Inserting new spark plug tube seals into the valve cover ... anything better than beat them in?

Got them out easily with @NutzAboutBolt tip of using a long handled pry bar.

Anybody know any tricks about putting the new spark plug tube seals into the valve cover?
I've see people use motor oil and also (diluted) dish washing soap to lubricate it.

I tried pounding them in with a 1" socket and a hammer ... that is only scuffing up the bottom though.
Those's also those metal tabs that make it even more difficult.
There must be a trick I'm missing?

Thank you!

 

Oh, sorry, I thought you meant bend the tabs back for getting them out.
Should have thought forward and deduced one might have to do that for getting them back in though ... thanks!
[What a PITA ... should have thought twice about replacing them as you also advised.]

What is the best way to bend them out (and then back in) without breaking them/the surrounding assembly?
A pair of joint pliers and a lot of luck?
So many heat-cooling cycles seems to have hardened them.
Also seems like there's absolutely NO way to detach/unbolt the piece with the tabs.

Are the tabs serving any useful purpose ... maybe mask off the area and Dremel cut them out?

I wonder if anyone has used something like a heat gun on them until close to melting/deformation temperature so they're pliable, or is that crazy thinking?

 

Again, thank you all for your advice and encouragement!

For those interested in the blow-by-blow:
- taking the spark plug tube seals out was super easy with a long pry bar (thanks to NutzAboutBolts)
- initially, unable to install any of the new spark plug tube seals
---- probably should not have take them out - they did not appear to be leaking (153k)
- bent the little rectangular tabs up with slip joinit pliers (tabs that prevent the seals from falling out)(thanks The Critic)
- used some silicon spray as a lubricant on the new seals
- removed the item from the attached pic (to the right of oil filler cap (on top surface of valve cover)) - but not before cracking it (REMOVE BEFORE YOU START HAMMERING!)(what is the name?)
---- I SEE NOW THAT THERE'S A BLACK ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR, VALVE COVER LEFT SIDE ON THE TOP THAT SHOULD ALSO BE REMOVED PRIOR TO HAMMERING
- used a 1 1/16" deep IMPACT socket, square hole towards the seal (i.e. inverted) and a 4 lb sledge and a piece of wood to pound it in (POSSIBLY A 1 1/8" might be the absolute largest you could use) - unfortunately seal scuffed up marginally due to all the pounding (appears viable though)
---- used a cut up old seal to judge for depth (use tree pruning shears to cut)
---- also had to occasionally use a big, flat punch and a hammer to level the seal as it was going down (i.e. to keep the seal level)
---- needed 2 people - one to steady the valve cover - one to pound (ground surface = smooth concrete with a layer of cardboard)

Tomorrow I will continue with the other 3 ...

 

Would anyone have access to the Official Toyota Repair Manual on how to change the spark plug tube seals?
Having a devil of a time ... have deformed several of them ... both after market (Fel-Pro) and genuine Toyota.
I even got the superseded part direct from the Toyota stealership 11193-0V010 (original: 11193-36010).

I had some limited success inserting one in the WRONG way (i.e. bulging side facing towards heaven/up).
But I see from the youtube video @36:55 mins "Toyota Prius 2ZR head gasket replacement", that the puffy/extruding/bulging side points towards hell/down (when assembled points down).
To me, it seems that applying pounding force via ~28mm socket against that bulge just isn't the right way to go.
Tried with the socket facing both ways - larger flat surface works better.

There has to be some kind of trick (heat? chemical?) or special tool or cleverness (angle, offering to the gods)?
I'm probably completely wrong but would a dealership tech hammer it in? (potential damage to valve cover for example).

Thank you!

 

If the valve cover is oriented in its normal operating position, they are inserted from the bottom to the top with the bulge side facing down.

Interesting approach Georgina, maybe I will have to do that also because hammering them in via 28-30mm socket seems futile.

I just put them in the freezer to see if cold will help contract them (doubtful).

I wonder if I nicked out (i.e. cut) a few slices on the topmost side-outer edge-NOT through to the center and used high temp RTV sealant, if that would hold up over time?
Anyone know what sort of pressure and heat it would be subjected to? (if memory serves, inside the valve cover it might get to ~300F).

 

Update: After scouring the internet for hours, 2 additional suggestions in the spirit of MacGyver:
(a) DIY press with a bolt, washers and PVC pipe cylinder of the correct diameter:

(b) use drift pin incrementally (i.e. tap 1 side, then maybe rotate 45 degrees, smack it again, etc)

I'll post a summary as to what works/doesn't work.

 

Thanks again Master Mendel-Po, Georgina and TMR - sincerely appreciate the advice!

Georgina: Would you guess a "typical machine shop" has POM Delrin/PEEK plastic rod on hand to fashion a seal?
Would they typically be familiar with this, or would they say "never done that before"? If I came to your shop what would the expected cost be? (I have zero experience with the capabilities of machine shop.)
Do you construct only the MAIN RING, or, MAIN RING with WALL?

Here are a couple pics of the spark plug tube seals 11193-0V010. (superseded)
In img1.jpg I added 3 notations for 3 sections (not sure they have standard names, so I made them up!):
(A) MAIN RING - green rectangle
(B) WALL - white ellipse
(C) FLAP - red star

Left to right (view reference: when preparing to insert into valve cover): (i) WRONG WAY UP (ii) Right way up (iii) Cross section (flap extended) (iv) Right way up (flap extended)

Curiously, in the manual it says:
REMOVE current spark plug tube seals and SAVE them
CUT OFF FLAP and re-install the ORIGINAL ONES (please correct me if I'm wrong)
Also curiously the only contact point I see is that the top of MAIN RING mates with bottom of spark plug tube - WALL and FLAP do not touch the tube at all! (so seems to me, you could do the same job with just MAIN RING?)



(yeah, I was sitting at the kitchen table and a banana was the most convenient item to prop it up for the pics at that moment)

 

Reading the manual more carefully:
REMOVE ORIGINAL spark plug tube seals and SAVE them
CUT OFF FLAP OF ORIGINAL ONES and install the NEW ONES by using the ORIGINAL ONES to hammer the NEW ONES in

I stand by my observation that the seals DO NOT make contact with the tube at any other point than the mating point.