Spark Plug Tube Seals

T

teally

New Member
#1
#1
Hi Scott,

I spent a lot of time on the seals overall. And they didn't come out the way I expected. I thought the seal would fit like a bottle cap on top of the tube. Instead the tube sticks up through the center of the seal. Don't see how that seals anything.

Varmit. I lost a nut to the engine bay. But I went ahead and torqued the other three as best I can to 35 in-lbs. I want to make sure that won't warp my cover. Because I can go untighten if it will. When I get the other bolt can I just add it and torque in down or do I need to start over with all the bolts?

I noticed my gasket didn't seat in one of the humps. I hoped it would seat after torque. Should I worry about that? You can see the difference (left). Thanks.

 
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Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#4
#4
You can add the missing nut later, no problem. A Toyota dealerships Parts Department should have the nut for you. Failing that, a local junkyard should have many of those Toyota engines for you which you can get the nut from. However, get that nut installed as soon as you can as even low-end petroleum oils have a film strength of about 500 psi and once the oil leak starts, this means that nut would have to be torqued down to over 500 psi to stop the leak. Of course that can't be done, so get that nut replaced ASAP, or you'll have to reseal the entire valve cover gasket all over again.
 
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Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#6
#6
By the way, the underside of that valve cover has some petroleum oil sludge/varnish stains on it. It's not at a serious point yet, but petroleum oil sludge and varnish coats metal surfaces with that discoloration we see in the photograph and this doesn't allow engine heat to dissipate as easily, causing an increase in engine temperatures. A hotter running engine dries out and cracks seals/gaskets sooner, allowing oil leaks to occur. The increased heat also can cause increased wear and tear, resulting in an engine that doesn't last as long as it could have and at very least will have reduced power, fuel economy and performance.

A good synthetic oil prevents this from occurring and can greatly extend engine life, improve performance/power/throttle response, improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, reduce wear and be much more internally clean without sludge build up. This all means very good things for your engine and your wallet.

Below is a wonderful article about top performing synthetic oils and all the great things they can do for your Corolla's engine. This article also has photograph's of the underside of a valve cover that has been using a good performing synthetic oil, so compare that with your own above.

I can provide prices to you for AMSOIL synthetic motor oils, (The first in Synthetics, tm), that are lower than competing synthetic motor oils while far outperforming the competition and will save you a lot of money. Enjoy the below article, as it's a great one!

Synthetic Oil: Rx For Long Engine Life

http://www.getahelmet.com/jeeps/tech/syntheticoil/
 
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