Solara 2000 SLE v6 Tune up / Leak help!

[korr2221]

At around 60k miles I had to change the timing belt. Then around 75k I had to change two O2 sensors one in the back of the engine (I think it costed me around 520 for everything? It was a rip off)... Later the paper gasket between the Master Cylinder and Booster broke and I had to replace it (I didn't know and changed the Booster a couple times but kept hearing the hissy sound, but when I finally changed the paper gasket that broke it was good.

So now it's about at 96k and no engine lights or anything but I see these leaks and thought it would be good to do a tune up to keep the car longer. Any suggestions? Any of you guys know what that leak is?

Thanks!

[dinoxor]

Looks like the valve cover gasket?
You might want to check or replace your pcv so that won't happen to your rear one.

Please correct me if I'm wrong

[korr2221]

Looks like the valve cover gasket?
You might want to check or replace your pcv so that won't happen to your rear one.

Please correct me if I'm wrong

I was thinking of replacing the front and back valve cover gasket with

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOYOTA-11213740 ... 16&vxp=mtr

and also change new spark plugs
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NGK-SPARK-PLUG- ... de&vxp=mtr

because it's 96k miles on it. What do you think?

[dinoxor]

Honestly I would buy anything OEM directly from the dealership.
But that my personal preference!

and I have the exact same spark plugs and it works great

go ahead and change out your PCV and PCV grommet for the rear while you're at it.
This relieves the pressure within your crankcase, preventing premature oil to seep through your valve cover gasket plus it will only cost you a couple of bucks and a few minutes to install.

Be wary of the grommet however, due to constant exposure to heat, the rubber begins to harden and may crumble.
But if you're going to remove your rear valve cover then this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

And yeah 96k miles seems about right, at 109k miles my front gasket started to fail and I assume that this is a common problem for v6's
I didn't lose too much oil but it was an eye sore seeing puddles of oil everywhere in my engine bay.
My rear is leaking as well but I'm not too confident removing too many parts, plus I only lose about a quart per 5,000 miles.

Oh and also consider replacing spark plugs and spark plug tube seals while you're at it.
changing spark plugs without the removal of the intake plenum is a huge pain, but since everything is open, it should mitigate the hassle.
And the spark plug seals DIY can be found somewhere in the Toyota Nation forum.

Sorry for the semi-rant.
Good luck and keep us updated!

[PlateLunch]

^^He's got it right. I would go with OEM gaskets, they shouldn't be that expensive. I would also do the work your self, once you have the TB off it's not too much more to just take the intake off. With the intake off everything is a breeze and while you have it off you might as well do wires, plugs, seals, pcv, pcv grommet, valve gaskets, and a new upper intake plenum gasket. This stuff shouldn't be that much and if your doing it yourself you are going to save a wad of cash on the labor (most expensive part if you go to shop/dealer). Also, once you have the intake off but before you take the valve covers off take a brush and some degreaser and clean the engine off. It's easier to do with the covers on then worry about getting chemicals in your oil/engine once they are off.

Shouldn't take you and a friend more than a day to do, good luck!