Viscosity and type of oil for a 1MZ-FE.. Your thoughts?

[islandboy57]

Facts:
- '95 1MZ-FE
- 82.8K miles
- Currently using 10W-40 [temps average 70-90 degrees] conventional oil w/ Toyota OEM filter
- Slow slow oil leak, a few drops on the ground per month
- Last major service included changing all kinds of gaskgets and O-rings
- Short 2mi trips Monday thru Friday
- Crappy fuel economy due to brutal short short trips; last fill up was 14.1 MPG 100% city

I'm debating whether or not to switch to synthetic and/or 10W-30. I hesitate because I don't want it to clean the insides of the engine and make the oil leak worse. I know synthetic doesn't cause leaks, rather dino oil just kind of plugs it up and it gets cleared when you switch to synthetic.

In its earlier life, it was probably getting oil changes twice a year with 6K miles per year put on it. Not enough for the 1MZ due to the short city trips IMO, but hey, can't do anything about that now. I'm not sure if there is sludge or anything but the filler hole/splash guard is pretty black and always has been. The car runs silky smooth all the way up to the redline and its idle is almost silent.

I do an oil change every 3mo/3K miles whichever comes first. I do my gen 5.5 every 6mo/5K miles whichever comes first - which is currently running Valvoline SynPower 5W-30 synthetic.

What do all of you think? I figured TN would be the best place to ask the Camry experts

[bigbird]

i perfer 10w 30 but if it leaks a little now it will leak a little more after. your only real option is to replace that gasket. it doesnt sound liek its very bad though so i wouldnt worry about it. it sounds like ya take good care of the car but thoes short frequent trips do aid in sludge buildup. id pop off the valve cover if ya want to look into it further.

[islandboy57]

All gaskets were replaced 5-7K miles ago, or 2-3 years ago. The oil leak was much worse before that! I fondly refer to it as the "infamous Toyota oil leak" ahhaha.

How would I go about taking the valve cover off? I've been thinking about that but I haven't been able to find specific directions for the 1MZ.

EDIT: Duh, I have a Haynes manual. I completely forgot about that - I'll have to take a look when I get home.