I bought my truck 14 years ago. The PO told me he'd put a new head on it. When I bought a felpro valve cover gasket set, the half moons included were too big to fit the head. Sometime after that I bought the aluminum half moons from 22RE Performance. They are too big also. Pretty sure the head the PO put on was aftermarket and that's why the fit is different.

Has anyone experienced this too? If so have you found any replacement half moon plugs that will work? I think the back one is leaking and I'm afraid to pull it in case it tears up. After 14 years or more they are getting a little hard.

 

I don't buy Felpro, ever. But those 1/2 moons will leak if not a perfect fit, and even with that it's a good idea to put some fipg(or equivalent) on the curved part of the 1/2 moon to insure a good seal.
This would be a good time to go OEM. They will seem a bit big at first but when you put the valve cover on and tighten they should fit perfectly. you can see what the front one does, and pretty much assume the rear is behaving the same.
Out of curiosity, on the new 1/2 moons you have, do you see a part number molded in?

 

Thanks for feedback. New felpro half moons haveB-90644 with 20 under the B-. The new felpro and the aluminum ones sit about 1/8" or more above the the opening and don't fit the curve due to top length. I would have to force the felpros down which would distort the shape of the rubber. That's if I remember correctly. It's been years since I tried the new ones. When installing the old ones last time I used FIPG on the curved area and top corners.

I have a used head. The new felpro fit it. The number on the half moons in the used head is the same as the new felpros.

I'm going to have to pull valve cover cuz I think I pinched the gasket reinstalling cover after adjusting valves. Engine's too hot now after test driving it a little while ago. I really hate to pull the old half moons off and destroy them to try the new one more time and not have a good fit. I debated pulling them yesterday for over an hour...

Most of the time I prefer OEM but they are pricey at regular price $18 and $12 online price, each.

 

Half moons notwithstanding, I’ve always used Felpro for Chevy gaskets and probably Toyota over the years with success. Next time i am in the garage, i’ll look through some Toyota gasket sets(don’t recall which cheapo brand) and see if i can identify any difference in the half moons.

 

I don’t recognize that part number. The Toyota part number is 11183-38010, The Ishino Stone head set I got had those in the kit, making me think they sourced from the same supplier as Toyota.
$12.00 is obscene. I better order a few extra from amayama next time.
That said, 1/8” above the mating surface sounds about right. I’d put on and see how they seal, with sealant added. The valve cover nut torque is pretty light, 48 inch/pound (4 ft pounds). Don’t go over by much or you just squish the grommets and make the valves noisey.

 

Melrose_4R, I'd love to hear if there's any difference in the toyota and felpro half moons.

Thanks Jimkola. I think I have overtightened the valve cover nuts! Speaking of amayama, I can't get past the verification email they send to create an account. Frustrating. As soon as I get their email I click the link and I get a message saying the link has expired. I've tried multiple times and different days. I ended up ordering from partsouq.

 

I’ve ordered from Partsouq before, Carmarka, too. Good service. I prefer Amayama mostly because they give you a running total as you add to the cart, including shipping charges.

 

Pulled the front half moon. See pics. The new plug sits considerably higher in the installed head vs. the used head in the shed. If I push down on the new plug in the truck it will pop back up. The new plug sits fine in the used head. If there wasn't a difference in the installed vs used, I'd just go with it. Thoughts?

Used plug on left

New plug in truck

plug in used head

plug in used head

 

Why can't you cut the plug down to a size that suits you???

 

I measured the openings in both heads. The installed/aftermarket measures at least 1 mm less in depth than the used head.

I'm using a plug from the used head for the front for now. It's already compressed from usage and fits better than the new. If there's no leakage in the front I'll replace the back one...

 

Call 22RE back and ask JIM what cyl head you have. This may have a swapped engine from years ago like maybe a 21r. Shoot us a pic of the valve cover and engine.