Toyota - Camry :: 2003 - Coolant Leaking From Valve Cover
May 29, 2016
I have a 2003 Toyota Camry with 210,000km on it. Today I popped the hood, noticed the coolant was slightly low in the over flow reservoir so I looked around the engine bay. Now I know generally coolant does not go up that far and it's just oil... But this has got my head turning. There's a crusty coolant residue drip that looks to start at the valve cover. At first I thought maybe the water pump was leaking, and the pulley was spinning it farther up, or spraying back from a rad leak when driving. but the fact it's crusty and A clear line that looks like a drip that's a slow leak and has crusted over time makes me wonder.
I mean generally coolant wouldn't come out of the valve cover unless it was right full of coolant, causing enough pressure to push it out... Am I wrong ? Once I get to the shop on Monday I'm going to pressurize the cooling system and pull the spark plugs and the valve cover to look at the head, The highest spot I see the drip start is the valve cover, only thing I could think of is the intake leaking, and traveling over there but even then, it doesn't make sense to me. The thermostat housing is about 2.5" under so it can't be that... It's such a small leak, the reservoir is only down about maybe half an inch and the oil looks clean as can be.... There's some pictures below that you can somewhat see it.
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Own a 2000 Camry XLE 6-cyl. Both valve cover gaskets are leaking. Rear one leaks onto the manifold and causes stench. Have been quoted $350. to replace because the job is complicated. Have any of you done this on your own, and if so, would you recommend it or go to a qualified mechanic?
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My truck has a 6 o powerstroke. I noticed some coolant loss, which I've been monitoring since I had the truck studded 2 years ago. Today I was looking around trying to find a cause of the coolant loss and I noticed some crusty orange residue on a hose that runs under the coolant reservoir. The hose seems to go behind the valve covers along the firewall to the passenger side through a steel line, and then go in a loop back to itself?
I'm guessing it's for the heater core, but I didn't see where it actually goes into the heater core, or anything else for that matter. It is a molded hose that has one of those crimped transitions into the steel line, so I'm not sure if patching it is an option or if I should look at replacing the whole piece. I'm guessing it's going to be expensive. From the fact that it never failed before, I'm thinking it wasn't originally routed with it touching the valve cover and was just something that happened after having the body off during the stud install.
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I just had my oil changed and was told that my rack and pinion was leaking also my valve cover leaked I had the gasket change about a year ago an the leak is so slight it wont even show up in my dip stick, is it possible the valve cover leak is getting on the rack boot. Also can I change just the boot car has 15000mi in great shape an well maintained.....
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I have a 2002 toyota camry xle 6 cyl i believe i have a valve cover gasket leaking vehicle has 112,000 miles. is there a step by step removal proccess i can access. I have done one on a 1995 honda passport 6 cyl how difficult is it
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I had it checked out at the dealer and they called it a "weep" so they went on to tell me that VW probably wont approve warranty work for it. I pushed for them to take pictures and send it in anyway.
Now assuming they won't do it, I have been looking for a DIY or a technical order on the job but I can't find anything.
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Just found valve cover of my Tiguan is leaking out oil this morning. Will go to dealer tmr for gasket replacement. My car is just over 50k miles. What happened to VW's car quality control???
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Haven't had the engine cover off for about 25k now (cleaned it up under there last time I changed plugs.) Took it off today and noticed it's a little oily on all four sides around the valve cover.
Pretty sure I can account for the oil that's near the filler cap... I don't recall spilling enough that would completely go around the entire valve cover though...
But how did it end up so high on top of the valve cover on the corners? It's even a little wet looking on the back if you look hard enough..
I only have 4600 miles left of the 10/100 warranty so I'm glad I caught this and hope the dealer can do something about it... or are they going to tell me this a "normal" amount of seepage? I haven't owned a vehicle with plastic valve covers before so I don't quite know what to expect.
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I took it to the stealership to get the alternator and some vac. lines replaced all under an extended warranty. They informed me that both valve cover gaskets and right side cam adjuster gaskets are leaking. By no means am I a mechanic or close to but I am trying to get this stuff done as cheap as possible so I am going to try to tackle this myself.
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So, weird smell that I thought was burning plastic or rubber is actually hot oil leaking from the valve cover and tensioner gaskets.
My car is nearly 8 years old (2003), and has about 70K. Should I go ahead and buy a timing belt kit and replace all that stuff at the same time?
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My son-in-law came by tonight and showed me his ticket from his oil change at the dealer on his '08 Azera, 108k miles. Tech remarked that both valve cover gaskets AND the oil pan gasket were leaking. I've walked through his garage many times when my daughter has the car at work and I've never noticed any oil on the floor. Should have I seen any? I told dealer I would just drive it and monitor the oil level and any other signs of oil leakage. Since he bought the car with 101k miles and a fresh oil change ticket and never checked the level over the next 7k miles I don't think it's leaking bad.
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A couple of days ago, I was driving my car around when the oil pressure light came on. Having recently changed the oil myself, I figured I had neglected to tighten something down there and it had become loose and was leaking oil. I stopped at two different shops. Both shops told me the leak was coming from the valve cover gasket. Instead of paying $200 for them to replace it, I did it myself. I didn't use any sealant or silicone, or anything like that. The old gasket was hard as a rock and had some sort of red cement around it.
After I had everything back together, I had a partner start the car for me. The oil leak has become much worse--probably a quart a minute. The thing is... I can't see any oil leaking from the valve cover gasket. You would think that an oil leak of that volume would be visible if it were coming from the top of the engine, no? We're going to take the gasket off again to inspect and perhaps use some gasket sealant in select spots, per some YouTube videos we watched.
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I have a 2005 hyundai santa fe and the valve cover gaskets are leaking. We were able to change the one in the front but we cant figure out what to do with the back one. Need to find a video showing what to do...
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I'm thinking of purchasing a 2001 GLX VR6 Jetta with lots of deferred maintenance (shocks/struts, brakes, exhaust). Most worryingly, the valve cover gasket is leaking oil. The price is pretty low, but is such a beast worthwhile at any price or is it better parted out? And the interior is about as beat up as the mechanical--screeching passenger window motor, broken glove compartment ... Is this thing worth being brought back to life?
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Passenger side valve cover leaking. My local parts stores have two brands.
Fel-Pro and MAHLE Original.
Any comments, preferences, anecdotes? I don't want to do this job twice.
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I've got a coolant leak here (I wiped away some of it before taking the picture):
Close up
This is the only place I can find coolant leaking and it's running down all the way to the water pump:
When I wiped away from just below the valve cover gasket it flaked right off and it doesn't appear there is any oil mixed in. I changed the oil today and it didn't appear to have any coolant mixed in either.
The coolant doesn't appear to have any oil in it's nice and pink as it should be. I started the car from a cold start and sat and watched the area waiting for it to leak but nothing ever came out, of course.
I know there shouldn't be coolant leaking from this area anyways but I don't know how else to explain the trail pictured. I definitely have a small leak somewhere as I've found coolant on the floor of the garage before.
Do I just replace the valve cover gasket and move on or is there something else I should be concerned with here?
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After reading some posts I think my passat could have the cam seal and valve cover gasket leaking. I smell burning oil when stopped. How much should this repair cost if I go to an indy repair shop?
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I've been noticing an oil burning smell after driving recently, it's been going on for a few days now. My oil level is good, I have 8,500 miles on the car. Today I finally had a chance to look under the hood for any visible leaks, and I noticed some oil stains on what I think is the valve cover gasket.
2015 Sonata 2.0T ...
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Found a tee on the heater hose leaks when it warms up. Appears the PO had noticed it but put a hose over it and now is leaking around behind the valve cover. This is a hard plastic line around 5/16. No online parts show it as being available. Is there a fix for this ?
I would bet several others have had this problem as it lays right on top of the flange of the valve cover where I think it would rub a hole pretty quick.
1989 Ranger 4X4 4 cylinder....
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My wife has a 2004 escape v6 (3.0L). The valve cover seal was leaking so I decided, why not change the plugs since I'm already going to have the intake manifold off.
I got down there, replaced the seal (just the front side, didn't want to disassemble something that wasn't broke) and then replaced all 6 plugs and boots (with springs). Fired it up and everything seemed fine. She went to drive to work and the CEL started to flash. I read the code and there were 4 (Don't remember exactly what they were), but it was a combination of things resulting from a misfire in cylinder 4. Since it was one of the front ones. I just pulled the plugged and replaced it hoping I had gotten a dud from the factory. Nope, still doing it.
I didn't take off the fuel lines, just the air intake on the top. I did not change the coils, but everything was running fine before I changed plugs so logic would dictate it is something I did. Only seems to misfire at higher speeds. Also, her battery light randomly comes on, but the battery and alternator test good. This has been happening a while.
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I have a 98 Subaru Legacy Outback with 133K miles. It was leaking from the power steering pump and valve cover gaskets. My husband replaced the passenger-side valve cover gasket (which involved removing the air box) and the power steering pump (which required removing the alternator). When we put the car back together and reconnected the battery, it no longer starts! It "clicks" once but won't turn-over. The car does not have an alarm system (but it was an option on this model). We've tried jumping it. The battery is about 14 months old. The alternator is about 10 months old and the starter was replaced about 10 months ago too. We've double checked the wires that were disconnected and don't think we've missed anything.
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