1999 Toyota Corolla Varnish Under Valve Cover

I wonder if after almost 250K miles EV owners are going to obsess equally over the appearance of their motor commutators, windings and brushes?


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Boutique oil in a 23 year old Corolla seems like a fool's errand.
Why pay double the price for a product that's harder to get only to put it into a 20+ year old vehicle???

Any reasonable person looking at that picture and reading OPs comments would conclude to carry on with the same regimen that got the car to this point.

The varnish isn't hurting anything.
Meh, I ran Redline in a $500 Focus, lol, to each their own.

That varnish points to there likely being significant accruement of deposits in the ring land area which would almost assuredly reduce consumption if removed. Probably also increase compression a bit.

If HPL is out of the budget, M1 0W-40 is another option, since it is also blended with a bit of POE and AN's.
 
Psshhh. That car will run regardless. Our 98 Prizm with the same 1ZZ has 200K+ and runs great on M1 0W40. Ours consumes about a quart every 5K and will easily get 40 mpg on a long trip. I love that original port tuned intake!
 
I wonder if after almost 250K miles EV owners are going to obsess equally over the appearance of their motor commutators, windings and brushes?


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Ha! I have a feeling the bugs are being worked out and the EV motors are going to last forever. They won't be the source of EV issues.

Back to the OP, I'd use 5W-40 T6 in that thing. It will reduce oil consumption and help clean the internals.
 
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Yeah it does burn oil, but it's not bad, I don't think rings are seized up but the oil control rings are always going to be an issue unless the engine is rebuilt. My last OCI was 2800 miles and the oil filter had a little bit of sludge in it, so I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing until the filters are mostly clear. I notice the oil burning is not as prominent on brand new oil(when it's thin).

Listen to OVERKILL. I’d go with M1 0w40 and some HPL SAE 30 cleaner.
 
Boutique oil in a 23 year old Corolla seems like a fool's errand.
Why pay double the price for a product that's harder to get only to put it into a 20+ year old vehicle???

Any reasonable person looking at that picture and reading OPs comments would conclude to carry on with the same regimen that got the car to this point.

The varnish isn't hurting anything.
Actually you should perhaps go back and re read the post since you have missed it.

OP said it’s not clean and he would like to get it there (clean) so overkill’s advice is pretty valid.

Simply doing what was done will be a sure way to continue getting what you get which is not what was asked for. Esters or AN’s regardless of who blends them together will clean the varnish. His request is actually quite reasonable.
 
Actually you should perhaps go back and re read the post since you have missed it.

OP said it’s not clean and he would like to get it there (clean) so overkill’s advice is pretty valid.

Simply doing what was done will be a sure way to continue getting what you get which is not what was asked for. Esters or AN’s regardless of who blends them together will clean the varnish. His request is actually quite reasonable.
Perhaps you should go back and reread OPs post as well.
Then go back and reread my post.
OPs words were:
I know it's not as clean as some engines, but I'd like to get it there, what are your thoughts?
So he's asking what people's thoughts are about improving the varnish condition.

Given that is what's he's after, the fact is that there's nothing wrong with the engine in the condition it is currently in.

Stating it again (hopefully more clearly) my thoughts are he's really chasing a ghost here and attempting to address a perceived problem that doesn't actually exist.

A boutique oil in this circumstance is the old solution in search of a problem. Totally unneeded, totally unnecessary, and at least double the price of readily available and completely capable alternatives.

Im sure you're a good guy and I'm sure your company makes great products, but they sure aren't needed in a 23 year old Corolla.
I stand by my previous comment.
 
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It doesn’t look that bad honestly. As long as the PCV system is good I’d just change the oil with a good synthetic and don’t extend the oil change interval. I agree with the others, I’d give High Performance Lubricants a try based off the results I’ve see posted here lately. Once it’s been cleaned up a little I’d just use a name brand synthetic.
 
that engine has been well documented about its issue, oil burner

that has something to do with varnish I bet

yet, I put on my '02 Corolla 230K miles a long ago and sold it

one of the reasons I sold it, catalytic converter needed to be replaced annually due to engines oil consumption
 
Yeah it does burn oil, but it's not bad, I don't think rings are seized up but the oil control rings are always going to be an issue unless the engine is rebuilt. My last OCI was 2800 miles and the oil filter had a little bit of sludge in it, so I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing until the filters are mostly clear. I notice the oil burning is not as prominent on brand new oil(when it's thin).
If varnish is bothering you that much then yes I guess lots of good advice here. The oil burning issues had a bandaid fix with Rotella T6 5w40, courtesy of @LeakySeals, however I dont know if the new formulation of t6 is still a solution (i assume if you are burning any amount, that might mess with the cats).

My personal take on the 1zzfe oil burning issues is the Benniefix is the only way. The varnish seems to be a common finding on the 1zzfe oil burners, but that might just be a coincidence.
 
If varnish is bothering you that much then yes I guess lots of good advice here. The oil burning issues had a bandaid fix with Rotella T6 5w40, courtesy of @LeakySeals, however I dont know if the new formulation of t6 is still a solution (i assume if you are burning any amount, that might mess with the cats).

My personal take on the 1zzfe oil burning issues is the Benniefix is the only way. The varnish seems to be a common finding on the 1zzfe oil burners, but that might just be a coincidence.
What's Benniefix?... Or did you mean Berryman B-12?
 
What's Benniefix?... Or did you mean Berryman B-12?
Bennie is the person who first documented the 1zzfe fix on this generation of Corolla.

I have heard a couple of chemical fixes like piston soak with Berrymans and xyz products, but most documented trials did next to nothing. The 1zzfe motor was really a bad motor and if the ownership OCI history was sketchy it didnt do any favors.
 
Bennie is the person who first documented the 1zzfe fix on this generation of Corolla.

I have heard a couple of chemical fixes like piston soak with Berrymans and xyz products, but most documented trials did next to nothing. The 1zzfe motor was really a bad motor and if the ownership OCI history was sketchy it didnt do any favors.
So, what's the fix? Drilling additional holes in the piston?
 
To me, this seems like a great candidate to try @High Performance Lubricants HDEO that @wwillson has been using, which has yielded significant carbonaceous materials, which we assume is from the ring land area, in his oil filters. I'd skip any specific cleaners and just run the oil. Dave may also recommend something different/more affordable, depending on your budget.
That would cost more than the car is worth
 
Psshhh. That car will run regardless. Our 98 Prizm with the same 1ZZ has 200K+ and runs great on M1 0W40. Ours consumes about a quart every 5K and will easily get 40 mpg on a long trip. I love that original port tuned intake!
Love the look of the intake (my '99 Corolla) but of all the stupid things, see attached photo of where the wiring pigtail connector is for the crank sensor 😡. Drain coolant, pull manifold to get to it. 'Cmon Toyota! Under runner serving cyl 2. Do I have this right? I need to suss-out whether mine is bum...
 

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