3vzfe rear rocker cover gasket

[Tomee]

hey guys,

our 96 camry has a rear rocker cover gasket leak.
ive already replaced the front cover, but now the rear ones leaking.

how hard of a job is it for the rear cover? looks like i have to take off the intake manifold just to get to it.

how hard of a job is it? any special things i need for this?


any help appreciated
thanks

[JetspeedCamry]

No special tools really. Just some deep sockets for the plenum and assorted spanners and screwdrivers. You don't need to take the manifold off, just intake plenum. It's a bit of a long job if you've never done it before. Just make sure you remember where all the hoses go (label with tape or marks). Once you get the cam cover off, replace your gasket and it's prudent to also replace the rear spark plugs (put platinums in so they last longer) and also any other seals you can see that need replacement.

[Gavatron]

As on PF

[Mr Revhead]

yeah do the plugs at the same time
dotn forget to buy new inlet gaskets as well
you need ot replace those when you remove the intake

[Tomee]

thanks guys

i did the spark plugs about 40k back, so dont need to replace them

[Tomee]

one more thing i forgot to ask, do i need to get torque specs for anything once i put it back together?

[JetspeedCamry]

Toyota specifies torque specs for the cam cover and for the intake plenum. Both aren't too tight though and i just go by feel. You can tell when it's on right. The Cam cover doesn't require much at all, almost finger tight then another half turn.
Make sure you tighten them in a cross pattern just like wheel nuts.

[Tomee]

thanks jetspeed.

do i need to drain coolant, because doesnt a coolant pipe run to the throttle body?

[JetspeedCamry]

It sure does, but i never dumped my coolant and i've done it many times now. Just disconnect the lines to the TB and chuck a bolt or screw in the hose to cap it off and stop is draining out.

[Tomee]

ok ive got everything out, except the damn cover!
the plastic conduit that holds the wiring loom is stopping me from taking the cover off!!!
grrr
ive tried stretching the loom and moving the metal pipe behind it, but theres not enough of a gap



how did you do it jetspeed!??
help please

[JetspeedCamry]

It's quite tight yeah. Just make sure that all the bolts and nuts are off from that loom. Take the injector plugs off and try moving that section out of the way. It's then simple a matter of pulling the cam cover off to clear the studs/or bolts in your case and then out from under the loom.
It may help to disconnect things off that loom, or even move a hose or two. Mine was tricky aswell and the loom is stiff, but on mine, there is room to get it out.

Stealth Edit: Also, is the cam cover loose at all? If it's not budging it may be because the gasket it stuck to it still. Try prying it with a flat screwdriver (trying not to damage the matting surfaces) and then go from there.

[Tomee]

yeah ive undid the clips taht hold that loom over the cam cover, but that only budged a little.
i couldnt find anything taht i could disconnect from the loom. what a bitch of a job!


i can get the cover off on the passenger side, but when i try to take the drivers side it get stuck under the damn lume, because of the plastic bit and pipe behind it.
the pipes dont move much either

[Tomee]

hey jetspeed, finally got the cover off and manged to change the gasket

i tightened them in a cross pattern and checked all were pretty snug.
after i put the plenum back on i noticed the back part of teh cover looked like the bolts got tightened more than the front 4, how much of an effect will this have with leaks again?
they bolts werent tighted very much.

[JetspeedCamry]

Bet it was a tight one to get it off
Seeing as you have the plenum on, just leave it and see if theres any leaks. Technically, they should be all the same to stop the gasket from deforming, which can cause premature leaks later on. It wouldn't take much to just nip up the top ones, or most likely a better idea, loosen the others. As i said, they don't have to be that tight...just finger tighten them up and then 1 half turn - 1 turn for each again in a cross pattern.

[Razor]

I want to do this on my camry as well, just got all the gaskets
I was hoping theres more pics and step by step procedure...
maybe I'll just ask my mechanic, seems like a pain in the ass job