I avoided this job because I just couldn't never find the time. One night while changing the oil I decided to take 1/4 drive and try to tighten the valve cover bolts, it solved about 90% of my problem. Love your channel.
My outside valve cover bolts were loose. The inside bolts were fine. Ever since I did that, no more smoke at startup, no more oil in my intake system. No more having to constantly top off the engine oil. I've been looking on Toyota forums for months and just randomly finding your comment put some extra life in my 276,000mi 2001 4Runner.
Austin that is one fine video. It is especially good for someone like me who is a mechanic who does not normally work on Toyotas. The beauty of your video is the almost total lack of redundant chatter. There are other videos which are also good but yours covers the bare bones concisely and rapidly. Thank you!
Ive been putting it just because ive been busy , but finally picked up the knock sensors also , finally going to do this on my 96 sr5 5speed with 360 k on it, truck still runs like new
You made it look Easy. With the base stance and height the Toyota’s are a lot easier to service. I hate standing on a stool and leaning over a engine compartment. I’ll be glad to see the warm weather come back.🌞
Yea and i thought a 6” lift was gonna be a good idea.. now my short ass has to mount the damn motor to do any work on it on top end.. under i can sit up straight and change the oil.. so theres that.. plus i can drive over top of a prius so theres that also..
Great video!!! You make it look easy. About the locks: before you replace the actuators, take the door panel off and spray all the interior mechanisms with spray lithium grease. It solved the issue for me. It might save you the trouble and expense.
Just did it on my 99 last Friday. 190k miles so far. Just bought the truck 2 weeks ago. Wasn’t hard but the plastic on the harness was very brittle a lot of it broke off
I got my 00 Limited in 2018 with 203k miles and is been great. I did a lot of preventative maintenance but these old girls are worth it. Another thing I recommend is checking the driver s side CV shaft at the differential for some play. The driver's side CV shaft is supported by a needle bearing at the differential and they go bad. EAST Coast Gear Company makes a coated bushing that replaced the needle bearing and it's not expensive. The passenger side CV shaft is supported by a ball bearing and doesn't fail as soon as the needle bearing. Buying Toyota factory parts is actually very reasonable when bought through Camelback Toyota or McGeorge. Also, don't be surprised if you need to do rear axle seals soon. I highly be recommend buying a Harbor Freight presses (if you don't already have a press), the appropriate press fixtures and doing it yourself. It's not hard and most shops will probably fail to do it correctly. A local garage failed three times with mine. I did once and successfully fixed it. Do it yourself.....
Love these Toyota videos! The previous owner had the timing belt replaced. Not sure why they'd go that far into a repair and NOT replace the valve cover gaskets is beyond me.
Tho it may seem like you could just change those gaskets but the timing belt and valve gaskets are two different animals. Not that hard but a good task.
@@efil4kizum you're probably right, but it would make sense to me to go ahead and replace them, leaking or not, since I've already got the top of the engine taken apart.
Am needing to replace fuel injectors and your video showing the removal of the plenums made me less intimidated to remove them. Thanks for the clear view while doing your work.
nice video! i would of given that throttle body a good clean and replaced the gasket while it was out. It can make a big difference in smoothness. thanks for the video!
This was awesome. Thanks. I have the same 4runner. Discovered the same thing about having to manually move the door locks to enter programming, way back when!
every time i watch your vids i start to want a Toyota of my own lol. right now i have Chevy, Ford, and International. you can never have to many vehicles right??!! haha
This is a beautiful SUV that was made by Toyota. Still look great today as a driven vehicle. And the durability is awesome when taken care of. Great pick for a family car. #TOYOTA
I’ve seen your folding Costco work tables for a while and hey hurt my back watching you work on them. The bounce is kinda comical but prob annoying. You should build a solid higher table on casters so you can roll away and still have room. You probably willing to sacrifice the flimsy low table for the storage space. Anyway would be a cool little project for a video. Keep up the good work.
Nice !!! ( I did this for my 2004 3.3L V6 Toy. Sienna AWD and it was a pain in the Butt, but 100% do-able just factor in 3X the time over the 3.4 mounted more inline)
It would be interesting to know how much your projects would approximately cost to have serviced by a mechanic aswell as how long the job is estimated to take .... im so impressed with your skills .... keep up the content ....
@@josepliego5514 WOW! that is a lotta good coin! what area of the country are they wanting that much? my local yota dealershop did this in 2o19 for almost 600$
How long would it take for an experienced hand to do this job? If you do several of them back to back you'd be pretty quick and I'd imagine it could be done in under 4 hrs? That's just a guess. It will take me a weekend to get through it.
I noticed you did not put sealing on the manifold gaskets, i assume they don't need seal then, i will do the exact same job this weekend, great video, thanks.
My valve cover gasket bolts were RIDICULOUSLY LOOSE. Especially where the oil leak was. Seems to be a common theme. Check them first, but don’t overtighten🤙
OG 5VZFE here... the VCG first wept at 114k miles... small weeping around the bolts are now popping up 225k miles later after a re-seal ... also weeping in back by fireWall
YEP i was surprised, some OEM stuff is not made in Japan now, they have switched supplier. I bought new Toyota spark plugs, they needed the first thread cleaned up before they would thread in by hand@@efil4kizum
Absolutely insane how RUclips algorithm works. I was literally just talking earlier today how I need to replace the VCG on my 01 4R and BOOM this video pops up on my feed soon as I log in. Only question I have is, what is the name of the circle gasket seals on the back of the heads so I know what to order, and what kind of sealant are you using on the half moons?
@@austinniemelaThank you sir. Was already planning on ordering a kit this weekend, might have to explore the stone kit and see if those circle gaskets come with it or not.
It looks easy on the video but I wouldn't want to be the one doing this on my 4 runner because of having to remember everything you took off has to be connected again I might forget or miss connecting a wire and there goes check engine light but your video is still cool.
I know someone already mentioned it but the torque specs on the valve cover bolts are only 53 inch lbs (4.4 ft lbs) which is barely anything. Figured I would mentioned it since I cranked mine on and cracked a corner :(
Yup. Had a 99 4wd in 2020. Terrible truck. I have one vid of it. Valve covers leaked and cracked. Got a 98 now and I see leaking on my engine. Better see what's up before I replace valve covers and gaskets again.
I’ve a vacuum leak cause check engine lites on. Any tips on trouble shooting. I had check the obvious hoses and found 1 cracked and 1 loose above the timing belt covers.
Austin, hello. Watching your valve cover vid. What sealant did you use on the 1/2 moons and cam caps? You mentioned using it but never said what it was and where to get it from. I don't want to use silicone sealer if possible. Thank you sir, I'll post videos of it soon. Regards and Respect!
No torque wrench for the cover bolts? I heard the factory specs are a bit much and can crush the bolt seals? How did you go about tightening those bolts?
hi i bought a 97 t100 with the 3.4 for some reason someone put stop leak in the coolant system how can i tell if this has a bad head gasket there is nothing in the oil it doesnt put out white smoke the guy said he changed the radator what would he have put stop leak in it if you can answer this Question
I've done a bunch of these and I've never seen half moons that leaked. Never messed with them. Those black round caps leak horribly though. That's where your oil comes from. Don't use rtv. Get Right Stuff formed in place gasket maker that's ready to use immediately. Put it all around the round thing and install.
Can’t get enough of this guy
👌👍
Did mine a few weeks ago.. now I have no oil leaks at all at 280k miles.. gotta love a Toyota!
Toyota is so simple and I love it 🥰
I avoided this job because I just couldn't never find the time. One night while changing the oil I decided to take 1/4 drive and try to tighten the valve cover bolts, it solved about 90% of my problem. Love your channel.
My valve cover bolts were real loose to I’m gonna try to tighten them up a bit.
You're a champion. Sure enough I'm doing the same job right now from your info. Thank you.
My outside valve cover bolts were loose. The inside bolts were fine. Ever since I did that, no more smoke at startup, no more oil in my intake system. No more having to constantly top off the engine oil. I've been looking on Toyota forums for months and just randomly finding your comment put some extra life in my 276,000mi 2001 4Runner.
@@billybadass9031 glad it helped. We have 2. A 99 with 405,000 and a 2000 with 375,000. They are amazing vehicles.
Did u take fuel rail off to tighten the top bolts?
Very fun job. I had to do mine twice due to over tightening the valve cover thus cracking it and causing it to leak oil haha...brings back memories.
Whoa! You cracked the cast aluminum? Dude! That’s TIGHT!
Austin that is one fine video. It is especially good for someone like me who is a mechanic who does not normally work on Toyotas. The beauty of your video is the almost total lack of redundant chatter. There are other videos which are also good but yours covers the bare bones concisely and rapidly. Thank you!
I've been needing to do this very same job to my Limited for about 8 months. Thanks for the run down it actually doesn't seem that bad to do.
Ive been putting it just because ive been busy , but finally picked up the knock sensors also , finally going to do this on my 96 sr5 5speed with 360 k on it, truck still runs like new
You made it look Easy. With the base stance and height the Toyota’s are a lot easier to service. I hate standing on a stool and leaning over a engine compartment. I’ll be glad to see the warm weather come back.🌞
Yea and i thought a 6” lift was gonna be a good idea.. now my short ass has to mount the damn motor to do any work on it on top end.. under i can sit up straight and change the oil.. so theres that.. plus i can drive over top of a prius so theres that also..
Great video!!! You make it look easy. About the locks: before you replace the actuators, take the door panel off and spray all the interior mechanisms with spray lithium grease. It solved the issue for me. It might save you the trouble and expense.
Just did it on my 99 last Friday. 190k miles so far. Just bought the truck 2 weeks ago. Wasn’t hard but the plastic on the harness was very brittle a lot of it broke off
I got my 00 Limited in 2018 with 203k miles and is been great. I did a lot of preventative maintenance but these old girls are worth it.
Another thing I recommend is checking the driver s side CV shaft at the differential for some play. The driver's side CV shaft is supported by a needle bearing at the differential and they go bad. EAST Coast Gear Company makes a coated bushing that replaced the needle bearing and it's not expensive. The passenger side CV shaft is supported by a ball bearing and doesn't fail as soon as the needle bearing.
Buying Toyota factory parts is actually very reasonable when bought through Camelback Toyota or McGeorge.
Also, don't be surprised if you need to do rear axle seals soon. I highly be recommend buying a Harbor Freight presses (if you don't already have a press), the appropriate press fixtures and doing it yourself. It's not hard and most shops will probably fail to do it correctly. A local garage failed three times with mine. I did once and successfully fixed it. Do it yourself.....
When I do my 3.4 swap into my truck this is one of the many things I will address before the install.
Love these Toyota videos! The previous owner had the timing belt replaced. Not sure why they'd go that far into a repair and NOT replace the valve cover gaskets is beyond me.
Tho it may seem like you could just change those gaskets but the timing belt and valve gaskets are two different animals. Not that hard but a good task.
probably were NOT leaking at that time?
@@efil4kizum you're probably right, but it would make sense to me to go ahead and replace them, leaking or not, since I've already got the top of the engine taken apart.
There is no labor overlap between valve cover and timing belt, I can't think of a single thing that you'd remove in both of those jobs.
@@FernandoDenise2558gotcha. Makes sense now.
Am needing to replace fuel injectors and your video showing the removal of the plenums made me less intimidated to remove them. Thanks for the clear view while doing your work.
nice video! i would of given that throttle body a good clean and replaced the gasket while it was out. It can make a big difference in smoothness. thanks for the video!
So funny you're posting this. This weekend I plan to replace the valve gaskets on my 2003 Tacoma. Love the content!
Right on!
The new valve cover gaskets compress over time and require tightening the covers. All but two bolts can be reached without removing anything.
Man if I had a shop like that I would do my valve covers too.
Man, I sure miss my 01 4runner limited 4x4.
This was awesome. Thanks. I have the same 4runner. Discovered the same thing about having to manually move the door locks to enter programming, way back when!
Exactly where my 3vze was leaking - rear cam shaft caps. Had been overlooked.
Yep, my 02 with 260K leaks from the Valve Covers all the time
Probably one of the best channels for Toyota maintenance things
Thank you!!
every time i watch your vids i start to want a Toyota of my own lol. right now i have Chevy, Ford, and International. you can never have to many vehicles right??!! haha
PCV valve has been bad for a while. Quite a bit more varnish staining and grime under passenger valve cover. Great video.
I noticed that!!
found a small leak on my first gen last week, perfect timing on this video
This is a beautiful SUV that was made by Toyota.
Still look great today as a driven vehicle.
And the durability is awesome when taken care of.
Great pick for a family car.
#TOYOTA
Awesome! Thank you! Moving that air-intake thingy actually seems more complicated than changing the spark plugs! :/
Awesome engine. One of the best Toyota ever made. 4Runners are made in Japan. Tacoma now made in Mexico
I’ve seen your folding Costco work tables for a while and hey hurt my back watching you work on them. The bounce is kinda comical but prob annoying. You should build a solid higher table on casters so you can roll away and still have room. You probably willing to sacrifice the flimsy low table for the storage space. Anyway would be a cool little project for a video. Keep up the good work.
Great video and music...had me grooving
Nice !!! ( I did this for my 2004 3.3L V6 Toy. Sienna AWD and it was a pain in the Butt, but 100% do-able just factor in 3X the time over the 3.4 mounted more inline)
It would be interesting to know how much your projects would approximately cost to have serviced by a mechanic aswell as how long the job is estimated to take .... im so impressed with your skills .... keep up the content ....
Thanks! Probably would cost alot!! Most mechanics arent cheap
$600
I just got a quote for this very job at my local Toyota dealership…$1300
@@josepliego5514 WOW! that is a lotta good coin! what area of the country are they wanting that much? my local yota dealershop did this in 2o19 for almost 600$
How long would it take for an experienced hand to do this job? If you do several of them back to back you'd be pretty quick and I'd imagine it could be done in under 4 hrs? That's just a guess. It will take me a weekend to get through it.
This is very helpful since I'm going tomorrow to look at a 98 limited in Washington State... pretty sure I'm going to buy it no matter what...
Your videos have helped me so much with the rhino liner
I noticed you did not put sealing on the manifold gaskets, i assume they don't need seal then, i will do the exact same job this weekend, great video, thanks.
I'm loving the 4Runner and what you are doing with it.
Great Video! would you mind listing the torque specs for the engine bolts?
Most underrated channel on RUclips
My valve cover gasket bolts were RIDICULOUSLY LOOSE. Especially where the oil leak was. Seems to be a common theme. Check them first, but don’t overtighten🤙
I just bought a factory 5 speed 99 4Runner, great trucks! Looking forward to seeing a little more of this one!
Hope you enjoy it!
Saving this video for a future project...Thanks.
Awesome, thank you!
Hello, I want to know the torque of the screws that I have to use, if you let me know I appreciate thanks
I've been wanting to do this to my Tacoma...
You didn't record the tough/tricky part though 😳.
I'll get'r. Thanks for the video
Do you have any suggestions on where to get the OEM kit for the timing belt "kit"
Idler pulleys, belt, water pump, thermostat... Etc
@@edpoints1127 rockauto.com
That's my summer project along with the timing belt and water pump.
OG 5VZFE here... the VCG first wept at 114k miles... small weeping around the bolts are now popping up 225k miles later after a re-seal ... also weeping in back by fireWall
bot the OEM gasket from yota parts dealer recently (online sale)... it is Made in VietNam fwiw and Not Japan
YEP i was surprised, some OEM stuff is not made in Japan now, they have switched supplier. I bought new Toyota spark plugs, they needed the first thread cleaned up before they would thread in by hand@@efil4kizum
This is my next chore on my 2003 Tacoma.
Absolutely insane how RUclips algorithm works. I was literally just talking earlier today how I need to replace the VCG on my 01 4R and BOOM this video pops up on my feed soon as I log in. Only question I have is, what is the name of the circle gasket seals on the back of the heads so I know what to order, and what kind of sealant are you using on the half moons?
I bought the stone kit and it came with those rear seals I believe! I used ultra black rtv!
@@austinniemelaThank you sir. Was already planning on ordering a kit this weekend, might have to explore the stone kit and see if those circle gaskets come with it or not.
Yes I always switch my Toyota terminals over to marine terminals
Starting to become my favorite channel
Im glad you enjoy it!! Thank you!
It looks easy on the video but I wouldn't want to be the one doing this on my 4 runner because of having to remember everything you took off has to be connected again I might forget or miss connecting a wire and there goes check engine light but your video is still cool.
I really need to do this to mine.....
I know someone already mentioned it but the torque specs on the valve cover bolts are only 53 inch lbs (4.4 ft lbs) which is barely anything. Figured I would mentioned it since I cranked mine on and cracked a corner :(
Yes i might have gone a touch on the tight side!
My only question did the rear window button on your remote work ???
Great video, i gotta do mine again. Mine are leaking all over my headers.
The door will not lock when the door is open
They knew you would accidently lock yourself out.
Torque specs?
I appreciate i can follow devin for my car/evo x needs and you for my toyota/4x4 needs
Dude you are superb...A friend and I attempted this but now were getting coolant in the oil...Any suggestions?
Yup I'm going to do mine too thanks for the video ✌
No problem 👍
Looking into doing this to my 220,000 mile rig
Great video and you made it look so easy. Notice your using non OEM parts? Are they just as good as Toyota?
now i know why one of my spark plugs has oil in it loll thanks for the great content
That will do it!
What is the tiny vacuum line between the upper and lower plenum?
I think my favorite part about this is that you used all manual tools. Nothing fancy
Do you need to torque the bolts for the seal?
Great video!
I was just about to do this job and used your Ebay links. Thanks
Awesome! That stone kit on eBay is CHEAP!!
@@austinniemela saved me a lot of money that's why I was putting it off
Yup. Had a 99 4wd in 2020. Terrible truck. I have one vid of it. Valve covers leaked and cracked.
Got a 98 now and I see leaking on my engine. Better see what's up before I replace valve covers and gaskets again.
Thanks for the videos bro.
I’ve a vacuum leak cause check engine lites on. Any tips on trouble shooting. I had check the obvious hoses and found 1 cracked and 1 loose above the timing belt covers.
2003 Tacoma. Just started leaking.
I sure would love to own this black beauty
Intake Manifold Gaskets link is not working
Pro tip. Washing valve covers with orange monster! Love it
Austin, hello. Watching your valve cover vid. What sealant did you use on the 1/2 moons and cam caps? You mentioned using it but never said what it was and where to get it from. I don't want to use silicone sealer if possible. Thank you sir, I'll post videos of it soon. Regards and Respect!
I was told mine didnt come with a keyfob ... are all models programable?
If you do a head unit on the raptor liner truck, can you do a video on wiring and fitment? I’m having trouble finding any info on wiring. Thanks
Great, how often you recommend to change valve cover gasket ?
Got my valve covers replaced still got oil leaking on my driveway where else can it be leaking from
You are the man!
Fixed a ton of them just tightening them back up. Idk why at around 175,000 they like to loosin up. Stupid 10mm bolts
Thanks for the information I appreciate your video
Hey can u make small video how you program the lock control and anything you do for locking the doors
man that is a clean 4runner
Getting there!
Great vid 👌 thanks
No torque wrench for the cover bolts? I heard the factory specs are a bit much and can crush the bolt seals? How did you go about tightening those bolts?
Good information!
hi i bought a 97 t100 with the 3.4 for some reason someone put stop leak in the coolant system how can i tell if this has a bad head gasket there is nothing in the oil it doesnt put out white smoke the guy said he changed the radator what would he have put stop leak in it if you can answer this Question
Any reviews on the Stone kit brand ?
should get a copy of Techstream. makes replacing keys and fobs alot easier. worked great with my Lexus GX when i got a new key for it.
which odb2 cable are you using for techstream? i really hate having to buy all these damn different cables for each car. I probably should buy a Carly
what brand of sealant are you using for the half moons in the back? Do you possibly have a link or a previous video with a link for the sealant?
what brand do you recommend for "half-moon sealant"? great videos ;)
How much would this be to have done in a shop
quick question if the half moon is really tight even using pliers and channel locks doesn't help, do i need to replace them at all?
I've done a bunch of these and I've never seen half moons that leaked. Never messed with them. Those black round caps leak horribly though. That's where your oil comes from. Don't use rtv. Get Right Stuff formed in place gasket maker that's ready to use immediately. Put it all around the round thing and install.
Can I program the remote with out the original chip key or the original key fob?
How long would you say this took you?
What youtube video did you find for the key fob programming.
Hey I ordered a cheap gasket kit but the cover gaskets were all folded up in the bag it came in- think thatll be a problem? Rubber looks and feels ok
Nice vid! But....should have scrubbed that throttle body! You were 80% there!