just looked at three of the same cars today.?

the 1999 toyota had a leak from the front valve cover ( the only one that i can see) on all threee of these though. sure they all had mileage, i am just curious if it is a common leak and if there ia a solution to the issue. i will be replacing both gaskets unless i am told otherwise.

2011-03-30T19:09:29Z

alright jeremy i am well versed in how to replace a valve cover gasket, but you skipped one thing, you have to pull the intake plenum off first which is why i went this route to see if any one knows of an updated repair on it rather than the gasket swap every 30,000 miles. i just drove it home today.

2011-03-31T21:09:58Z

two days later, take it for a road trip and it drove very well with out any problem. it even got decent fuel mileage considering the load. i will be doing the valve covers and upper plenum gasket along with plugs and an oil change very soon here, i was asking if there was a better gasket out there for this situation.

Anonymous2011-03-30T18:31:09Z

Favorite Answer

It's common on a lot of vehicles. You unbolt the valve cover, clean the area, and replace with the new seal, be careful not to pinch or let it roll on itself. Torque it down snug, clean the area, drive it, check it in a couple of days for oil leaking and torque it down a bit more where needed. Some cars also require RTV, you'll have to check with a parts store.

02

going_for_baroque2011-03-31T03:41:37Z

I think any stamped steel valve cover is subject to leaking, if you get a bit ham-fisted and overtorque the bolts through the gasket. I've done the "tighten gently, then see if it leaks" thing. it works, after a fashion.

If you're up to it, you can fab yourself a large "washer" to go over the valve covers and give you some thickness right where you need it- along the head. The next option is to get cast valve covers. The cast ones have an advantage that they frequently have cooling fins, though I don't know how effective those are.

I'd use plenty of gasket sealer on the valve cover, the gasket (both sides) and the head. If I didn't like the gasket material, I'd make my own gaskets, even if that takes some extra effort. I'd like to see at least 1mm of gasket material below the level of the valve cover edge so when you tighten the bolts to the head, you can eyeball how much the gasket material is compressed, not distorted.

Take care!

10

gregory_dittman2011-03-30T23:55:50Z

I Googled "1999 Toyota leak" and came with 114,000 hits. Of course many are duplicates, but that's probably near the number of those cars that were sold in the U.S.

03

george w2011-03-31T00:10:14Z

Seems to be a common problem in those car.

02

the macho man2011-03-30T23:59:02Z

it is sum what common for toyota's to have that problem

02

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