Oil Leak. Should I be concerned.

[josh.bunch]

I have noticed the smell of burning oil coming from under my hood basically for the last 100K+ miles. It has gotten substantially worse in the last 10K miles. The engine bay was so dirty I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I recently cleaned the crap out of it so I could try to locate the source of the leak. Here are the pictures:









It's the passengers side of the engine toward the firewall. I could actually see the oil running down. It had a good color to it so that good FWIW.

1. I guess my main question is what is allowing it to leak?
2. Is it a head gasket?
3. Should I be concerned since the smell is getting stronger?
4. Is there something preventative I can or should be doing besides simply checking the oil levels regularly?
5. If I continue to just watch it as I am doing now can something potentially catastrophic happen?

Any comments or concerns will be greatly appreciated.

-Josh

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Looks to me like the valve cover gasket is leaking.... Not a big deal, and it shouldn't be leaking any significant amount, so you could just keep an eye on the level. On the other hand, it's a relatively easy fix.

 

[Diagram14]

Probably just your valve cover gasket(s). Run your finger under the bolt on the far left of your last posted picture and the corresponding bolt on the other side. Oil typically collects and drips from there when the VC gasket is going/gone. Its an easy job and there are plenty of write-ups on it. Just be sure to get some RTV around the the seals in the back that fit into the humps of the VCs.

 

[LittleCaesar]

valve cover; easy on the passenger side. Make sure to reseal the semi circular plugs and replace the cam seal when you replace the VC gasket.

Need any help past the couple of DIY write ups, just ask.

 

[z28forlife]

Looks like VC gasket. Hundred thousand miles and your just now looking at it and worried?..haha. Is your drivers side leaking too?

 

[awdjunkies]

VCGs like others have mentioned. It was also previously mentioned that you could try torquing your nuts first to see if that stops the leak. If that doesn't work then, replace VCGs.

 

[josh.bunch]

valve cover; easy on the passenger side. Make sure to reseal the semi circular plugs and replace the cam seal when you replace the VC gasket.

Need any help past the couple of DIY write ups, just ask.

Thanks will do. The write ups are pretty helpful but thanks for the willingness to help beyond what those offer.

Looks like VC gasket. Hundred thousand miles and your just now looking at it and worried?..haha. Is your drivers side leaking too?

100k is a walk in the park right? i've been monitoring it, but now that this is no longer a DD I can pay more attention to little things. Yes drivers side is leaking too, though not as bad. That side seems more difficult to tackle. Perhaps I will try the passenger side first.

VCGs like others have mentioned. It was also previously mentioned that you could try torquing your nuts first to see if that stops the leak. If that doesn't work then, replace VCGs.

Thanks. I'll try that but I imagine after 272K miles the gasket is probably toast.

 

[Jon]

I had the VCG leaking pretty bad when I bought mine 330K miles. I just tightened them down and havn't had a problem for the past 7k. Did you pressure wash the oil off? If not, take it to your local car wash after you tighten the valve covers down and pressure wash the heck out of the engine bay to get rid of all that residual oil. Good luck.

 

[josh.bunch]

Yea I did pressure wash it. I used Gunk engine degreaser, sprayed it down, and used a wire brush on the areas I could get to. I'll try tightening them. Do I need to use a torque wrench or just use a standard socket and wrench combo? I would hate to strip a bolt.

 

[SJC4Runner]

The main thing is not to overtighten them, as that could lead to warping the valve covers. It's better to replace old worn brittle rubber than overtighten and bend metal imho. If your worried about stripping a nut that is WAY TOO MUCH. From the manual

"Install the cylinder head cover with the 8 bolts. Uniformly
tighten the bolts in several passes. Install the 2 cylinder
head covers.
Torque: 6 N·m (60 kgf·cm, 53 in.·lbf)"

 

[JohnsD90]

Alright, my philosophy on oil leaks, if it leaks less then 1 quart between oil changes, your in the clear, its not really the best method, but if you check your fluids often you'll be fine doing it. But that's just what I do, you you could buy the proper gaskets and spend the time or money installing them. Your call...

 

[josh.bunch]

Thanks John. It was pretty well unnoticeable before the last 10k miles. So much so that I could never locate it. I would just see random build ups over time but while checking the oil levels I could never notice the leak. I'll guess maybe 1/8th of a quart per oil change. Pretty much a non existent issue, hence why I wasn't too worried. The day I posted this thread the smell was worse than it's ever been. I popped the hood and began exploring. You can see in the 3rd picture a drop of oil running down. That was the first time I saw the actually location of the oil leak and that is why concerned me. I think from here I'll begin by tightening those bolts if they are loose and then monitoring the oil levels over the next few thousand miles. If the leak persists I'll change the gaskets.