Valve cover

Hello all,

First timmer here, and am going to replace the valve cover seal/gasket on my 96' SL2. My question to those who might be in the know. Do I need to torque them down or just tighten, and I if need to torque them down, at what lbs.?

Great site, will have to visit here more! Been upgrading the Montero Sport with my time and $$$ right now.

do not torque them down, you will probably break the bolts like I did. just tighten them down until they are snug, if you try to give it a last 1/4 turn you are likely to break the bolt heads off.

Torque spec is 8ft pds.

I believe the spec is acutally 89 inch/pounds. It's a good idea to torque them because overtightening them can lead to disaster. It is easy to strip the threads in the head out if overtightened.

Torque the bolts around the plug holes first.

If you're having trouble with oil seeping onto the #1 or #2 plug, do yourself a favor and use a little sealer on the rubber gasket before installing.

On the black plastic valve covers, leaks can sometimes be caused by warping in that area and some engine sealer around the plug hole can help prevent it from re-occuring.