2004 Toyota Highlander Valve Cover Gaskets

Great work...but why don't you use a WD 40 for the screws to soften them before opening so they don't break, perhaps?

If the issues is like this, we will stop opening such old engines because it is a problem and a waste of time. Greetings ..

The water in the end can be from Washer Water Pump

A couple of things, it looked like the bolts were shouldering before pulling tight, so you may have needed new crush washers, the torque in the Toyota manual says 96 in-lbs (8ft-lbs), also Toyota specifies that a Toyota 08826-00080 Seal Packing Black is used in the corners and a few other points to prevent leaks, but really nice to see a genuine video, so many videos of this it says remove the rear cover bolts and miraculously they are out. Well done for showing it how it is, as;o there are two half moons in each head at the right-hand end they need to be pulled and sealed as well.

About how many hours would you say it took to replace the gaskets minus your issue with the bolts?

the bolts for the valve cover need new washers. i learned that the hard way when working on my 1MZFE

10 out of 10 for tenacity , watching the drama with the bolts was edge of the seat stuff

What symptoms did you have? Was it leaking oil on the exhaust and smoking? Was the engine whining? I think my gasket may have given way recently on mine.

Excellent vid...thanks for all the details and issues you encountered...truly great

Great video. Getting ready to do this same job on my wife's 05 highlander. Just what I needed to see what I was getting myself into ahead of time. I've done worse (did valve cover gaskets on a '98 Mazda millenia once - supercharged engine so had a ungodly number of vacuum hoses to keep straight) but definitely doesn't look enjoyable.

I love that you included the problems you encountered along the way. Car repairs never seem to go as planned. Rusty bolts, rounded off heads, dropped tools, wrong parts, you name it. Not to mention when the final results are less than ideal. Great job on no cussing or complaining. Thank you for the video.

This video made me rethink ever trying to do this job myself. Let me call the mechanic and tell him I approve of the quote after all

Tom, thank you for making this video. I have been working on cars off and on for over forty years. This is nuts! I got out of the business because of things like this. I was planning on doing my own valve cover gaskets. Having seen what you just went through I plan on buying all the bolts for this job and sending it all to my mech. I just don't have the patience anymore. From one fellow Rhode Islander to another... Thank you for sparing me the pain and anguish. God speed.

I’m in the middle of this and your video will be helpful. However, I’ve already removed the two bolts on the front valve cover that you had so much problems with. My first attempt was using a vice-grip and it came right out. Those two bolts weren’t tight at all. Just a tip for others.

Thank you for this excellent video! Convinced me not to attempt this on my 04 Highlander!

Toyota valve cover bolts typically come with a "one-time use" crush washer, meaning the washer is designed to be replaced every time you remove and reinstall the valve cover bolts, as the metal in the washer compresses slightly when tightened, creating a proper seal and preventing leaks; it should not be reused as its sealing ability is compromised after the initial compression. Some people add a washer to the stack to get a bit more compression, or to compensate for old tired crushed washers in the stack. Always replace the bolts or the crush washer with a new one when removing and reinstalling the valve cover bolts. Reusing a crush washer can lead to leaks due to the compromised sealing ability from previous compressions.

Those two back plenum support bolts are infinitely easier with a ratcheting wrench! And for reinstall, get both started in. If you tighten them in any fashion, you will not get the other bolt started! And while this is apart, replace the riser seals, plugs and coils.

Did you try loosening motor mounts and swing the motor up towrd front end?

I didn’t see you put rtv in the corners by the camshaft

Did you reseal the 2 half moon seals?

What the hell are you doing by tightening the bolts into the bottom of the tapped hole??? that is not even close to duplicating the torque applied to the bolt when tightened through the valve cover mounting holes!!!

Спасибо. Вы, возможно делали очень сильную затяжку болтов. Поэтому резьба не выдержала. Или тот кто делал это до вас. Вы справились отлично. И исправили все поломки.