5.7L Valve Cover Gasket Change Process w/ Photos

Hey everyone, I've seen some questions on the Valve Cover gasket seal change on the 5.7L engine. I took some photos along the way and want to help others through the process the best I can with a general overview of how its done.
If you have any questions on how to remove a bolt, a valve cover is stuck, etc. do not hesitate to reach out.

The 5.7L Engine has Spark plug wells which are sealed by a rubber gasket around the spark plug. Usually upon a later mileage spark plug change you will notice maybe one, two, or multiple spark plugs covered in oil, this is most commonly an issue of the rubber in the seals wearing out...sadly the whole valve cover must be removed to fully remedy this issue for longer.

My Tundra is a 2008 Crewmax 5.7L so this will apply best to most 2nd Gen Tundras, although this engine has been used from 2007 up into the present 2020 Tundra so the steps are probably fairly similar for those who want to do this themselves, cannot verify torque specs will be reliable for 5.7L engines after 2014...but I can't imagine they've changed much.

A 3UR-FE and a 3UR-FBE are the engine designations for the 5.7L V8 (FBE designates a Flex Fuel 5.7L engine, rest of 5.7L's are all FE's).

To make this process easier on yourself, take photos like I did (maybe more) of sensors of what bolt goes to a specific area. Since some of these bolts have different lengths, try to keep a bolt with a sensor best you can or at lease remove them in order and reassemble later in reverse order of removed.

I've included in the attached files at the bottom, a general overview of where the sensors are in the engine bay if you get confused and a list of the general information sensors on a 5.7L Tundra should you wonder what you're looking at.

All bolts removed will be 10mm with exception of the 12mm valve cover center bolts.
10mm Bolts Torque spec: 108in-lbs, 12Nm, or around 7-9ft-lbs
12mm Center Bolt Torque spec: 15ft-lbs or 21Nm

Here is one of the videos I first had watched, I've added it first in case someone wants some more visuals in addition to photos I took at the time.


1. To Start its always best practice to Disconnect the Negative terminal of the battery: this will prevent you shorting out any electrical connections.


2. Next remove the engine cover to expose the engine.


3. Remove the air intake duct and the air filter housing, don't forget to pop the Mass Air Flow/Intake Temperature (MFAT/IAT) electrical sensor out of the air box and such before pulling off.
Press tab lightly at the back of the electrical connection and slide off gently, plastic may be brittle after years of heating/cooling.


4. Next you will be removing the PCV ventilation hoses and vacuum lines from the valve cover as well as the rest of the air assembly pieces to give yourself more room to work, you're gonna need it.

5. After the hoses are removed you can begin the process of unplugging each spark plug ignition coil. It helps to have a table nearby to lay them out in order or use some sort of tape or marking device in order to make reassembly easier later.

You can choose to remove spark plugs now, but I prefer to wait until later to ensure no pieces of gasket try to fall into spark plug well or anything upon valve cover removal later.


6. What I did next is move to the opposite side of the engine bay (Drivers side) since I would be tacking both sides and also disassembled it as well.
As you can see in the photos I removed my ignition coils as well as some of the sensors located within the valve cover.
Next remove the PCV hoses going into the valve cover, the fuel rail line (look for the orange connector in photo) and then the oil filler neck by removing its two bolts. The small sensor right next to this oil filler next is a Camshaft Position (CMP) sensor, there are ones one both valve covers that can be removed.
This will help give you the clearance you'll need later.


7. Heres a view after removal of the bolts holding Camshaft timing oil control valves on the driver side cover, there's an upper and lower sensor on both sides so its probably best to not get them mixed up. There are 4 in total.

You don't have to remove these fully out of the cover yet if you want to wait until the cover is completely off to prevent debris enter, or you can remove them now if you prefer.

Heres a view of the cam position sensor on the passenger side cover.

I'm simply holding the bolt from the top sensor next to the lower sensor here to remind myself they're the same bolt size.


8. Remove the bypass hose bracket mounting bolts and move the hoses out the way best you can. Do not remove the clamps on this line (just above my hand in the photo) to prevent coolant from spilling out and potentially entering spark plug wells.
You know it's a Coolant line since its got the clamp that would require pliers, just leave them be and move them slightly as needed to access around them.

9. In the process of removing the other bolts holding this line you will also encounter the bracket which holds on our dipstick tube to the engine securely. Remove these bolts as well (keep them all together so as not to get them mixed up later) and move that tube out of the way.


10. Remove the retaining bolts from the outside of the valve cover as well as the center retaining bolt (sometimes hidden under a connector) to prepare to remove it. To pry you can use a flexible putty knife, wide flathead screwdriver, or a pry tool, just be careful though as to not to mar the engine or valve cover surfaces.

If you get to where you think you've removed them all and the cover won't budge when pried...Check everywhere, behind/under the metal bypass hose, towards the back of the engine, etc. to make sure you didn't miss one, it is very easy to do and this gave me grief for hours.


If you haven't done so yet, remove sensors from valve covers to make removal easier and give you some places to pull up the cover from.

11. Once a valve cover is ready for removal, pry carefully. While there is a perimeter gasket and spark plug well oil seals, there are also many small oil seals that seal engine channels for oil lubrication.

These could remain in their spots in the engine or come off on the valve cover as it's removed, do so carefully to prevent this from falling into the engine and causing problems.
Compare these to your new gaskets to ensure they match.
I have heard some kits where all but the new small gaskets fit perfect and people reuse the small ones after oiling them. This isn't ideal by any means or recommended but doable.

Now heres a view of the Driver side engine bay with the valve cover off, notice how the small gasket fits into a small grove? Sometimes the gasket stays, sometimes comes off with cover, check closely.
Theres both small double circle gaskets and a small single round gasket. One positioned on both front and rear of valve cover on both sides.



12. Once you have a valve cover off, inspect it for any unusual signs of engine problems while you have the chance.
About the only noticeable oil buildup on a valve cover was on the driver side where engine oil was added every oil change and likely drained down the side and into the engine. A little carb/brake cleaner and rags will clean this cover up easily (away from the engine).

I even cleaned inside a few of the metal oil channels with the brake cleaners fine nozzle to remove oil grime and got some crud out.

Clean all the mating surfaces carefully of the valve cover and cylinder head once the old gasket is removed. Compare your old gasket to your new one.

13. Optional step (Change PCV valve)
Remember all those hoses we took off? Well now that your engine has its valve cover off you have even more working room and can take one more off to access the PCV easier. My truck was at 230K miles or so at the time and the PCV had never been changed.
Needless to say, it needed it.

Simply fit the correct socket over it and screw it out. Be careful as the PCV is plastic so you don't want to strip it or over torque the new one back in.


Simply reinstall the way it came out and give it a snug fit. No need to over torque this in with socket extensions, we don't want to strip the plastic valve. Reattach this PCV hose you just removed back into both the new PCV valve and intake.

14. Now back to that valve cover, we need to remove each of our spark plug well gaskets. Ensure your new ones match the old ones and prepare for the old one removal.

Pry up the small tab gently, I used a flathead screwdriver and a rubber mallet.

These seals are obviously dry from years of heat cycles and will not simply pop out easily, they also usually have a metal inside for rigidity so they're tough little buggers.

Once you remove them and clean their surface their ready for the new spark plug tube gaskets. I lubricated mine with Fresh engine oil and then tapped/pressed them in with a large socket that fit the circumference and my rubber mallet.

Then you gently tap the holding tabs back down; I used a wide/flat screwdriver and light rubber mallet taps.

Be sure to compare one completed valve cover front and back to the other not yet completed to check everything is seated correctly. Please see video at beginning of this thread if this isn't clear, I didn't get a good photo of this step.



15. Ensure the mating surfaces of the engine are clean by using Laquer thinner, acetone, or carb/brake cleaner applied lightly to a clean rag to remove old debris. Do not spray directly into engine or onto tops of cylinder heads.

16. Everyone is rushed to get the valve cover on, if you can wait some time it'll be easier to re-install.
Run a bead of Permatex Ultra Black RTV sealant around the channel the valve cover will sit in. This Ultra Black is designed for Bonding Properties to Oil Contaminated Metals and Oil Resistance in both Automobile and Marine applications.

After the bead of silicone is applied to a valve cover (or both) press each valve cover gasket into its respective grove on their cover and let it sit for a few hours to possibly overnight. Please see video at beginning of this thread if this isn't clear, I forgot to get a good photo of this step.

As the Permatex sets, the gasket will stay in place. When reinstalling the valve cover, this will prevent shifting of the gasket which could lead to oil leaks.

17. If you haven't done so yet, while the valve cover gaskets are setting up, you have easy access to change your spark plugs in all eight spark plug holes.


17. Ensure you have replaced all the small oil seals in their respective groves on top of the cylinder heads, these are the ones our valve covers will sit atop and mate up to.
I lubricated all these small seals with fresh engine oil to make them stick into their spot easier and ensure good lubricity on engine start-up.

18. Install the valve covers back onto the engine including all the correct sealing washers, bolts, etc.
I highly recommend you have a friend assist you in putting the valve covers back into position so you can get the 12mm center bolt in, otherwise it can be a bear of a task by yourself.

Lightly get all valve cover bolts threaded back in and check to ensure the gasket hasn't come out somewhere, a flashlight can help to check.

Next torque each valve cover in a cross pattern: top left, bottom right, top right, bottom left, etc. and keep working your way in till you get to the center bolt.

10mm Bolts Torque spec: 108in-lbs, 12Nm, or around 7-9ft-lbs
12mm Center Bolt Torque spec: 15ft-lbs or 21Nm

19. Reinstall sensors to their respective location, including spark plug ignition coils. Ignition coil wires will be long enough to reach their respective spark plug so start from the rear and work your way forward.
Reattach bypass hose bracket.
Reattach oil dipstick bracket.
Reattach oil fill neck and change its gasket if your kit comes with one.
Reattach fuel rail line on driver side of engine.
Reattach all hoses removed to their respective area along with the Mass Air Flow/Intake assembly and sensors.

20. Double check all sensors are connected correctly and that you haven't forgotten on in the process.
Check you have no EXTRA bolts left over, you started with zero, you should end with zero.

21. Reattach negative terminal to battery

22. Start engine and check for leaks from valve covers, if you see a leak you'll have to go back and address it.
Your Tundra probably won't start instantly on the first try since we disconnected the fuel rail connector on the driver side of engine earlier so it might take an extra key turn to build the pressure.

23. (Optional next step: Change engine oil) This would be if you were worried about any debris might have gotten into the engine.
I ended up changing my oil two days later just to be on the safe side.


Hope this helps somewhat for anyone wanting to attempt this endeavor! For me, by myself, this turned into a two day job even with all the tools, gaskets, oil, etc needed at my disposal.

Your legs will ache from hours of standing but its so satisfying to work on your own truck.

If you have any questions, concerns, or issues, don't hesitate to reach out and I'll see if I can help.

 

Excellent documenation.

Are the 5.7s prone to VC leakage???

I was hoping Toyota got it right after the 3.4 VC fiasco....

 

I wouldn’t say “Prone to leakage” but just that some of the spark plug tube seals seem to wear out after they get to higher mileage.
The 5.7L DOHC design requires them to have a spark plug seal seal but I’m assuming they get little lubrication and just get dry/brittle.

Haven’t heard anyone reporting any VC perimeter seals leaking like the 3.4 thankfully!

 

Thank you very much for this. It’s extremely helpful. Going to attempt this tomorrow or this weekend. I’ve attached a photo of the gaskets I received from rock auto. 2 for the VC and 8 for the plugs. It looks like there are a few more even smaller gaskets, almost dime sized, is this correct? If so, do you know what those are called and should I get some of those as well?? The video didn’t mention it but would hate to get the Vc off and need them. Thanks

 

Is this another gasket that needs to be replaced??

 

Yes you are correct those are the tiny dime sized gaskets. Theres dime ones in the center and "figure eight" shaped ones circled top and bottom.

They have a grove they sit in on the engine and when you put the valve cover on they seal surface to surface. These seal the points where the engine oil is circulated to the top of the valves I believe.

Sometimes when you take the cover off initially the seals might stick to the top of the valve cover like in the photo you circled. Make sure they're back in the groves for reinstall.

If you look at the photo here, you can see once I took the valve cover off, one came off with the cover (this is the one in your photo I believe) while the other one remained in its groove on the engine.

If you don't have the small oil seals I believe it's technically doable to reuse the old ones by leaving them in the groove or putting them back. My FelPro kit came with them and even then, some weren't exactly correct and I ended up reusing one or two old ones. Just lube them with clean engine oil before reinserting them into the groves.

There is also one up here too (this is the valve cover with the filler neck removed on the driver side of the engine).
I didn't get a good shot of the engine side but this gasket is a little thicker than the other dime ones. If you're going to re-use the gaskets, again just re-lubricate them or maybe someone like O'Rileys or an autoparts store sells the full set.
Just make sure the right one goes back to its correct place.

 

Excellent write up,well done sir! Almost bought a truck that needed this but i passed. Nice to see it isn't a real pain.

 

Thanks so much!

The first time I did it, it took some figuring out. If I had to do it again at 400k miles I'd feel confidant enough to do it myself and faster!

I don't blame you one bit passing on a truck with it though, if it were at a dealership I'd probably consider making them do the job before I bought it!

 

Yea it was at a stealership..used car place that i wouldn't let air up a tire.

 

Yeah in that case it's always best to steer clear!

 

Thank you

 

How many miles are on your engine? That's an incredible amount of work for something like that.

 

My 5.7L currently has 223360 miles on it. I did the Valve cover change and then an early oil change at 216500...so 6,860 miles later with zero issues, zero leaks!

 

Thanks for the detailed write up. I had to replace my knock sensor last year, rats got into the engine and chewed one of the wires all the way through. I couldn’t find any good videos on getting under the plenum but I did find Toyota’s web page that has all the repair guides. Think it was like $15 for two days access. Full of PDFs on how to fix anything and torques specs included. In case anyone is interested. And yes you can download all the PDFs for use after your two days is up. I’m not sure the laws with posting those on here but if you need the same ones I have just PM.

 

Excellent write up!

I just did this over the last week. Followed very similar process. I added a little of the black sealant to the tube seal slots, before inserting the tube seals.
After reinstalling, I waited a day before a adding the oil, so the black sealant could set up well with the gasket.
Also painted mine while I had them off.

 

Thats awesome I never knew that! I'd definitely consider downloading every pdf about my truck for that price Do you have a link to where I'd go to do that?

 

Thanks, awesome news, I'd love to see a photo of what they look like painted, what color did you choose?

And yes I found letting the black sealant set up was the best thing. My passenger side I tried to rush and the outer seal kept falling out, so I ended up letting the sealant/gasket sit overnight before reinstalling the next morning

 

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_what_is_tis_page

Here you go.

 

I did them in red. Use VHT Wrinkle paint for valve covers. Posted in the ‘What have you done to you 3rd Gen’ thread.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...d-gen-tundra-today.713/page-1247#post-1718825

 

Thanks for detail write up. Your post will help many other members here down on the road.

 

Of course! I saw someone ask about the process and there was no way I could just give a few tips and pointers and call it good. Hope it helps many to come

 

Local Toyota dealer wants $300 plus parts, per side. I've done the plugs ( found spark plug tube seal leak #4 cyl) and with this forum posts I know I can change valve cover gasket on right side only.
Also, thanks for Toyota TIS link.

 

This is a great write up OP, glad someone went through and documented the process. What stands out to me is the oil squirters off the valve cover. That to me reinforces the need to do periodic sea foam or something to try and clear out the squirters otherwise they could lead to increased valve train noise.

 

Subbed for Later!!

 

I just finished changing my vc gasket, tube seals , plugs ( orig. Denso itidium) coils ( orig denso , ) start it up ......starts but running rough. Throw the scanner on it says B, C , E & H Coils misfiring.
Brand new coils !!!!!
I swap um out with the ones that were in it .
Start it .........rough idle.
Scan it ......this time. B,C,D, E, & H are misfiring
Any ideas ??

 

I believe it's pretty easy to accidentally mix up the sensor plugs on top of the valve covers up front. I would double check that they are going where they are supposed to. A misfire doesn't automatically mean bad coils.

 

I ordered a VC seal kit from Rock Auto which is a fel-pro brand and includes all the gaskets, orings, and tube seals and was about $10. Haven’t installed quite yet but looks like everything is correct.

 

Ironically I live in TX and took pics of my titan valve covers wearing sandals when I changed those and did the PCV valve swap. I can tell you the Titan covers were junked. Caked in oil. Also previous owner didn’t change the PCV valves causing the white smoke at start up issue. Thankfully I didn’t have to do this in my 08 Tundra. Great write up!

 

Thank you so much for posting this great write up. I have over 315k miles on my Tundra and in an effort to keep it going without going broke I want to start working on it myself. This thread helped give me the confidence to tackle this one and it looks like I succeeded.
Thanks again!

 

For those that have done this, i think I’m missing a step on the passenger side. It was an absolute bear to get out. The brackets from the coolant lines and the coolant lines themselves were making it difficult to get the valve cover out.

did anyone wind up disconnecting any on the hoses on the hard coolant lines for extra clearance? i wanted to paint these valve covers while they’re out but there’s no way I’m getting them back in without the coolant lines/mounts that attach to the valve cover are going to let that happen without damaging the valve covers. I also don’t think I’ll get them in there without posterity causing gasket issues, it was that tight.