Oil Grade and the Camry engine

[REAPER STRAIN]

I have been using 20W-50 in my 5sfe camry for the last 2 or 3 months. Its an older engine and but it runs good. I dont see any problems with the oil and my car has been running great ever since but I have noticed a certain clicking noise under the hood while idling. I check all the troubleshooting guide and the concensus is that it is definately something to do with the oil. likely it's just the lifters knocking around due to low oil in the head. My question is could this be due to the higher viscosity oil i am using?

[chronoti]

might be. you can try a little sea foam and make sure it's not just sticky lifters (i had it happen right after a oil change).

that oil is kinda WAY thick for the engine if you dont have a oil leak or anything like that i say tone it down to 10w or something.

[REAPER STRAIN]

Thanks for the input. I actually do have a nasty oil leak that drips on the exhaust pipe and burns (irritating as hell). The 20w-50 slows it down a lot and doesnt smell as bad.
So you think I should add seafoam or one of those engine flushes to get the gum out?

[ag6286]

^^^^^high temp silicone will help with the leak or epoxy.......just dont get JB weld...it sux.........as for the oil, 20W-50 is MUCH to heavy for that engine, i only use 10W-40 for my well mod'd 3vz-fe and for now its more than sufficient

[landtoy80]

You may want to try a can of Form-A-Seal Leak Repair from Prematex. It comes in a spray can, You spray it on the part that leaks.
I would clean up the leak best you can with something like carb cleaner or starting fluid. Let it dry and spray the Form-a-leak and let it dry.
I have a can for my oil pan leak on the LandCruiser but I ended up no needing it as my leak stopped leaking after I started using RotellaT 5w40Syn oil.

[88 LE]

20W-50 is thick.

Keep in mind that theres not much oil pressure at idle.

[REAPER STRAIN]

Thanks guys, I would love to try that Form-A-Seal but the leak is coming from the rear main seal retainer and I cant get to it without taking the tranny off again and that something I dont want to do myself anymore. I know those engine additives that claim to stop leaks are a waste bcos I think i've tried everyone. I think there is nothing I can do until I change that seal and retainer.

[landtoy80]

Did you replace the seal without removing the retainer?
I replaced the rearmain seal on my LandCruiser without removing the retainer. Is still leaked.
In the case of the LC, its the retainer to oil pan seal that is leaking. After I dropped the trany AGAIN, I found out that I could of just dropped the oil pan and resealed it without dropping the trany.

Does the Camry have the same problem, retainer to oil pan leak?

[REAPER STRAIN]

I think that retainer is either warped or doesnt have the right sealant under it. I wish it were the retainer to pan seal. That would have been easy to fix. I hate that damn retainer. I dont know why toyota didnt just make it part of the engine block. More places to have a potential leak if you ask me. The last time I just tightened the retainer bolts harder and it cleared up most of the leaks. My fear is when I switch back to the lower grade oil I will hemarage oil again. We will see.

[REAPER STRAIN]

Well, its been a few days since I switch down to 10w-30 and I am leaking ALL over the place. My want a difference the oil weight makes on oil leaks. Anymore leaks and Im changing my car's name CAMRY to MAMARY.

[ag6286]

high heat RTV silicone, ur leak must be very very subtle (non pressure situation) because that fact u can change oil and it makes a difference like that shows its not a high pressure zone. find the leak, clean it well, and epoxy or silicone for now, id use silicone FIRST since its much easier to remove.

[londonandlawson]

what should i use in a 99 camry 4 cyl auto?

[Ken4]

Try Auto-Rx. It is very good at stopping oil leaks from rotating seals. www.auto-rx.com

[ag6286]

oooooooo its a rotating seal....hmmm failed to recognize that