LexBrett

Hi All,
I tried to take off my drivers side valve cover to repair the leaking gasket.
But there is so much junk in the way I could not get to it.
It was really hard.
Any tips on how to get to the drivers side valve cover?
Is there a trick to this?

Thanks!

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

From what I remember the harness has to be moved up a little to access the bolts. trace the harness on that side towards the back of the motor and there will be screws securing it down.. start by unbolting those and work your way towards the front of the motor. Unplug connectors to the coils and shift it up away from the valve cover. You should be able to remove the bolts for the valve cover at this point and have enough room to slide the valve cover up and off.

LexBrett

I took off about a half dozen 10mm bolts but then couldn't find the connection for a wire towards the front of the car. I guess I need to either get under the car or use flashlight. There is also a big connector I couldn't get off closest to the driver, furthest from front of car.

Hard to explain guess I will need to take pics next time. But any words of advice?

LexBrett

Do you mean the connectors with clips to the coils that audibly click on or off? Or are there connectors somewhere else on the other end of the wire?

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

I don't remember the big connector but the connectors to the coils which go to the sparkplugs. Removing those connectors will help you move the harness up and should have enough room for the valve cover.

LexBrett

Ok I see what you mean. I should be able to wiggle the valve cover out of there. Towards the front of the car, were you able to remove all the connections to the harness? I was able to locate and remove all except for one that runs down under the car in some mysterious maze pattern..

What do you think about putting dielectric grease on the connections?
Also what wrench did you use to get to the 10mm bolts on the lower portion of the valve cover? Looks like some acrobatics could be involved :-)

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

You don't need to unhook everything really, just enough to move the harness up. Also the plastic wire loom around the wires might crack if they are really dry and fall off.. its no big deal just shake whatever needs to fall off before the valve cover comes off and vacuum the stuff out. You dont want it going into the head.
I put dielectric grease on all the connectors as well as on the coils where it mates with the sparkplugs.

LexBrett

Yes, I was able to move up the harness but it would have been tight getting out the valve cover.

I'm worried because when I apply the permatex sealant it could smear if I do not have unobstructed access.

Maybe I am over thinking this!

LexBrett

So you really spray the dielectric grease directly on the electrical connectors, coils, etc? I take it that this liquid is conductive!

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

Permatex sealant? I didn't use any permatex sealant. I didn't see any signs of sealant that was used prior either. I just replaced the valve cover gasket. I did put some loctite blue on the valve cover bolts though. They back out over time. I think you are over thinking it.

Dielectric grease is a non-conductive, silicone-based grease that's designed to seal out moisture and prevent corrosion on electrical connectors. It also disrupts the flow of electrical current, which makes it good for lubricating and sealing the rubber parts of electrical connectors. So at the end of the coil I just smear a little dielectric grease before putting it back in. I have not used the sprayable kind I use the regular one you get in a tube.

"The grease is applied to the rubber boot of the plug wire. This helps the rubber boot slide onto the ceramic insulator of the plug. The grease also acts to seal the rubber boot, while at the same time preventing the rubber from becoming stuck to the ceramic. Generally spark plugs are located in areas of high temperature, and the grease is formulated to withstand the temperature range expected. It can be applied to the actual contact as well, because the contact pressure is sufficient to penetrate the grease. Doing so on such high pressure contact surfaces between different metals has the advantage of sealing the contact area against electrolytes that might cause rapid galvanic corrosion." - source: wikipedia

LexBrett

Most of the DIY videos of valve cover gasket changes say to put permatex sealant. But then there is the felpro website that says no sealant should be used...

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

I didn't see any sealant residue on the gasket or valve cover. Haven't seen any mention of it in the service manual either.

LexBrett

Good to know thank you!!

Do you happen to have the chapter in the service manual I could check out?

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

I don't have it really. I looked it up on alldata at a friend's shop. You can also call Lexus and talk to a service tech and he'll be able to tell you the same.

Bgw70

My two cents on dielectric grease. I understand what they wrote in the Wikipedia definition...but I do not use a spray, mine is a tube and I put the grease on a q-tip or similar and apply the grease to the end of the boot or rubber area of the connector. I never apply any grease to the metal mating surfaces because the grease is not conductive and thus has the potential to raise resistance between the two metal surfaces.

Think about it this way, we always want a better spark on the plugs, right? Then why take the chance of reducing it by adding a non-conductive material to the current flow?