2001 Camry Valve Cover
 

Folks:

Replaced the right side valve cover gasket (nearest the firewall) last weekend on my 2001 Camry 6 cylinder engine. I used a Felpro gasket set from Auto Zone. I also replaced the piston tube seals in the cover and replaced all 6 spark plugs. After back together, the leak is worse than before I replaced the gasket:(. I did use some Permatex silicone type sealer on the corners on either side of the camshaft and at the 4 recommended spots on the other end. When I tightened the 6 valve cover hold down bolts, I turned them all the way to a hard stop (didn't take much torque and I only used a 1/4 drive 10mm socket to tighten them. And it appeared that it was designed to tighten all bolts to the same amount such that the valve cover has the same clearance all the way around it once tightened).

From reading the above description where did I go wrong? Should I have gone to the Toyota dealer and gotten an official Toyota replacement gasket set? Is there a trick to this that I missed? Oh also, after tightening the valve cover bolts you can still clearly see the red rubber valve cover gasket as it appears to have some clearance between the bottom of the valve cover and the head.

Finally, using a torque wrench would not have been possible as the only way I could tighten the valve cover bolts nearest the firewall was with a 1/4" drive 10mm Snapon swivel socket

Thanks in advance for your repsonses!!

Roger

Hey Roger, I know it's a little late, but if you're still interested, I've got a 2000 Camry 4-cyl, but I've replaced the valve cover twice. So, I may not be the best guy to talk specifics about your V6, but maybe I can help with valve covering in general.

First, which of Permatex's sealers did you use? I'm wondering if it was something other than their "Gasket Maker" which is designed to be an RTV-replacement. That would likely cause a leak (you know, if you used their "Black Silicone Adhesive Sealant" by mistake, even though it says RTV on it).

Seeing the gasket underneath the valve cover's normal. RTV may also leak out a little. How well did you clean out the old RTV from those four recommended spots? Making sure you clean all of that out is important...but you also have to be careful not to damage either the valve cover or the head. Either improperly cleaned or damaged parts could cause a leak.

A torque wrench is important. So, it's possible that too little torque didn't seal the gasket causing a leak. Or, too much torque damaged the gasket and caused the leak. From your description, it sounds like there's precious little room for a big torque wrench. Since Toyota was able to torque it down, they may have invented a special tool. Auto-Zone has a tool borrowing program, which may come in handy in the future. I'm not sure about the piston seals, but leaky spark plugs could also be because of improper torque.

But with or without a torque wrench, in what order did you tighten the bolts? Often, there's a recommended order in which to tighten them (much like the star pattern you follow when tightening the lug nuts on your wheels)...then, you have to go back and re-tighten/re-check them becuase the other bolts and gasket have settled & shifted in the process. Failure to tighten them in order, or re-check them could cause a leak.

Did you replace the gasket by yourself or with someone? The last time I did mine, I had my brother help me. It definitely made it easier to ensure I/we didn't shift the gasket in the process (with two pairs of hands and two pairs of eyes). A shifted gasket obviously could cause a leak.

Do you have a Chilton/Haynes manual or the shop manuals for your car? Although not perfect, those'll often have a few tips for the job. If you don't and/or don't want to spend the $$ for the shop manuals, public libraries usually carry (or will special request) the Chilton/Haynes for you.
-Chris

Hello Chris,

I finally got around this weekend to replacing the valve cover gasket for the 2nd time.

Thanks for the suggestions. I really appreciate your taking the time to post such a detailed response. I feel like I did everything right the first time. This time I decided to try an official Toyota gasket as someone suggested earlier. I also went ahead and paid the $ to get some official Toyota gasket sealer. I just got it together and haven't run it long enough to check for leaks.

I'll post the results as soon as I can.

Regards,
Roger