tranboy916

i have a 96 es300 and smoke is coming out of the hood. when the car is on for about 7 or 8 mins little smokes start coming out from under the hood. does anyone knows whats wrong?? please help me. tahnks..

Yaj95ES300

How many miles on?? I had the same exact problem about a month after I got my 95'... It was the valve cover gaskets.. Check the front valve cover for noticible oil on the block, then the rear one.. my turned out to be the rear...

It was a pain to change the first time around for me... But it allowed me to change all the spark plugs.. GL

mcelligott

Yea, that is oil leaking onto the exhaust manifold(s). Check your oil cap first as they tend to be getting older with our vehicle's age. Can you take a picture of your valve cover and post it? We can probably point out the leaks to you. Once you get it fixed, use engine cleaner on all the exhaust components in your engine bay to get the set in oil off.

3000

If it's not the valve cover gaskets, it could be the head gasket. I replaced my valve cover gaskets, tube seals, oil cap, checked the distributor and it still leaks oil and smokes up. So I'm guessing it could also be the head gasket if not the valve covers.

tranboy916

thanks for the reply.i will try to post pics so that you guys can help me. thanks

lexusk8

Hope it's not the head gasket. Otherwise it's big $$$ and may not be worth it to fix on a 12-yr old car

tranboy916

did you change the value cover gasket yourself??or did you went to the shop??

Yaj95ES300

Yep, w/the help of the mechanic in the house, my bro.. And with the help of a chiton

Im assuming having the shop do it will be pretty costly labor wise, expect 2-4 hours... Gasket itself was $20-30.

I'm not so mechanically savvy myself, def. needed another to help. GL

mcelligott

You will need to buy the gasket set (I like FEL-PRO), which includes 2 valve cover gaskets and 6 spark plug slot gaskets and a bottle of blue rtv sealant. Plus, you get to do an oil change during the process! You might as well change all the gaskets touching the intake manifold while you have it off as routine maintenance.

92ES5sp

Wrestling with the wire harness while youre trying to get the rear valve cover in/out is my personal favorite part. My shop pays 2.8 hours for a 1mz and I think 2.3 on a 3vz. 3vz's are much easier to do.

tranboy916

my oil is only leaking from the front..do you think i should change the back to??

mcelligott

Yes, do the whole thing.

92ES5sp

I dont think that is possible. The engine sits at such a huge rearward angle, so its almost guaranteed that the rear will leak first. Regardless, you should do both valve covers because if its not leaking now it will soon.

tranboy916

thanks for the reply..i waswondering if you guys can post instruction on how to change the gasket??