Under valve cover pics - 06 Toyota matrix

[barkingspider]

I replaced the valve cover gasket on this vehicle at 171K miles July 2022. Here are the pics:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/under-valve-cover-pics.357192/

Its now been approx 60K miles at 231K total miles and I decided to replace the valve cover gasket as I got a free gasket from a friend who found one in his garage that he had for his corolla that he sold years ago. What I expected to see with my OCIs was it not getting any cleaner but also not any darker / worse than before. Here are my OCIs since 171K miles.

171K Havoline high mileage 5w30, 4300 miles
176K QS full syn 5W30, 4800 miles
181K M1 franjenbrew (5/30, 0/20, 15/50), 4300 miles
185K QS full syn 5w30, 5000 miles
191K same, 5000 miles
196K PP 10W30, 5000 miles
201K same, 4800 miles
206K Havoline longlife 5W30, 4300 miles
210K Castrol Edge 10W30, 5000 miles
215K Valvoline Adv 5W30, 5400 miles
220K Castrol Edge 10W30, 4900 miles
225k Valvoline Adv 10/30, still in use at 5200 miles, will change the oil next week

Your thoughts

 

[WobblyElvis]

The lighting is different between the two sets of photos so it's hard to tell but I lean slightly towards it's a little cleaner now. You have been diving many miles each year and using good oils. Looks like varnish is very hard to remove. If you are driving a lot on the highway, I wouldn't change a thing other than perhaps extend the OCI a little. The varnish isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Looks fine for that mileage. Those engines run forever. If it bothers you, try VRP

 

[Dave Hess]

Looks great. I’m not worried about the discoloration.

 

[RF Overlord]

Looks awesome!

Peeked through the 710 hole in my '11 Grand Marquis with 179,xxx and it looked about the same. Yay for me!

 

[Oliveoil2]

Looks good and clean!! A little patina at that age is to be expected. I agree, 2-4 changes of Valvoline Restore and Protect (VPR) is worth the investment. 6-8k OCI and let it do its thing.

 

[CharBaby]

That caramel looking varnish seems typical for Toyotas. And it doesn’t seem to hurt the engine a bit

 

[Glenda W.]

Even 5k oci’s using full synthetic couldn’t keep the varnish at bay. On a side note the engine will probably run another 200k like that.

 

[cptbarkey]

Looks fine, ignore the varnish, keep doing what you are doing.

 

[Slick3914]

I would run it till she blows!

 

[daves87rs]

Looks fine here!

 

[Overfill]

what's the makeup oil between changes?
My thoughts are, why not try and clean it up with VRP or HPL? I'd feel more comfortable tripling the OCI into 15kmi intervals even though it wouldn't triple the cost

 

[barkingspider]

It does not consume, never added any oil between OCIs. I have a decent stash to use up so no need to buy HPL or VRP. Think I may push the OCI to 6-7K

 

[OVERKILL]

That's a lot of varnish

 

[BrendanC]

i can see deposits forming in the head… i would definitely want to switch over to VRP or atleast run an OCI with HPL EC30 mixed in to clean it up some.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Looks good

 

[The Critic]

I don't think this received on time oil changes for the first 171k?

My sister's former 05 was a rental for the first 30K or so, then the second owner had a semi regular maintenance schedule....and it was much cleaner than yours at 130K:

Post in thread 'Bought a 2005 Toyota Corolla'

Jan 8, 2022

I have been making progress on the Corolla’s reconditioning.

After smog, the first stop was a new battery. Yes, I swapped it in the Costco parking lot to avoid having to make a second trip for the core return:

Then it was time for new tires at America’s Tire:

Next I pulled the injectors and had them serviced. Supposedly they were a “3 or 4” in terms of dirtiness and I should see a 8% improvement in flow.

I am currently in the process of resealing the timing cover. I forgot how easy these cars are to work on compared to the newer 4-cyls. It is...

• The Critic

• 

 

[sw99]

Here is my 2008 1zz fe . IIRC, this was at about 175k.

 

[sw99]

I do a HDEO and 25% MMO run for 5k every other year. Not sure if it has anything to do with the cleanliness of the top end but something is working.

 

[AdmiralYoda]

OP, keep doing what you are doing! You mention that you have a good stock of oil so no need for VRP or HPL yet, but I vote adding a quart of HPL's EC-30 for each OCI, shooting for 5k OCI's. It will help clean that varnish over time.