Bought a 2001 V6 Camry new, was LATER informed about oil sludge problem. Have always changed oil every 3000 miles (Pennzoil) to prevent. Now I have an oil leak (130,000 miles). Could it be this sludge.
Doesn’t sound like sludge to me. I’ve never heard of sludge causing an oil leak. Generally, sludge will cause the engine to burn oil or not circulate oil, not leak it.
The car is 12 years old, so a leak is kind of part of the story on older cars. No, it isn’t due to sludge.
Many leaks are around old seals (which are rubber, or cork) that deteriorate over time. Other leaks can be resolved by simply tightening some bolts. Some leaks are minor and just not worth fixing, others are gushers and need immediate attention.
General location of your leak, and the amount of oil loss would help determine if this is something to be concerned about.
Nope, not sludge, the v6 commonly has valve cover gasket leaks. If it’s time for the timing belt you might as well get it all done at the same time.
FWIW, my 1998 Camry leaks oil. On a bad day, it will drop maybe 1/4 -1/2 tsp. On a good day, you’ll find no drops under the car. Overall, I still don’t need to add oil between changes, and the cost to repair doesn’t make it worth it.
And if you don’t need a timing belt, have the spark plugs replaced, they have to remove par of the intake manifold to do the valve cover gaskets, making the rear 3 plugs easy to replace. Just make sure they don’t ‘double dip’ on the labor.