Rocker covers

[Bangers88]

Hey all me again,

I was just doin the rounds on my car as ya do and i have been losing fluid every1 keeps sayen it powersteering fluid but i havnt had to top it up but i have hadto top up the oil on occasion but unable to find where the friggen hell its been coming from until this morn. I have been told by a couple of mechanics that the rocker covers can come loose over time on the older model v6 camrys, but when i brought the car i had it serviced and knew of a leak and was told that it was the rear rocker cover loose but had been tightend as they hadto pull the plenum off to get to it and all that. As i was mucken round though just making sure all things where tight i had a go at a nut on the rear rocker cover on the drivers side of the plenum and the ******en thing was so loose im supprised the dam thing hasnt fallen out! so putting 2 and 2 together that slime bag hunk of **** lieing mechanic didnt do the job (not that i paid for it) but has anyone else had this problem? or is it like a 1 off case like rare as and im the unlucky 1? also what hell do i havto go through to tighten them all up obviously the plenum may havto come off (i didnt bother trying to look to ****** off at the time).

[anothercamry]

Hey mate,

i wouldn't quite go slamming the mechanic who (apparently) fixed this for you the first time. who's to say he did tighten that bolt but it's since worked itself loose again? Just remember it came loose in the first place and that was from the factory.

apart from that rocker cover bolts, like heads, should be done up in a pattern starting from the inside bolts, working your way out tightening each as you go. there will be specific torque settings for these bolts which you need to get right. Otherwise even when you 'think' they are all tight, you may well still find leaks because of the uneven tension. i'd also suggest if you're going to do (or get a mechanic to do) this job, replacing the rocker cover gaskets at the same time would be highly recommended, they are cheap as after all. I live by and highly recommend the motto "do it once and do it properly". It works out cheaper and less time consuming than having to repeat the process.

if you don't already have a workshop manual it's probably worth while as it should show the tensioning pattern and the required torque setting. The $30 or $40 which it costs to buy a manual plus another $40 for a torque wrench will be cheaper than paying a mechanic to do this job for you, and you'll still have both items when the job is done.

good luck.

Edited May 16, 2008 by anothercamry