hey everyone! not used to this part of the forum but i have a question.

my brother has a 99 camry LE, with 135,xxx miles. he is burning about a quart of oil through each 3000-3500 mile interval between oil changes. im pretty certain that the valve seals are leaking, because it smokes blue at start up when its cold. its obvious its burning oil, but i was wondering how many people are having the same issue and is there anything that can be done to fix/help the problem?

thanks in advance for any input or thoughts! :)

anybody have any input?

I have a 98 LE, but am not experiencing any oil consumption.

But, I think your diagnoses is correct, leaky valve seals. I have had two high mileage vehicles that had that problem (a 84 Subaru and a Triumph Bonneville). The only fix I know of would be to pull the head and have the seals replaced and, while your at it, have the valves reconditioned.

If it is a "beater" he could live with it for a while. But the leaking gets worse over time.

well thanks, even if the seals get worse, the engine shouldn't take a dump, should it? im sure it will lose power though.

well thanks, even if the seals get worse, the engine shouldn't take a dump, should it? im sure it will lose power though.

No, I do not think it hurts the engine. You might have to change the plugs more often, that all.

Did you try one of those oils designed for high mileage engines? They claim to have some additive that swells the seals and slows or stops the leak down.

I drove that Subaru for 5 years with bad seals. Still ran fine when I sold it for $400.

ive never heard of the oil, but ill look into it..thanks for the help!