determining oil leak: valve cover or head gasket? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Camry LE 94 · 10-27-2006, 08:15 PM

i have an oil leak and I'm having trouble determining whether it's a head gasket or a valve cover leak... I am pretty sure it's a valve cover gasket leak but to be sure how could I tell?
Fixing the leak seems simple enough for me to do it, so I probably will attempt to. I've seen the pictures of that guy taking the valve cover off to paint it... yet I need to know what I should buy and where I should buy it from for that matter. Anybody know a little something about the problem I am having?

***Eye8Pussies*** · 10-27-2006, 08:32 PM

you'll have to give a better description of your leak for us to determine

but check your oil and if it seems kind of milky, then it's a headgasket since it means you have coolant in it then.

and for a valve cover gasket, just pick it up from the dealer. it'll be about 20bucks.

Camry LE 94 · 10-27-2006, 08:41 PM

well the oil leaks closeby the valve cover and it's not milky... it leaks onto the front-end exhaust pipe, and when the car is hot, it creates a shitload of smoke, which comes out of my air vent and is very annoying/smells horrible. my friend took a look at it and saw fresh oil supposedly coming out of a bolt on the right side of the valve cover like 4 inches below it. other than that i dont know how much more I can describe it lol

AlphaMale · 10-27-2006, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camry LE 94

well the oil leaks closeby the valve cover and it's not milky... it leaks onto the front-end exhaust pipe, and when the car is hot, it creates a shitload of smoke, which comes out of my air vent and is very annoying/smells horrible. my friend took a look at it and saw fresh oil supposedly coming out of a bolt on the right side of the valve cover like 4 inches below it. other than that i dont know how much more I can describe it lol

If Camry engines and under-hood electronics can take it, you might want to do an engine shampoo so when everything is clean, you can see where the source of the leak is better. It sounds like a valve cover gasket leak, which isn't a huge problem to remedy.

Camry LE 94 · 10-27-2006, 10:46 PM

thanks for the replies... where can i get an engine shampoo done?

***Eye8Pussies*** · 10-28-2006, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camry LE 94

well the oil leaks closeby the valve cover and it's not milky... it leaks onto the front-end exhaust pipe, and when the car is hot, it creates a shitload of smoke, which comes out of my air vent and is very annoying/smells horrible. my friend took a look at it and saw fresh oil supposedly coming out of a bolt on the right side of the valve cover like 4 inches below it. other than that i dont know how much more I can describe it lol

that sounds like a valve cover gasket leak then- a pretty easy fix since it's in the front (I don't know if you have a 6 or a 4bnager).

and you can get engine degreaser/cleaner at your local automotive shop. just follow the instructions on the back of teh spray can.

you can try to cover your alternator and obviously exposed electrical connections and try not to soak those areas too much. otherwise, no worries about washing the enginebay