99 at 205K
no engine issues, no leaks.
so far have done reuglar changes with dino.
i am thinking of now swithcing to mobil 1 10-30 fully syntheitc high mileage. just out of curiosity want to peek inside the front valve cover to see how much sludge is there.
can i do that easily without changing gasket or sparkplug seals.. jsut take a look and put it back on. please let me know if it is a bad idea and i will leave it alone.
thanks.

 

If you decide to remove the valve cover you would need to replace the gasket. You maybe OK not changing the spark plug seals, but replacement is fairly straightforward and not difficult.

 

would i have to order new bolts or washers?
whats a good source for gaskets and washers

 

 

this was the answer i was looking for. ill stay away from trying to fix something that aint broke!.
thx

 

When i did my valve covers on my 1MZ on my 00RX
I didnt have to take the coolant hose off --- valve cove slid under it. (Maybe just pull up on the hose to get more clearance)
I left the coil connectors on the coil when i pulled it out and just cleared it away from the valve cover.
Valve cover bolts came out easily and just required a snug tight fit.
It's a shoulder bolt to keep you from smashing the valve cover gasket.

I did put FIPG on the areas that need it though to eliminate a possible leak.

 

If I were you I'd stick to dino. Switching to synthetic will likely cause an oil leak because it cleans the engine so well that the dirt sealing your old brittle gaskets is cleaned away. Hence oil starts leaking. Just my humble suggestion.

 

"Also be careful not to overtighen the valve cover bolts as they easily snap." I second this, from recent experience.

 

Didn't know that was possible, good to know for the future. Learned something new!

 

have you tried switching to synthetic in your 2 99 es?

 

lots of rubber hoses, mostly vaccum lines seem brittle and have fine cracks. should i try replacing them? is it inexpensive? do you cut the lengths from a hose or have to order specific part?
thx

 

do you recommend any dino oil? how about castrol gtx high mileage?

 

Remember, you have a 20 year old car. So any currently rated API dino would be vastly superior to the oil recommended in your owner's manual. I think the current rating is SN and the oil recommended in your user's manual is SJ. Feel free to use whatever oil you want. I usually use supertech or high mileage in my son's 99 ES300. (140,000 miles)

Full disclosure: In my 99 ES300 (210,000 miles) I used full synthetic but it started leaking oil two weeks after I made the change. I had to change the valve cover gaskets but still had a small leak. I never had to add oil between 5000 mile oil changes but there was always an oil spot under my car.

 

 

This video should help those willing to do the job themselves...