Have a 98 t100 4x4 with the 3.4L 5vzfe engine and had a question on the valve cover gasket replacement. I have seen where alot of people suggest using black RTV sealant when installing the gaskets but on the back of the FelPro package it says do not use any adhesives or chemicals in the install.

Opinions and/or results from people who've already replaced theirs???

use toyota gaskets

For some odd reason Toyota doesn't sell the kit I need. It's either just the cylinder left and right seals for $50 or special order everything $150 which is a ridiculous price imo.
I just want to replace the left, right, spark plug valves, and possibly a few grommets but so far all have been good, 8 out of 16. Normally oem is my choice but buying it all separate from Toyota will cost me $150 and I'll have to wait a week vs Felpro for $36 with everything I need.

Is it really worth the price? I have never heard anything bad about felpro gaskets with the exception of their head gaskets which I will not be replacing even though I now see my original subject post may suggest that I am.

call carroll at gettell toyota at 800-282-3964 and see how much they are from him. tell him teh T100 bulletin board sent you. teh toyota products are worth a few bucks more for teh job.

The RTV or Toyota FIPG is just for the areas where the half moons are in the valve cover surface of the head (easier to understand once valve cover is off) not the whole gasket, just a dab of the sealant wherever there is a seam. Definetly go with Toyota gaskets and grommets and dont forget it's a good idea to replace both plenumn gaskets since you have to remove both halves to get to the drivers side valve cover.

Did the passenger side because drivers side looked like alot more hassle and after reading the chiltons manual I did not use any sealant. For every other engine besides the 5vzfe it says to use a few dabs of sealant on the half moons and also had alot more steps to do. It took about 1.5 hrs and I had planned on alot more time so I cleaned the cover really good and all mating areas.

Unless it was a typo in the manual, I should be good but if not it wouldn't be the first time I learned something the hard way. Gone for a couple drives 20-30 minutes each and then it sat overnight and so far no leaks or oil spots in the engine.

5VZ is one of the Toyota engines that use metal half moons that generally sit totally flush with the rest of the v/c surface. I just seal them out of habit but it's probably not really necessary. You should be fine, have fun with the drivers side, not as bad as it looks, but then I probably do at least one every other week. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Yeah it was the plenum/intake thing that I didn't want to mess with but seems I must. Oddly enough the chiltons guide doesn't even mention it and basically says how to do passenger and to only do 1 side at a time to avoid confusion....big help there since they are quite different. Is it possible to reuse the gaskets from the intake since they are metal if I remember right or is it once they are removed it's best to replace them thing? Just asking since they are easy to get at and my funds are running low for the moment.

I also checked my pcv valve today and it was shot..could barely blow any air through it at all so that at least was an easy $3 fix.

The truck has gotten 15mpg since getting it and I am of course trying to get the 20+mpg that many owners seem to get so I'm wondering if I should look at replacing or cleaning anything else?

Stuff done in last week were replaced all the belts, hi- flow water pump, PCV valve, air filter, new Denso dual plugs, cleaned the throttle body, replaced 1 valve cover and planning to do drivers side here shortly and will look for any height changes in the half moon area since I didn't when doing the passenger.

Once again thank you for comments so far and even though I haven't tested the mpg since all the changes I'm open to any advice on anything that could help improve it. I'm still pretty new to all this and have been lurking the forums and the repair manual before doing anything myself since I would have been completely <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> without them.

The 5VZ does use metal plenumn gaskets, so technically you should be ok reusuing them, I've reused metal throttle body ones with no trouble when I forgot to order them. Your mileage does seem low-mine has a cylinder with low compression due to a failed fuel injector screwing things up in it and I still get around 20mpg or better. You may look at the pattern of your 02 sensor and fuel trim if you have access to a scanner. My Tundras O2 sensors are shot and it's made a difference in mileage, also make sure your MAF is clean (hose the two wires inside with brake clean and then gently blow off with air). Hope this helps.

ugh. I had forgotten about the o2 sensor and since the truck had the original belts and plugs, after 135k miles, I'm guessing it will still have the original sensor. Will clean the maf with some brake cleaner as suggested and try running a couple tanks through to check the mpg with all the recent changes. If still not up to par I'll get my hands on a tester and start saving up for a sensor.

On the plus side I have noticed alot more power and torque and the engine sounds beefier and like new. Now if only the horn didn't make me feel like I was driving a moped. I only hit it when no one is around and I still can't help laughing at the damn thing.