98 toyota camry : Valve cover gasket and Starter

[coolguy004]

a few months back i was having problems with starting the car and the forum suggested the starter ....it was the starter..and i was able to replace it.
Now the car starts fine..however i did the valve cover gasket(had a mechanic do it) and now i see some oil dripping ..the oil is somewhat all over ...close to the speed sensor....closer to the passenger side of the car(bottom).
I inspected the valve cover gasket and noticed that some part of the valve cover gasket MAY be out i.e. not fitted correctly..the gasket is black..and have noticed some red bulge kinda material from the cover..could this be leaking oil that causes the color to change.
The dip stick reads between Low and Full..so I put some more oil to be on the safer side. Can i ruin my engine if I put too much oil?
Any advise/comments?

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by coolguy004

a few months back i was having problems with starting the car and the forum suggested the starter ....it was the starter..and i was able to replace it.
Now the car starts fine..however i did the valve cover gasket(had a mechanic do it) and now i see some oil dripping ..the oil is somewhat all over ...close to the speed sensor....closer to the passenger side of the car(bottom).
I inspected the valve cover gasket and noticed that some part of the valve cover gasket MAY be out i.e. not fitted correctly..the gasket is black..and have noticed some red bulge kinda material from the cover..could this be leaking oil that causes the color to change.
The dip stick reads between Low and Full..so I put some more oil to be on the safer side. Can i ruin my engine if I put too much oil?
Any advise/comments?

Exert from a Post I recently did:

Q. How much is too much oil?

A. Your dipstick has an indicator on it L for low range H for High Range. Your oil level with the motor COLD should be in between the L and H Indicators on the dipstick. If it is too low, you can risk internal damage due to low oil pressure and heat exchange. Adding too much oil can overfill the crankcase. As the crankshaft spins around, it will spin the oil around and create air pockets in the oil if the level is too high. (kind of like a foam in a way) This, in turn, can cause a drop in oil pressure and loss of lubrication to critical engine parts. Also, too much oil may cause leaks as the extra oil is forced past seals and gaskets.

Clean off around where you think it is leaking with a rag until all oil is removed. Start the car up and inspect where you suspect the leak. That's the best method for checking for oil leaks. It may be a pain in the butt to clean, but its better than guessing where its leaking. Theres a good de-greaser I like to use called Purple Power. Its Industrial Strength de-greaser that you can pick up at Lowes or your parts store.

May like to read up on a post I did recently:
Oil Answers

[coolguy004]

thanks..i did a power wash of the engine too to check for any oil leaks..I did see some oil on the engine cover(left side)...my concern could the valve cover gasket leak pretty bad to lower the oil level?
On the other hand can I sell my old starter somewhere? since the shop i bought from did not require the core..its a brand new starter...not rebuilt...
Where should I clean to see where the leak is from?
any ideas/suggestions?

[JohnGD]

Maybe the gasket was not installed or torqued down correctly. It's about $20 online that includes 4 spark plug tube seals as well. You will need dabs of RTV to properly seal some seams and corners.

Will the mechanic honor any warranty? That said, any mechanic who can't install a valve cover gasket correctly does not have my trust.

This DIY is for painting the valve cover, but should give you some ideals. There are others describing the steps but lack pictures so I didn't include them here:
How-To Guide: Removing and Painting a Valve Cover - 5SFE -- 56K warned Lots of Pics

Originally Posted by coolguy004

however i did the valve cover gasket(had a mechanic do it) and now i see some oil dripping ..the oil is somewhat all over ...close to the speed sensor....closer to the passenger side of the car(bottom).
I inspected the valve cover gasket and noticed that some part of the valve cover gasket MAY be out i.e. not fitted correctly..the gasket is black..and have noticed some red bulge kinda material from the cover..could this be leaking oil that causes the color to change.
The dip stick reads between Low and Full..so I put some more oil to be on the safer side. Can i ruin my engine if I put too much oil?
Any advise/comments?

[Mike Gerber]

"I inspected the valve cover gasket and noticed that some part of the valve cover gasket MAY be out i.e. not fitted correctly"

Take the car back to the mechanic who did the valve cover gasket and have him take a visual look. That should take all of about 2 minutes for the mechanic. If there is a problem, he should honor his warranty.

Mike

[TedL]

Originally Posted by coolguy004

I inspected the valve cover gasket and noticed that some part of the valve cover gasket MAY be out i.e. not fitted correctly..the gasket is black..and have noticed some red bulge kinda material from the cover..could this be leaking oil that causes the color to change.

Red is a common color for RTV silicone. Often used in corners in conjunction with solid gaskets. Some will even apply a thin layer the full length of solid gaskets. Commonly squeezes out.