1998 Camry Valve Cover replacement

[redbone4me]

My wife has been told by a questionable repair shop that she needs to have the valve covers replaced. I am wondering if this is necessary and if, perhaps, only the gaskets need replacing? She was quoted $600.
Also, I have some mechanical abilities, but I am wondering how difficult of a job this is?
Can anyone point me to a site that explains the process of replacing valve covers?
Most importantly though, how common is it for the valve covers to be replaced?

[artbuc]

Originally Posted by redbone4me

My wife has been told by a questionable repair shop that she needs to have the valve covers replaced. I am wondering if this is necessary and if, perhaps, only the gaskets need replacing? She was quoted $600.
Also, I have some mechanical abilities, but I am wondering how difficult of a job this is?
Can anyone point me to a site that explains the process of replacing valve covers?
Most importantly though, how common is it for the valve covers to be replaced?

I am sure this is a miscommunication and only VC gaskets need to be replaced. I had to replace on my 99 Avy at about 115k miles. They usually leak at the front Bank1 corner closest to the firewall. I knew mine were bad when it started leaking enough to spot the garage floor. If you are not seeing any oil on your floor I would wait. There are some excellent DIY threads with plenty of photos at ToyotaNation and ClubLexus. It is not mechanically difficult but very tedious, especially removing the wiring harness over Bank 1. You will also want to replace the sparkplug tube seals, PVC grommet and coolant by-pass hose (get OEM!) while you are in there. You may also want to buy new OEM bolts with crush washers or use the trick of adding a couple flat washers to the old bolts. You will definitely need a low range torque wrench. You will get many opinions re the best sealant. I spent a few extra bucks and bought Toyota FIPG which worked great. Since then I have used RightStuff and it is excellent. Many like the much cheaper RTV's but you only save a couple bucks.

PS. I am assuming you have the 3.0 V6.

[Brian R.]

If you send me your e-mail address, I can send you a link to the Toyota service manual for your car.

BTW, there is a good chance only one of the valve cover gaskets really needs to be replaced. Carefully check for leaks. I would torque down the valve cover bolts first (69 in-lbs) and see if that fixes the leaks. As you can imagine, the front gasket valve cover gasket is much easier to replace than the rear. Pretty much all valve cover gaskets need replacing eventually.

If you are comfortable with engines, you can do it easily. Just take your time.