valve cover gaskets are leaking
 

I brought my car in to get a checkup and they told me

valve cover gaskets are leaking
$348.63 to fix.

What are they, is that too much to pay, can i do it myself, what risks do i run right now?

In addition they tell me that soon my drive belts will need replacing. Again, can I do that myself, what risks do i run, what parts will i need, etc.

$150 for them to do it.

:eek3: Thats a lot of money to fix valve cover gaskets.

Get these, call toyota and get the valve cover gaskets and do that yourself. It's not hard. Just remember where all the vacuum hoses go.

The belts arent that hard either. Just get the correct sizes and replace them. Everything should be around $150 if you do it yourself. Belts are probably gonna be $25-30 (3 of them) each, i think the gaskets are $20 each, and those bolts are $32.

Now keep in mind i've never done anything like this before. I have changed oil and spark plugs and flushed the radiator and changed lightbulbs, but no engine work like this. If I have the supra manual and some elbow grease I should be able to do it? I don't need another person or anything?

Any word on the risks I run right now?

Well if you've changed the spark plugs, that means you've taken off part of the intake. Its not hard getting the valve covers off. Just do the same like you were going to change the spark plugs. There are 6 screws that hold each valve cover on. Not much room to screw anything up until you start putting things back on and forget where things go. But there are millions of pictures out there of these engines.

The belts are pretty straight forward also. Theres one that goes around the power steering pump and crank pulley. One that goes around the a/c compressor and crank pulley. And one that goes around the alternator, fan, and crank pulley. Which ever one you need to replace, just loosen either the a/c compressor, power steering pump, or the alternator. Problem is they are in a line. I don't remember the order of them but it would be best to replace them all. Again, you wont have any trouble unless you don't remember which belt goes where on the crank pulley. But you'll get it because they wont fit right if one is in the wrong place.

lucky for me i only got one belt :)

be sure to clean the surface where the valve cover goes on the head. can used a razor blade or something of that nature. just try not to get any of the old shit in the valve train.

its not that hard. and +1 to remembering where vacuum lines go

I'll try to see if I can get a friend to help me. If anyone knows the order of the belts let me know. But just to make doubly sure i'm not biting off more than I can chew?

and Actually i feel like such a nubbie that if anyone could post a list of parts that I would need for the repair that would be AMAZING. I hope that my requests aren't ludacris, i don't mean to be a weenie.

hey man i got a complete picture set of what to do when replacing valve cover gaskets, it's simple. PM me your email and i'll send you the tutorial. Or you might be able to save this to your comp and zoom it in or something.. http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...er_gaskets.jpglet me know if you have any questions, i just did it like a month ago.

List of parts.. hmmm well for the gaskets, all you need are the gaskets. There are 2 of them that come in the box to take care of the valve covers. You also may need a new throttle body to intake manifold gasket if you cant get the old one off in one piece. but you said you did plugs before so you know what gasket im talking about, and it'll prob come off alright. And for the belts i havent personally replaced all my belts but i did have to replace my power steering belt twice thus far, and it is in the back behind the other belts so basically just loosened the belts then put them all back on, pretty simple there to. you should check the belt play with either the SST or a straight edge and measuring device, they are all supposed to be ... here's a link to the spot in the TSRM about the SST and tension. i couldnt find the other method in there, but i believe the tension with thumb pressure left a 3/8 to 5/8 gap, dont quote me though. look it up in your tsrm. hope this helpshttp://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Librar...tion=MA&Page=6

what pages in the TSRM should I concern myself with?

for the parts do i just walk into an auto parts store and buy everything or do i order stuff online? :-\ sorry for the nubby-ness