My 2005 Toyota Camry leaks oil around head gasket. Use 5-30 full synthetic(valvoline). Want to avoid new gasket/ is there an additive or ? to repair. Plan on keep car and some long drives. Advice?
Head gasket? Or valve cover gasket?? Head gasket is possible but valve cover gasket is far more likely. Clean the oil off with solvents cleaners or soap and water and then check often to see where the oil is actually coming from. Valve cover gaskets are cheap and easy.
If it IS the head gasket and it doesn’t leave a puddle under the car or create smoke off the exhaust, leave it alone. For these kinds of leaks, there is no reliable “fix in a can.” Just check the oil regularly and add as needed.
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Your other post says you want this vehicle to last so why would you want to find a band aid fix. I also wonder why you are using full synthetic .
Unless I hear otherwise, I’ll assume you have the 4-cylinder, as this was the more common engine for your car
And if it is indeed the head gasket that appears to be leaking, it is quite possible the threads for the cylinder head bolts have pulled out of the block . . . it is a known problem on this particular engine
As there are some questions as to whether you used the correct terminology . . . please post some picture(s) of the leak
Definitely head gasket/ 6 cylinder engine
Which head gasket is leaking oil?
The one at the firewall, or the other one?
You could remove the valve cover gasket(s) and carefully retorque the head bolts
But if it’s the head gasket at the firewall, that’s going to be a fair amount of work
Is it dripping right onto the hot exhaust manifold, causing a lot of smoke?
Are you having to top off every week?
Try switching back to regular oil.
Also consider, synthetic oils molecular structure is more uniform than regular oil.
For example, you pour BB’s into a coffee can. And then poke a hole in the coffee can slightly bigger than the BB’s. Eventually, all the BB’s are going leak out. That’s synthetic oil.
Now you fill a coffee can with BB’s, marbles, ball bearings, ping pong balls, pool balls, etc…
Now poke a hole in the coffee can slightly bigger than the BB’s. Some of the BB’s are going to leak out. But eventually something larger than the BB’s is going to block the hole. So the BB’s stop leaking out of the hole. That’s regular oil.
Tester
I had some oil leaking from the head gasket of my 1984 Chevy Cavalier 2.0 L engine. Retorquing the head bolts took care of it. Good luck and please let us know what you decide and how it works out.
Sorry/ watched u tube and it’s the valve cover- so then…?
Valve cover, not head gasket? That’s very good news. For you and your wallet. Still it’s a bit of work, appx 3 hour job, plus the cost of the gaskets. There seems to be 8 of them, 4 on each side, believe it or not. Make sure the shop replaces the spark plug tube seals as part of the job.
WHICH valve cover?
The one that’s nearer the radiator?
The one that’s nearer the firewall?
On one of them, the valve cover gasket is relatively easy to replace
The other one . . .