1999 Toyota Corolla Varnish Under Valve Cover

Do a piston soak to help the rings and then run Rislone or an ester oil/cleaner like HPL EC or their oils, Redline, Amsoil SS to help w the varnish if you want. It looks pretty good and I wouldn't worry too much. Hopefully it serves you well for a while
 
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.
I wouldn't say the 1ZZ is a bad engine. Just a lot of issues from subpar maintenance. The 2AZ was a bad engine.
 
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.
Anything that arrives on your doorstep within 2 days can hardly be described as “harder to get”. Whether it makes financial sense to the OP can only be determined by the OP, but it can be objectively argued that every single penny one spends on HPL over and above any shelf-stock oil is directly repaid thru the use of the finest materials available. There are no compromises because unlike shelf-stock oils, the parent company is targeting a great product, not a given price point.
 
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Sludge is poor maintenance interval. Varnish is usually textbook religious scheduled OE/dealer recommended intervals.

Vary the 5w30, 10w30, 0w40 full synthetic oil brands/grades. And, keep the oil/filter change interval every 5000 miles or less. Engine will clean up all by itself with current spec oils. Go thicker if there is oil consumption. Follow the HTHS ladder. You will find a grade/brand that might reduce consumption, especially if excessive now. If not excessive, then its normal!

Use an oversized filter. The PH4967 thimble can be upsized to the 4386, 3614, and 3600 filters.

Replace the PCV valve, plugs, thermostat, coolant, cap, transmission fluid, PSF, belt... normal maintenance to get it running good, efficient, and clean. Most of my o2 sensors failed at around that mileage on my Toyotas. Run a quality FI cleaner.

Add a can of BG MOA 110. Its discontinued but still available. Was replaced with lspi MOA 115 and greenie MOA PE06. Other cheap and easy to use cleaners would be a pint of solvent from MarvelMysteryoil or Rislone, detergents from STP Synthetic oil treatment(gold botle), or maybe some help from the ester in Lubegard Biotech. Honestly, I don't see the need to clean it if you start using synthetic oil and a sane interval, and keep it full always. Check that dipstick often. My 1.8's never developed the known oil consumption issues but ran 5k synthetic intervals since new.

Being a Toyota, other than the current tuneup, don't see it needing much, other than timely maintenance and full oil levels. Don't see the need for overpriced additives or oils. Local autopart stores and walmart have fluids/filters and looking for rebates, sales, clearance fluids... will keep it running for a long time. If you're ok with 3k interval, don't even need synthetic oil either.
I sometimes do it myself, so I’m asking you: do you read your own posts before clicking the post button? After two paragraphs of telling the OP what he should arbitrarily change out even though he didn’t share any current problems, you tell him “it’s a Toyota so it doesn’t need much”, and after going through a cornucopia of various oil additives, many of which have been shown ineffective or even officially not delivering your claims (Lubegard has publicly confirmed BioTech will NOT clean deposits), and “cycle between 5w30/0w40 full synthetics” etc, you tell the OP not to worry about fancy oils or additives!

Advice can be good, even better when it’s all on the same basis in a single post, and excellent when it’s actually based in fact. Be better. ✌️
 
OP is long gone. Everyone with a new used car, or unknown maintenance history, or no details in post, needs to go thru all the records and figure out what they do or don't need. So, what's the problem? Its for the thread starter to do decide what has been done and what needs to be done, and how to address his mild varnish and oil consumption.
I do feel honored that you have nothing else important to do other than find some old posts that you're not happy with. Thank you. Please spend your whole life attacking my posts. Its awesome and if it makes you feel great to troll stalk me, go for it.

I don't care what marketing safely, via FTC, concerning what Lubegard can or can't do. It does have an ester. And, esters have some properties. Have you tested it? Don't assume or put words in my mouth and why I recommend certain products.

OP said he had oil consumption and Lubegard says Reduces oil and fuel consumption! Helps reduce smoking by restoring flexibility to valve stem seals for improved sealing, also providing outstanding upper cylinder lubricity as it frees up sticking rings.

I guess you didn't notice when I said "other than the tuneup" which is for the OP to decide on at his mileage/time and previous history/records. I can't and won't assume that vehicles have any maintenance. Many lack too much and are overly neglected.

And, he doesn't have to worry about ANYTHING. Its for him to decide if he wants to run nothing but bulk oil from the quick lube, or try various brands grades to see if anything reduces his consumption, or live with the varnish and oil consumption.

I enjoy when your and your kind get their panties up in a bunch and go out of their way to find an ol' post to attack.

I sometimes do it myself, so I’m asking you: do you read your own posts before clicking the post button? After two paragraphs of telling the OP what he should arbitrarily change out even though he didn’t share any current problems, you tell him “it’s a Toyota so it doesn’t need much”, and after going through a cornucopia of various oil additives, many of which have been shown ineffective or even officially not delivering your claims (Lubegard has publicly confirmed BioTech will NOT clean deposits), and “cycle between 5w30/0w40 full synthetics” etc, you tell the OP not to worry about fancy oils or additives!

Advice can be good, even better when it’s all on the same basis in a single post, and excellent when it’s actually based in fact. Be better. ✌️
 
concerning what Lubegard can or can't do. It does have an ester. And, esters have some properties. Have you tested it? Don't assume or put words in my mouth and why I recommend certain products.
Yes, I bought and used it (with no discernible benefits, I might add), and even had some lab testing done on it… along with emailing Lubegard directly, and the Lubegard email chain is where I got the information that BioTech does not remove deposits.

I tend to use caution when evaluating claims, and if a manufacturer of a product tells me their product doesn’t do something, I’ll tend to believe them over folklore.

As far as flattering yourself, you’re the only one. I can’t help that you make false or dubious claims, this thread got bumped by someone else; I simply read it today.
 
Thought I'd throw an update in here since there have been some heated convos lately.

I ran a couple of short 2-3k OCIs with 5w-30 M1 HM Full Synthetic and Purolator filters to clean out any sludge(don't want to run any cleaners through since the seals are old).

I went on a 400 mile road trip and had to top up the oil regularly every hour(consumed about 1.5 quarts total). This only really happens when going at higher speeds(65+ mph). Since then, I've switched to a thicker oil and am now running 10w-40 Valvoline Maxlife(Syn Blend) and regular OEM Toyota filters from the dealer.

The other thing I noticed is oil consumption is really only an issue when the oil has been in the car for 2000 miles or more. On brand new oil, no oil consumption occurs(probably because it's brand new, thick, and hasn't been broken down).

Next time I pop the valve cover off for a new valve cover gasket, that's when I'll know the results of keeping up with these oil changes and the varnish. I don't have any regrets buying this vehicle, it drives incredibly comfortably and has very few issues other than the oil consumption. Not to mention it looks new :)

PXL_20220905_012723057~2.jpg
 
Thought I'd throw an update in here since there have been some heated convos lately.

I ran a couple of short 2-3k OCIs with 5w-30 M1 HM Full Synthetic and Purolator filters to clean out any sludge(don't want to run any cleaners through since the seals are old).

I went on a 400 mile road trip and had to top up the oil regularly every hour(consumed about 1.5 quarts total). This only really happens when going at higher speeds(65+ mph). Since then, I've switched to a thicker oil and am now running 10w-40 Valvoline Maxlife(Syn Blend) and regular OEM Toyota filters from the dealer.

The other thing I noticed is oil consumption is really only an issue when the oil has been in the car for 2000 miles or more. On brand new oil, no oil consumption occurs(probably because it's brand new, thick, and hasn't been broken down).

Next time I pop the valve cover off for a new valve cover gasket, that's when I'll know the results of keeping up with these oil changes and the varnish. I don't have any regrets buying this vehicle, it drives incredibly comfortably and has very few issues other than the oil consumption. Not to mention it looks new :)
I'll second what @OVERKILL said ... look to HPL for a solution. However, you might think about a peek inside the cylinders with a boroscope (I believe that's the name of the tool) to see what, if any, damage has been done to the cylinder walls and whatever else you can see.
 
Thought I'd throw an update in here since there have been some heated convos lately.

I ran a couple of short 2-3k OCIs with 5w-30 M1 HM Full Synthetic and Purolator filters to clean out any sludge(don't want to run any cleaners through since the seals are old).

I went on a 400 mile road trip and had to top up the oil regularly every hour(consumed about 1.5 quarts total). This only really happens when going at higher speeds(65+ mph). Since then, I've switched to a thicker oil and am now running 10w-40 Valvoline Maxlife(Syn Blend) and regular OEM Toyota filters from the dealer.

The other thing I noticed is oil consumption is really only an issue when the oil has been in the car for 2000 miles or more. On brand new oil, no oil consumption occurs(probably because it's brand new, thick, and hasn't been broken down).

Next time I pop the valve cover off for a new valve cover gasket, that's when I'll know the results of keeping up with these oil changes and the varnish. I don't have any regrets buying this vehicle, it drives incredibly comfortably and has very few issues other than the oil consumption. Not to mention it looks new :)

View attachment 133933
If the rest of the car looks as good as this photo, it might be worth spending a bit on the engine. Compared to the cost of a newer car…
 
If the rest of the car looks as good as this photo, it might be worth spending a bit on the engine. Compared to the cost of a newer car…
Yes and yes, I agree. I think the only thing I can really do for it is to maybe do a piston soak by this point, but I think I'm going to do that at the end of this OCI.
 
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