I have a very clean 1997 ES300 with 99,000 miles on it.

I had a smell of burnt oil after driving for awhile. It appears that the rear valve cover gasket has a small leak in or near the center of the rear valve cover gasket which will drip on the exhaust manifold. (by the way hot oil on an exhaust manifold will and can start a fire)

I purchased both cover gaskets, intake gaskets and the plug tube seals (they most likely will be hard and need replacing).

I read that a sealer is also used in some locations on the cover, but don't know where it's used.

I talked to the parts dealer at lexus when purchasing the parts and he said that they do not use a sealer. Is he just selling parts and don't know how to install them?

Should a good sealer be used with the new gasket? and why? If the gasket is installed and torqued correctly it shouldn't leak, should it?

I'm going to replace the cover gaskets next week, and could use the information.
If I do need to use a sealer, what brand? I don't want it to leak when the job is done.
Any information will be useful.

Thanks,

 

It might also be leaking at the cam seals which would required a lot more work....removal of the cam gear/sprocket...which would require the removal of timing belt.

The RTV sealant is used on area where it is not flat....around the cam and the half-moon plug.

 

I hope you got more than just the valve cover gaskets. You're gonna have to take the intake off to get to that rear cover, which will ruin more gaskets. It's a HUGE PITA job.

Swap in a fresh set of plugs while you're there.

 

You must use sealant, otherwise it will leak, especially from the rear cover. The half moon plugs also sometimes leak and need to be re-sealed, see image.

 

I just recently took my car to the Toyota dealer and they did a valve adjustment and I noticed they used a sealer for the valve covers. I dont know what kind of sealer they used, just an FYI.

 

The Toyota part# of the sealer is 08826-00080. Permatex makes a bunch of products, you can use their gray or black sealant it will work fine. The Gray Ultra would probably be closest to the OEM stuff. They also make a product for use with rubber gaskets but I've never used it.

 

Thanks Rookie,

That's the information I was looking for.

It is the rear valve cover leaking is the center area of the cover. I used a borescope to check where the leak is coming from. You can see where the oil has dripped down onto the exhaust manifold.

Thanks again,

 

I just did this job a few weeks ago. You do NOT need to remove the intake manifold as KLF suggested. You just need to remove the intake plenum, which you know already and have the gasket for.

Not too difficult of a job, just time consuming. Be sure to use the sealant as directed. I used orange RTV and so far it has no leaks. When my friend did his ES300, he did not use the sealant on his valve covers. He was a bit paranoid and wanted to do the job over, but we inspected them after a few thousand miles and did not discover any leaks; however definitely use the sealant.

 

Terribly sorry, first for using the wrong term (I should know better), and second for not thoroughly reading the initial post where you mention you have the intake gaskets. Yeah it's the plenum that will need to come off only, not the entire intake.

Let's see if I can redeem my self:

I have the complete FSM (Factory Service Manual) for this car from Lexus, it describes using a "seal packing" around the 4 semi-circular plugs (2 on each head) as you re-install them, and at the edges of these plugs just before putting the valve covers back on. You also need to apply some at the right angle bend in the gasket, where it goes around the cam bearing caps. The part number for the sealant is 08826-00080, although I always use Permatex, I prefer the gray "Right Stuff" sealant in the cheez-wiz type can. Works great on oil pans too.

Same issue with the good ol' 22R-series engine, of which I've rebuilt many (doing one now).