drseth

Hi,

My 1995 SC400, with 75K miles, has been leaving a spot on the floor while parked. After driving g it around a while, I smell burning oil while stopped. I have retorqued the valve cover gaskets twice, but after a month or two, it once again .Is problematic

Should I try some new valve cover gaskets? Any other common source of the leaks? If the valve cover screws have loosened, should I use thread locker to keep them secured?

RudysSC

If you've torqued them in the past and the leak has stopped, I recommend not continuing to retorque them and doing a complete replacement. Sounds as though you have found the issue already through trial and tribulation.

drseth

Just ordered gaskets. At 75K,miles, should I replace the spark plug, too, while I am in there or wait until the timing belt service at 90K miles?

RudysSC

Good call - mileage at this point is irrelevant as I'm sure they're simply just old and failing. If tightening them down once stopped it for a while, then replacing them should do the trick for you. As for the plugs, I'd go ahead and swap them while you're in there. They're a little bit of a PITA so you'll be glad you did them at the same time.

Also, if your timing belt hasn't been done yet, be sure to check your belt for cracks and brittleness. Most places recommend replacements every 8-10 years depending on climate.

drseth

Followup: raised the car on ramps, underside of engine was wet with oil, oil filter was tight. Started car, leak was coming from oil pressure sensor, drip drip drip while running. Have one on order. Will replace the Valve Cover Gaskets when they arrive next week.

I haven't ordered spark plugs yet. I was planning on installing some NGK Iridium plugs. Is there anything better?

The car idles great, but when you start out from a stop at light throttle, there seems to be a slight hesitation. A car this age with that low a miles, would partly clogged fuel injectors be the cause? I was hoping as I drove the car more, the problem would self correct once enough fresh gas went through the injectors. Would a can of Techron or another gas additive help, or maybe even go someplace and have a BG Fuel injector service performed?

RudysSC

Awesome, that's an easy fix! As for the stutter, you could certainly start with some BG 44k fuel additive (I try and do that once a year in both of my vehicles). However, a new set of properly gapped spark plugs may fix that. I'd go ahead and do caps/rotors at the same time (they're cheap and easy with the covers off). Check your plug wires too, easy to do at the same time, but not the cheapest things (when I had my sc4 I purchased all of it through Napa as the dealer prices for OEM parts were outrageous).

JabobJeff

Here's a video on how to change your valve cover gaskets on a RX300. Will save you a lot of money!