[Silentbounty]

Since I couldn't find a how-to or anything anywhere on how to change these things, I decided to do a write up on them while I figured it out myself! The instructions in my Haynes manual did not say how to do it, just that you should do it.

So at this point your valve covers should already be off. I'm not explaining that process since there are lots of how to's already on that subject. And I'll already apologize for the lighting and stuff since my shop lights hate me!

When you flip your valve cover over, you should see these. These are your spark plug tube seals. Notice the tabs bent over in the way of the seals.

To get the seals out, you must bend these little tabs out of the way. Start by taking a flat head screwdriver with not ridges or roughness and peck it with a hammer underneath the tab to free it up a little bit.

Once you get a slight rise out of the tab, take some needle nose pliers and bend them up straight. They should all look like this one when they're bent enough to clear the seal.

Now the fun part! Getting the seal out! I found the best method to be taking your trusty screwdriver and pecking it under the seal's base to create a small gap. From there you can put a seal puller under it and pop them out. This step can be tricky because my seals all fell apart where the tube goes, but this allows better clearance to the base where you can get the seal out. Just be careful not to nick the surface the seal rides on. If you do you can just put some RTV over it to smooth it up.

Now you can install the new seal. I put a small amount of RTV around the seal wall for two reasons: to help smooth over any imperfections I nicked in the wall getting the old ones out, and so I'll hate myself if I ever have to do this job again! You can just push the new seal into place with your thumbs well enough. Just be careful not to nick the seal on the tabs if they're not bent out all the way.

To me, it felt as though it were seated in there enough but an 1-3/16" socket fits on it and a couple light taps with a hammer should set it in there.

Now you have to bend the tabs back on over the seal. I did this with a small rounded punch and hammer. Just bend them back down about how they were. Not all the way into the seal though or you could puncture it! The tabs should bend down easily and look like this when you're done:

Repeat this 7 more times and you should end up with a valve cover that looks like this!

You can oil the seals in the center and when you put the valve covers back on they should pop right over the tubes. Congratulations you just changed your spark plug tube seals (and hopefully valve cover gasket!) Hopefully this will help somebody since I couldn't find any kind of instructions on it, let alone a write up!

 

[Rrumbler]

Thanks for that; good info.

 

[CGC]

Yep, I was perplexed (mildly) at first and came up with the same method. Nice pics;now I have to go doe the driver's side...

 

[JimP01]

Thanks!

I just got to the "replace the spark plug tube seals" step in the instructions and saw the tabs, and was not very happy.

But I found this and it turned out not to be a problem.

 

[wesintexas]

Thanks Silentbounty!

At first I was thinking the entire metal plate had to come off to get the seals out until I found this guide. Sometimes I have a hard time thinking outside the box. :brainfart:

 

[EricNMN]

Do not put force on the center/raised portion of the seals when pressing them into the cover. The seal can separate and become worthless. I am now getting a single seal from the Toyota dealer because I damaged one.

I did not have a large socket to press the seals in. However, the plastic core to a roll of duct tape fit perfectly. I learned this trick after I damaged the seal.

Putting the seals in the freezer shrinks them a bit and makes them easier to install.

If you angle the screwdriver away from the wall when driving them into the seal, it does not scar the side of the machined wall where the seal installs. I learned this by driving the screwdriver straight down on the first valve cover (and scratching the sides).

Brake cleaner does a great job cleaning the inside and outside of the valve covers.

Torque for valve cover bolts on 2000-2006 models is 53 INCH pounds.