Help! Need to thicken oil

[toofastgtp]

So i have a 95' Lexus ES300
I know i have a slight rear valve cover gasket leak. Ever since i change from Pennzoil conventional to PP (5w30) it seems to be a constant drip. When i was running Pennzoil conventional i did not notice it as much as i do now.

What is the best way to thicken up the oil until i can get to doing the gaskets?

I thought of using a half bottle of lucas but i know how a lot of people hate it as it foams up.

Any suggestions?

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: toofastgtp
So i have a 95' Lexus ES300
I know i have a slight rear valve cover gasket leak. Ever since i change from Pennzoil conventional to PP (5w30) it seems to be a constant drip. When i was running Pennzoil conventional i did not notice it as much as i do now.

What is the best way to thicken up the oil until i can get to doing the gaskets?

I thought of using a half bottle of lucas but i know how a lot of people hate it as it foams up.

Any suggestions?

1) Make the Pennzoil conventional a 10w30 or 10W-40. See what it does.
2) If this does not do anything, switch to a "High Mileage" Oil like MaxLife. Seems Synthetic helped make a drip-drip.. not a popular thing to say, but it happens sometimes.
3) If neither of these fails, put a bottle of Lucas Stop-Leak in. Whatever it is, its Group 1 "Thickener" that pours and looks like maple syrup, WORKS I have used it with success, dont know how but there it is, and in conjunction with Hi-Miles Oil, that should be that.

Advice will vary, but it has done its job for me a few times. You ONLY put it in when you suspect that is happening, though, as Lucas Stop-Leak, at $10 a quart for Group I stuff, is a relatively hated product.

HTH

 

[d00df00d]

Change your oil to the highest viscosity listed in your owner's manual. Beyond that, there's not a lot you can do unless you want to risk running oil that is too thick for your engine.

Then again, if you plan on repairing the gasket very soon -- which, IMO, you should -- then buy the thickest oil you can get (WITHOUT additives) and just run it very gently until then.

 

[willix]

Maybe a gasket need fixen.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Then again, if you plan on repairing the gasket very soon -- which, IMO, you should -- then buy the thickest oil you can get (WITHOUT additives) and just run it very gently until then.


Why without?

And what happens when you run Oil that is too Thick for the engine?

 

[lexus114]

Go back to the Pennzoil conventional. Problem solved.

 

[toofastgtp]

Problem with changing oil right now is there is only 500 on this oil.

valve cover will happen with in the next 2 months as i have to make the time for me to sit a day aside to do it.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: HangerHarley
Why without?

Additives that reduce leakage are for band-aiding problems that you don't intend to fix. They can cause as many problems as they solve.

The gasket needs to be replaced, period. No point in risking the future health of the engine.


Originally Posted By: HangerHarley
And what happens when you run Oil that is too Thick for the engine?

1. Reduced flow on cold starts.
2. Certain parts of the engine will run hotter.
3. Higher possibility of foaming.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: toofastgtp
Problem with changing oil right now is there is only 500 on this oil


Ive ran certain oils for only 500 miles, if i did not like what my gauge was reading (too "High" Pressure, some oils give the sweet spot, i may simply use them, perhaps, its unclear) OR didnt like the noise/type/etc. As "Experimenting" goes.

It may be PP, but dump it. You only have about 5 quarts to worry about. Some have 7, or 8!

 

[edhackett]

First step is to just snug the bolts on the cover.

Ed

 

[Ibrahim]

Switch to a high mileage oil and buy Engine Stop leak and pour some...

also look into using 10W40!

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: Ibrahim
Switch to a high mileage oil and buy Engine Stop leak and pour some...

also look into using 10W40!


I agree. Any car thats started drip-drip-drippin, and it wasnt comin from the VC and running down the side of the engine block, that seemed to do it. IF it had that issue.

It wont kill your car. But PP is making it worse, every mile its in there. ok?

 

[toofastgtp]

The reason i cant do the valve cover right now is time.
I have to remove the intake plenum and all that to get to rear cover. So i just cant go in an tighten the bolts. And when i do this i want to give my self a full day even though it may only take an hour or 2.

I really don't want use any stop leak fluids. Honestly i have used lucas and had no problems with it until i came here and heard of the foaming issues.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: edhackett
First step is to just snug the bolts on the cover.

Ed


I agree. I would not thicken the oil, especially with winter just around the corner. Park the car over some paneling scraps or cardboard, check the level often. Or dump the oil and use a High Mileage oil. I would not add a something to thicken the oil or a stop leak product in something I really cared about. JMO

 

[ronrackley]

If it were mine and I knew I would get around to replacing the gasket before cold weather sets in, I would just get some good straight 30 weight like Pennzoil Conventional or Rotella and top off with that in the mean time... and slide a big piece of cardboard under it at night if drip stains on the driveway are a problem for you.

 

[dparm]

Change it to something thicker, or just keep topping it off.

I suggest you fix the root of the problem rather than band-aiding it with a different oil.

 

[ClearDark]

I have a 97 ES300 that had leaking valve cover gaskets. I wanted to switch to synthetic but before I did, I fixed the VC leak. It would generally leak about 3/4 of a quart between 3000 mile oil changes on conventional. Now that the VC is fixed, I put some M1 High Mileage oil in, and I will be monitoring it's progress.

The rear valve cover is a [censored] to do. The motor was originally a light truck/suv motor, and in order to adapt it to a car application, Toyota tiled the motor to the rear 15 degrees, and made it a total [censored] to get at the rear valve cover, or the spark plugs. Front was a piece of cake. You will have to remove the plenum, no doubt about it. When you are in there be sure to replace your spark plugs with the correct plugs (Denso platinums with dual tips) and to replace the spark plug tube gaskets. Mine were extremely brittle and broke in many pieces upon removal. My rear plugs looked to have never been replaced (probably because the plenum has to be removed). The front's were replaced at some point, but I replaced all 6 anyways. Go slow and draw diagrams if you need to. It took me about 4 hours from start to finish, but im sure if I did it again it could be done in around 3. Good luck.

 

[toofastgtp]

So is it only the spark plug tube seals and VG gaskets and the upper intake gasket i need then? I read some where gotta remove the lower intake which i don't see why.

Plugs where done a few months ago. In all honesty took me around 20-30 min to do all plugs. Don't see why they stated you have to remove the intake plenum to do it.

 

[hardcore302]

Try a bottle of STP oil treatment. Thick stuff.

 

[mechtech2]

If an oil is 20% thicker, it will leak 20% less.
Hardly worth it.
But there are additives like STP and No Smoke that are very thick.
Make sure you gt the thick versions -STP 4 cyl is thin.
It may attenuate the problem a bit.