valve cover nut torque

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fdmevron
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Posts: 4
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 8:46 am
My tercel:: 1985, Toyota, Tercel, SR5, 4wd

valve cover nut torque

Post by fdmevron »

For the life of me I can't find the torque values for the nuts that secure the valve cover on my 1985 4wd toyota tercel.
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Petros
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Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: valve cover nut torque

Post by Petros »

it is not much, or you will damage the cast aluminum valve cover. I put a lot of sealant on the gasket (I hate oil leaks), and than evenly tighten them by hand and watch to see when the gasket starts to compress. It does not take much, perhaps about 12 inch pound. Perhaps about as much as it takes to unscrew a bottle cap, going by feel.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
fdmevron
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 8:46 am
My tercel:: 1985, Toyota, Tercel, SR5, 4wd

Re: valve cover nut torque

Post by fdmevron »

Thank you so much! That is great information..and hard for me to find for some reason.

Evron
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Ace
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Posts: 104
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:57 am
My tercel:: '83 DLX 4WD Tercel wagon 3AC

Re: valve cover nut torque

Post by Ace »

I tighten the valve cover nuts firmly by hand with a socket on a screwdriver-type handle. It's too easy to over-torque them with a wrench. The valve cover gaskets have to be replaced periodically because they eventually lose their elasticity for sealing. I don't like to put adhesive sealant on those gaskets because the valve clearances are supposed to be adjusted every 15,000 miles according to the FSM, although I let them go longer than that.
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