97 V6 valve stem seals - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Winger95 · 02-09-2010, 07:02 PM

I have recently acquired a 97 Camry with a V6 that smokes quite a bit when first started. I am going to replace the valve stem seals as soon as possible. On most cars that I've worked on before, the valve stem seals were basically just O-rings. Is this the case with the V6?

It used to be possible to buy 'umbrella' seals to get a better seal around the valve stem. Are these types of seals available for this engine? Does anyone have a part number for them?

islandboy57 · 02-10-2010, 01:38 PM

You might want to post this in the gen 3/4 forums, I think you'll get a better response. My understanding though is that replacing the valve stem seals on the 1MZ V6 is quite labor intensive, but it sounds like you'll be doing it yourself so the cost for labor shouldn't be a problem.

AlmightyCamry777 · 02-20-2010, 01:16 PM

I can't think of any good reason to buy any new stem seals that are not from toyota OEM. If it needs something else, you probably need a valve job.

Before i set about doing this, i think i'd do a compression check on all 6 cylinders, (or at least the front 3!)
the labor involved in removing all the parts to get to the valves (the timing belt and camshafts have to come out) is almost as much as a valve job.