Worth replacing valve cover gasket @ 150k?

[LazyPrizm]

Hi BITOG, so glad to be here after lurking for months, and finally have a question to ask:

The car: 2002 Chevy Prizm (aka Corolla), I'm the 2nd owner, bought at 90k miles about 2.5 years ago. I've run it up to 150,000, almost all highway. Unsure of previous maintenance. I've been running 5-7000 mile OCIs, whatever HM oil is on sale that week. It "consumes" oil, but not too badly from what I've read of the 1ZZ-FE engine, about 1qt/4000 miles and otherwise runs fine.

To celebrate the 150K mark, I'm running a 3000 mi OCI w/ 20% MMO. Also bought a new PCV valve and since I'll be mucking around in there anyway, do you think it's worth replacing the valve cover gasket? I've never taken the cover off, so I'm not sure what things will look like inside. I've attached a shot down the fill hole, the baffle looks crusted with some nasty stuff.

There appears to be oil stains on the back and passenger sides of the engine, but it's dry, not especially "fresh" like it recently leaked. I could try to get a photo of it, but I'm assuming it's just normal engine glop / kicked up road crud.

So -- slap on a new gasket after I do the PCV? Is there any reason to be concerned about the black stuff in the photo? I saw Bill in Utah posted a picture of his Corolla's oil baffle and it looked shiny :jealous:

Appreciate your thoughts!

 

[chad8]

That year corolla with its vvt2 valve timing is a known oil burner and ring eater. The problem is usually the oil control ring , similar to the problem with saturn 1.9's. It sounds like you got a good one if you are not burning oil at 150000 miles. The problem normally shows up at 80-90000 if it is going to occur ,but fresh oil that has cleaning properties is a help.
The valve cover is not usually the problem but the spark plug seals do leak eventually. I would pull the spark plugs and look for fresh oil on top of the plugs. If they are clean or have a little oil on them, I would wipe them down or replace. Then wash the motor down with a good degreaser. If there is any significant leakage, you will notice it within a few days to a week.
Then I would change the gasket and seals. Its really only about an hour or 2 job , even for a rookie.

 

[jdean]

Before changing the valve gasket, I would run a flushing solvent
to clean-up some of that gunk that is in this motor.

 

[Zaedock]

The gunk is on the baffle. Clean it when the cover is off and motor on.

 

[Donald]

I would suggest you run PU to clean the engine, maybe change at 5K. Forget the MMO or other flushes or solvents. Kreen or Auto-Rx would be a consideration.

 

[demarpaint]

If you're going to pull the VC I would do a manual cleaning too. Kreen or MMO would be a good choices for cleaning up the engine, quickly and safely. Kreen being the faster of the two. Skip the A-Rx it could take a year or more to do, and that's if it even does anything.

Go to oil additive section and read up on Kreen, MMO, and A-Rx. Respected member Trav had posted a lot of interesting info which might be helpful in your decision. Spend some time searching go back a year or so and check it out.

 

[Kuato]

I always get a laugh when the OP's original question doesn't get answered except for oil recommendations.

IMO yes it is worth it to change the valve cover, seems like everything else is doing fine.

The pic into the fill hole looks like yor OCI is doing some good, cleaning out whatever gunk the previous owner built up.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Personally I'd get on the PCV asap! You should not have the gunk that we are seeing. I'd not play around with the cover at this time unless its leaking quite a bit. I've not touched mine yet.

What is the driving like with your vehicle? I know you said all highway but how much at a time? 20,30,50 miles or more?

I just passed 232,000 miles and here is a shot of the filler I just took 5 minutes ago.

The oil is pretty dark since it will be changed this Friday when I get home so another 350 miles to go on the OCI and I took this one a little long.

One quart every 4000 miles is what I see with certain brands of oil. A few oils the engine just uses 6-8oz every 5-6k.

The MMO should do something but watch the dipstick for oil level closely. I'd think that the high mileage oil should have done more in the cleaning department since that is one of the marketing points that try to sell people on.

Take care and keep us informed!

Bill

PS:

 

[eljefino]

You're going to have some junk in the baffle; it's cold there and gets condensation.

It's absolutely a good idea to change the VC gasket even if it has a year or three left in it. The new one will be more flexible and pliable.

Don't let varnish and what not scare you on the head itself. If it doesn't wipe up with a dry rag, and isn't over 1/8" thick, I'd just leave it alone.

 

[JHZR2]

OP, it looks nasty down that filler. I like the idea of running PU and perhaps some kreen or MMO.

As far as the gasket does, does it leak? Does oil seep down in the spark plug holes?

If not, I see no good reason to change it. They will get hard and oil will seep by at some point, but until then, no need to mess.

 

[LazyPrizm]

Wow, great suggestions every one! Much thanks. I'll pull the plugs when I do the PCV valve, and use that to decide about pulling the cover, doing a manual clean & replacing the gasket. I have about 1800 left on the short OCI I'm doing, and will do a 5K with PU. I probably should have done all this when I first got the car, but didn't discover BITOG until last year ;-)

Donald: Is PU worth the extra $$ over PP? Maybe just for one cleaning cycle? AAP has a couple Pennzoil types on sale this month, lucky me

Bill: I drive 40 mi each way to/from work, 4 days a week. Almost all highway, mostly 65-75 mph (except for the inevitable DC beltway traffic jam).

 

[sunfire]

Get a sturdy filer like Purolator or Napa/WIX. There is also an oversized one that fits a 2006 Camry.

Make sure you cut the oil filters open so you can monitor the effectiveness of the cleaning oils.

 

[stephen9666]

Quote:
There appears to be oil stains on the back and passenger sides of the engine,

If this oil is around the valve cover gasket, then it's probably starting to seep.

If it were me, I might replace it - depending on how difficult the job is.

Your gasket it under $15 at Advance Auto, and that's even before using any discount codes.
Link to Felpro valve cover gasket.

I replaced the gasket on my Nissan as soon as it started to seep. I wanted to stop it from making a big mess. It's an easy job on that truck.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...484#Post2234484


On my Girlfriend's VW, it's a much bigger job. The engine is so packed in there that it even took me a while to figure out where the oil leak was coming from.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...176#Post2494176

 

[ltslimjim]

I would remove the valve covers JUST to see what the valvetrain really looks like.

...and yes, oversized filters(if right fit etc) to be used during 'cleanup' is a good practice, IMO. Though, I've never outright done that I have also not had a true sludge monster.

It looks nasty in that pic. I'd be surprised if there wasn't at least a good amount of varnish and deposits going on, not necessarily sludge. If the PCV system has been inefficient for a while, this could have accelerated this condition.

Do the Valve Cover Gasket replacement, and take pics before you put the thing back together. Be prepared for manual cleaning and set up a plan/course of action to address matters depending. We're all happy to help/give advice, but get the general sense of what is being said.

I'll hold off on concrete recommendations, but a full synthetic changed at 3,000 for the next 3 or 4 oil changes will probably get things rolling. You may have to resort to additives to see a quicker response. It's a good idea to start removing the oil filters and cutting them open to inspect (use over-sized if applicable)

 

[Dakota1820]

My Saturn filler hole looks the same and when I did the vc the engine was spotless it was just on the baffle if you want it clean though run some mobil1 0w40. Maybe overk1ll will chime In he has a picture to prove that stuff cleans and keeps clean pretty darn well.

 

[91344George]

Yep, I'd replace the valve cover gasket, if it hasn't started to weep oil yet it will soon most likely.

As for oil recommendations, if you want to clean any residue up just use an HDEO oil like Shell Rotella T5 or Mobil Delvac for two or three changes and then back to a regular detergent oil.

Gentle cleaning is what you want. Unless there is something wrong with your engine you should ONLY use oil nothing more in it.

That includes any high mileage oils which almost always have seal conditioners in them. If your engine doesn't burn any oil stay away from these.

 

[chad8]

I don't they make the cheaper hdeo in 5w30 which these motors call for. I have 2 corollas and heavier oil really cuts down the mileage.

 

[LazyPrizm]

Thanks for the advice -- I finally found a few quarts of 10w-30 PU (which is ok per owners manual) at WalMart. I have a PureOne filter but I'll look around for the extended size one. Having read the threads about upping filter size, I don't think it will cause any harm for one OC.

Will pull the spark plugs this weekend if the weather cooperates. If they're dirty, will grab the gasket at AAP and do the whole thing + post pics if I have time. There's a few good threads on Corolland about taking off the cover, plus I have the Haynes book so I think I can manage. Total "shade tree" mechanic here

 

[ltslimjim]

^Props to you and hope your endeavor goes well. Save the pics and post when you can.

 

[Scdevon]

I like the MMO idea on this engine. Just put a few "glugs" (5 or 6 ozs) in with the fresh oil and leave it in there for an entire oil change cycle for gentle cleaning. I never recommend putting an entire quart of MMO in the crankcase at once.

MMO is good stuff, but a quart of it in the crankcase is too much.