Tappet Cover Gasket

[fishtank Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishtank]

Ive been told I have leaky tappet cover gaskets but I have had a hard time finding exactly where they are and if they can be ordered on their own. Online searches seem to point to the Rocker cover gaskets. Are they usually changed at the same time or part of a rocker cover gasket kit? Also havnt been able to find them in the Toyota manual I looked around the rocker cover gasket section but no mention of these tappet cover gaskets.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

thanks!

[pradosteve97 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pradosteve97]

there the same item just different terminology you'll also want the plenum gasket as you have to take the top of the plenum off to get the cover off, a good time to check the valve clearances get the kit that has the rubbers for the bolts and spark plugs with it, some mobs will sell you just the gasket.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Do you plan on doing this job yourself with a mate to save some $? It's not overly difficult but does require attention to detail. By the sounds of it you don't know your way around an engine bay too well (with all due respect). If you have a mate who does and is willing to give up some of his time then that's all you need.
Tappet covers are rocker covers. They were called Tappet covers in older terminology I believe. When I did mine due to an oil leak I bought a rocker cover gasket kit for about $100 which also came with the seals for the spark plugs too and new rubbers for the rocker cover bolts. This is the time to buy 6 new spark plugs and replace them too while you've got the plenum chamber off. Buy a can of MAF sensor cleaner too and give the sensor a spray clean when you remove the air intake pipe from the air filter housing.

If your tool kit is fairly standard then you'll need some additional tools to do this job.
A 32mm socket for seating the new spark plug seals. You've got to grease the new seals and tap them in place. You cannot do it with them dry. If you don't have grease on the day some engine oil may substitute. Take care not to damage the soft alloy of the rocker cover. You may need to give the removed covers a good degrease and scrub with a wire brush to get old oil leak gunk off.
Some differing length socket adapters and a multi angled bending socket adapter (can't remember the correct names for these). You'll have a difficult to get to rocker cover bolt or three.
Buy a tube of automotive gasket maker. You'll need a caulking gun for applying.
A spark plug socket to suit the spark plug size. From memory 16mm but don't quote me on that.
Buy a magnetic rod bolt retrieval tool for a couple of bucks from Super Cheap. It makes it easy to pull the loosened spark plugs out.
A must.... Buy a torque wrench for this job. Can get a cheap one for $60.
You'll need a Hayne's manual which aids with this job and more importantly lists the correct torque setting for each bolt.
Get some heat resistant tape to tape up and protect the wire harness that the existing plastic shroud covers that will inevitably bust apart from brittleness when you try and move it to get the rocker covers off.
Use masking tape to wrap around every bolt you take out of the plenum and so forth and number it starting at #1 and put each bolt in a bucket so you don't lose any. Write the same number in Nicko pen or white paint marker next to where the bolt came out of.
Make sure you've got a good light source you can hang up above the back of the motor. Something really bright, so if you do this job into the night you'll be able to see things better than in broad daylight.
Don't be too shy when applying the sealant to the nooks and crannies of the half moons. If you go too light here your leak may persist. You don't want to have to do this job twice in rapid succession.

I think I covered everything.
If you're leaking a small trickle of oil from your engine oil filler cap some weeks afterwards, that's because you slightly damaged it when hammering the spark plug seals into the rocker cover to seat them. Just buy a new filler cap from super cheap and it'll fix the problem. A few bucks and they also look exactly the same as the one the car came with.
Patience, a steady hand and attention to detail will see you successfully complete this job.

I did it on the beers with a mate for my car late into the night once. We started at 7pm on a Friday night and adjourned at 2am the next morning. Then finished up during 2-3 hrs later that morning after we woke up. We fiddled around a bit with the side jobs which can take up some time. The spark plug seals took us a little while. Mine were stubborn to re-seat. And cleaning the rocker covers up to their original shiny glory took some time too. We also spent considerable time cleaning the engine block mating surface thoroughly with metho and rags. Just wanted to make sure we only had to do this gasket replacement the once and not revisit the job to fix something we didn't do properly.

Watch some YouTube videos on this job. Search 5VZ-FE rocker cover and you'll see videos of this work being performed on the same engine you have. A very handy reference.

[fishtank Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishtank]

Yeah I think you covered everything!! Thanks a bunch!!!

I've only really done brakes, oil, diff fluid, etc these bloody Toyota engines always seem so crammed in I usually pay someone to do it but a new co worker used to be a mechanic so I'm gonna hit him up for help. I can also afford to take my time I live close to work so I don't need the prado on a daily basis.

What confused me was the mechanic I took it to said something about the rocker covers being ok but the tappets underneath were the source of my leak. I don't know maybe I misheard him. Had some bad leaks from just under the 8 bolts (4 each side) of the rocker covers????? I tightened them up and they stopped but she is still leaking from somewhere I cannot see.

Again thanks a heap for your help.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Yeah V6 engines don't leave you with much room around them to get your hands into places. My wife's X-Trail is a dream to work on. You've got an acre of room around the engine. Just like the old days with 80's models 4 cyl engines. Your work mate being an ex mechanic will be a god send and he'll have just about every tool required. You'll learn a lot off that bloke and having the added bonus of being able to leave the car at home in pieces if need be is brilliant. If you absolutely need to have it back together then working on it over a weekend can be a bit pressing at times for larger jobs like timing belts and water pumps at the same time. No rest for the wicked there if you start Sat morning and need to have it all back together by Sun afternoon/night. Dordle with a job like that and you fall behind and start running out of time before you know it.

The rocker cover gasket leaks tend to be at the back half moon moulds from my experience. Hard to spot, but the blow back of oil from driving after a bit of time leaking can make it look much worse than what it is.

Best of luck with it mate. Rolling up your sleeves and sinking your teeth into a job like this to gain experience will make you begin to look at engines a little different to how to used to when just doing fluid changes. You'll enjoy it and the best part is you'll learn a few things that you won't need to pay others to do for you anymore. You'll also learn how to change spark plugs yourself (if you do them at the same time), and also plug leads and coil packs if you ever have to as you'll have your hands on them during the process of this job. Very handy things to learn and it all saves you money, and one day you'll be able to help someone else with this. The only way to really learn is to do it yourself, so good on you for having the guts to give it a go. Let us know how you go and let us know of anything you come across that you think others doing this for the first time will need to be mindful of.