92 toyota camry 157,000+ miles valve cover removed

[huffmuds9320]

The engine had some oil leaking in the spark plug tubes. Since the valve cover gasket has not been changed, decided to change the valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals. And replaced the pcv valve and grommet. Got the digital camera and took some pictures to see how clean or dirty its inside at this mileage. About more than 157,000 miles total. I don't think this 2.2L engine has the sludge problem. Has been running mostly on 10W-40 or 10W-30 regular oil. Pictures below. If the pictures don't show or something go to the yahoo briefcase and check it out there. Theres a few more pictures there. Enjoy. 92 toyota camry valve cover reomved

 

[wavinwayne]

Just for kicks, why not run it for (2) 5k mile intervals with either Mobil 1 10w30 or Shell Rotella T 5w40 synthetic or 15w40 dino, & see what kind of cleaning action takes place. Do it for the BITOGers. What has your OCI history been?

 

[Marlin]

I say give the Mobil 7500 10W30 a try and see how much it cleans it up. Pretty myc a Grp 3 "syn" with a mixture of some PAO also.

 

[huffmuds9320]

I don't really know the whole entire record of the oil change intervals. My dad bought it used in 97 or 98. He is not that good on maintenance, I do most of the servicing. I'm one of those that really like to keep the car in top shape. Back then before I found this forum I used 10W-40 because thats what he buys. Also used to use Fram or pennzoil filters. I don't use those anymore of course. But now I use 10W-30. Currently running on Mobil Drive Clean 10W-30. As for oil change interval its usually somewhere in between 3000-5000 miles or a few times a year. Yeah it does need some cleaning. Next oil change I'll put some good stuff in like Mobil Clean 7500 or 15W-40 heavy duty oil. Thanks for the comments.

 

[benjamming]

I can't view the 3 pictures nor does anything come up on the Yahoo briefcase link.

 

[huffmuds9320]

I guess yahoo briefcase has limits or something. I put them on photobucket instead, should work. 92 toyota camry valve cover removed

 

[srivett]

What holds that valve cover on? It looks very similar to my parents 1997 RAV-4 engine. I'm considering replacing the gasket next time I do a tune-up on their car. They have the same sort of varnish in their engine and it looks like the back of the cover is leaking. It may just be spilt top-up oil as a result of the ridiculous filler hole but I'm not sure. Steve

 

[Alan]

My cousin pulled the valve cover off his 94 Camry with the same motor at around 140K miles and it was pretty much spotless,nothing but a slight golden patina. Oil used,Pennzoil 10W30 and Fram filters.

 

[huffmuds9320]

The valve cover is held on by four big nuts. Once you pull the spark plug boot off, you'll see it. I used a 32mm socket to take out the four nuts on the valve cover. Replacement its not too hard. Yeah it would be a good idea to run a few short intervals with a 15w-40 heavy duty oil to clean things up a bit. I also noticed that 2 of the spark plugs have quite a bit of oil on them, so its possible theres some blow by. It consumes very little oil but the oil does get dark very fast. I'll run a heavy duty oil like Mobil Delvac 15w-40 or something.

 

[wavinwayne]

The more I look at those pics, the more concerned I am becoming for your engine. Around '96 or so, I pulled the valve cover off of my '90 Mazda MX-6 2.2L @120k miles. I had to replace the leaky gasket. I remember vividly that everything was nearly spotless under the valve cover. This was on an engine that had ALL of it's oil changes done at either Precision Tune, Express oil change, or Wal-Mart. I routinely went 7-8k miles between oil changes & several times they would make me sign a waiver when I came in, stating that the oil dipstick showed no oil. I would at least run a couple short OCIs with an HDEO & re-evaluate things.

 

[earthworm]

But why run a "heavier" oil to try to clean up this mess ?? Maybe, just maybe, ARX would work.. And the only thing that really matters is the oil pick up screen and the oil galleys and small holes.... I cannot understand why that Ford engine was so clean, yet with very long OCIs..Something does not add up....

 

[addyguy]

It's a toyota 4-cylinder. It'll last forever, no-matter what you do to it....but have fun, anway!

 

[huffmuds9320]

Wow didn't expect this thread to come back again. Anyway update on what the Camry is up to. I actually never did put in 15W-40 oil in this car. Currently its running Mobil 1 0W-40 synthetic, no noticeable oil consumption compared to 10W-30 dino. Its almost at 170,000 miles, still running good. Original transmission. Check engine light is on due to EGR valve. AutoRX sounds like a very good idea, will consider that.