trans pan. I did not have tie for it, I work and go to school F/T. IN late June I started noticing the smell of burning oil...not all the time and blamed it on the crappy car in front of me - it me feel better to tell myself that. Two weeks ago I bottled in more and more and decided to take it in, I could see leakage around the passenger's side cover. After a quote of $1200, my boy said "no way, we can fix it". I bought the parts and we proceeded to fix the truck today.

After removing the air intake and such he went to turn the bolts on the cover.....loose as a goose. He then tested the other 3 bolts - ALL the same, basically hand tightened. He went to the driver's side bolts, all 4 were also loose and essentially hand tightened.

I ask you....is it possible for all 8 bolts to be loose at the same time? The truck now has close to 170K.

We replaced the passenger side gasket as it leaked the most, but it was in great condition otherwise. We cleaned it all up, tightened the bolts and there it is, done. No leaks yet...

Thoughts on approaching the dealership with this is welcomed as well. The thing is, I, like many of us, work our jazzes off and do the right thing every day. I can be your best friend or worst enemy, the nice guy is pissed. But I really need input first on the probability of all 8 bolts coming lose.

Thank you,
Mik

 

Those bolts are specd for quite a low torque setting. Ive seen these bolts come loose a couple times on other rigs (tbh not that many). If the valve cover is leaking alot of people will tell you to check the bolts first and thats the reason why. Coming from a toyota dealership i would assume it was done to factory spec but you can never be sure can you.

 

I don't have my FSM at hand but I want to say they come in somewhere around 13 lb-ft. As mentioned by the previous poster, many people complain of leaky valve covers and it is often suggested to check the torque prior to going to the trouble of replacing the gaskets. There is a precedence for them to come loose overtime. Can't remember if the FSM calls for loctite.

Not sure what the dealership will do other than go in there and re-torque everything.

 

Mine were loose at 120,000 miles.....read multiple posts of others with same experience. I tightened the ones I could get to and after a year or so I replaced with new gaskets, bolts and grommets

 

Reading this I had to laugh a little. I had the exact same thing on my 94 years ago. I had the dealer in Everett do an oil change check up before hunting season. Got the old valve cover and rear main are seeping oil the engine will blow if you drive it!!! Quoted a grand to fix it? I knew there was some bs because I had just done the clutch and rear main 4 months earlier and was watching it like a hawk.
Long story short all the valve cover bolts were loose and the coolant temp sender was unplugged but not off.

The service manager was clueless and useless but I'm sure it was a revenue generating technic.

 

just an FYI, you can only tighten 8 of the 16 bolts that hold the valve covers down. The other 8 require removing the intake manifold to access. By the time you get done doing that, you might as well just replace the gaskets after you check the valves.

 

After reading this, im not surprised that you were getting best over a barrel by dealership service reps. The service writers and 'mechanics' at car dealerships are some of the biggest losers on the face of the earth. Its barely a step above Pepboys workers in some cases. The only difference is that they have all the expensive tools in their shop.

13ftlb is basically light hand tight. Whats the bolt size, M6? Anyone with experience working on cars will not use torque wrenches on this, typically tightening a little more then 13ftlb. Best advise is replace the valve cover yourself, and do the PCV valves at the same time if so inclined. A $1200 job you can do for less than $50 in a Saturday afternoon. If you dont know how, its ok, just read and read and read the FSM and other posts about the job.

A little tip when tightening pans or covers of any kind: tighten it in stages. Start from the center bolts and work outward. Aluminum especially will flex slightly as it is tightened down.

 

Wow I never knew I had so many friends that were losers I guess I should feel that I am in good company!!

 

Well present company excluded for what its worth. Though im not discriminating against Toyota dealers, ive met with plenty of dumbass 'master techs' at BMW and VW dealerships. Any dealership you go to, count on sub par service for over inflated prices.

 

I can agree with BMW techs being to full of them selves!!

 

When I went to change my valve cover the bolts were loose as well. I ended up snapping a few of them trying to reinstall (torquing correctly). I guess they got fatigued from 150k miles.

 

Wow....ok this is all very enlightening. I appreciate the feedback.

There is enough room for doubt about sabotage, but not proof. They could have looked and made a judgement based on perception, not fact (residue=leak) and not thought about/cared about checking the bolts.

Since my boy tightened them to specs, if there is an issue we will see it again....if not, then problem solved and Toyota is either incompetent or sabotaged the valve cover. This dealership is known for the former. Education and experience doe not = competence. We know dealerships and such work to ip-sell maintenance and products...I

Thank you for all the helpful feedback, much appreciated.

 

If dealerships are the worst mechanics, then what kind of places should someone take a vehicle to get serviced? I mean, other generic shops I assumed didn't have the experience and knowledge with toyota vehicles specifically.

 

Going off the internet, dealership service people are the worst. To get worse than them, go to a jiffy-shop. If you really want the worst possible, go to a mechanics shop. Pretty much anyone that turns a wrench for a living, is the worst and out to steal from you. But if you want to get the absolute worst, have someone who does the work themselves...

rinse and repeat

 

Regarding tightening valve cover bolts on a 3.4l, you can get to all but two of them (so you can tighten 14 of them, not 8 as previously mentioned) if you have loose ones....only the two directly under the intake manifold on the drivers side are unreachable. Ask me how I know this stuff. All mine were loose, got 14 tightened, will tackle new valve cover gaskets at a later date....really stemmed oil seepage big time... need 1/4 drive, various length 1/4 drive wobble extensions, 1/4 drive 10mm socket, small 10mm 25* offset ratchet wrench (cheap at Harbor Freight), big ass flashlight, and some patience and you gots to loosen the front engine cover to get to the one on the driver side front...really EZ peasey once I figured it out....these dang bolts just like to wiggle loose, especially if you have some miles on your engine, I got around 285,000, this is my second go round at tightening, next time gonna just go for it and replace the gaskets...

 

High priced tools and a national brand do not make a good mechanic, it can make any bum look like one though.

Working by a clock and under inept management can turn a good mechanic bad.

Education can improve the skills of a decent mechanic, but you cant fix stupid.

The best person performing as a mechanic is someone who has great pride in their work, is a little OCD, and doesn't have a corporate time clock weighing on their back.

 

All of mine were loose. Tightened 'em up and no more leaking.