Mystery oil leak?

Hey guys I recently had the valve cover gasket replaced on my 2003 Tacoma but I power washed the bottom of truck and it still seems to be leaking a bit of oil. It looks to be leaking under the headers or from back of motor. will attached some photos. I also noticed that there were some bubbles in oil and alittle white smoke from start ups but truck runs strong. Could it be a head gasket?

 

The valve cover gasket was half the job. At the rear of each head on the 3.4 V6, there are 2 camshaft end plug seals, 4 total. I sounds like either they didnt clean and seal these or replace these... they are like $5 each at the dealer. Simple enough to check When cold, use your hand and feel along the back of the heads, you should feel them then swipe along the back of the head, if it comes back oily you have found the issue.

 

Hey man, thanks for getting back so quick I didn’t know that was something to even check for. I will check later today and get back to you.

 

Don't worry about the bubbles on the oil change. Completely normal.

 

Spot on brother, just checked truck and took some pics from what I was able to. Question is now is this a fairly simple fix or would I need to have valve cover completely off again. And could this also lead to the white smoke startups and coolant in oil?

 

Coolant in oil? How did you determine that?

 

When I start truck up white smoke comes out for a bit and then goes away but while driving I can smell a bit of oil burning and a sweet smell. I’ve also noticed the coolant reservoir getting lower very slowly. I’ve check for leaks in hoses, thermostat area and radiator and there’s no noticeable leaks. I am supercharged so I’m assuming that’s why my valve cover blew or maybe just with time as lots have posted it’s a common issue for our trucks to go out after some time.

 

From checking the rear cam plugs it looks like it was leaking from there as I posted in some of the pictures above so I’m hoping it’s just that. But could there be coolant leaking somehow seeping in from the those plugs. The valve cover job I had done looks to be done good other than those plugs.

 

Unfortunately you have to pull the valve covers off to replace those cam shaft plugs.

 

Pull your plugs and post pix of them
A lot of engine information can be said from how plugs look

 

Sounds good I should have time in the next week or so. Are you talking about spark plugs or the camshaft plugs

 

Sorry
Spark Plugs

 

you need to figure out your white smoke / coolant issue before going any further...
Just threw some money away if you have a head gasket issue & you just paid to have your valve cover gaskets replaced....

 

Slater correct
Spark plug condition typically can point you in general “why” direction of coolant loss

 

Sometimes....
Most guys here wont be able to see a very slight coolant tint on the tip of the electrode, will be overlooked....
Pics wont be detailed enough to see the smoking gun, improper lighting, etc....
Unless its completely blown-out, but hes not mentioning any drivability issues...

 

Agreed ^^^

these were my plugs on my STI
UGH still hate looking at them
Needed new short block bc of lean condition

 

Dang, those got hot!

 

You can get a cheap chemical test kit to look for exhaust in the cooling system, would be a good step to take. They are not perfect but they can be useful.

 

Been using them for 32 years also, sometimes great, sometimes not so much....

 

kinda like oil dye?

ugh will never use again
Find your leak like a real wrencher.

took me 3 oil changes to get that crap out