Leaking head gasket?

Taking my 3.4 in tomorrow for the timing belt/water pump maintenance but just noticed this oil leak. Oil was maybe only 1/4 quart low. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had something similiar.

 

Can't really tell from a pic like that but it's probably just a valve cover leak. Is there any sign of coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant?

 

I haven't noticed any of the fluids mixing. Just oil starting around the two bolts below the oil filter area and running down from there...no drips on the driveway or anything like that.

 

Blown head gasket isnt typically diagnosed by an oil leak.... hard to tell whats going on in your pictures but from your description it sounds like a valve cover leak. This is a very common occurrence on the 3.4l. Sometimes you can just tighten down the bolts you have access to. My girlfriends 3.4l 4runner had some loose bolts and that fixed the leak.

 

That's good news....like I said it's going to the shop Tom for other maintenance and just didn't want any big surprises. Hopefully tighten a few bolts and its.good

 

@Wulf @excorcist both right...valve cover gasket was bad

 

nice, that's much better news than a bad head gasket!

 

Leaking valve covers is fairly common on the 3.4L v6. Especially with 150K or more miles. Tightening the bolts can be tricky as it is very easy to crack the cover, making the leak worse. It is a temp solution anyways as the leak will come back. Replacing the gaskets is the real fix.

 

Yeah...ended up getting both valve covers done plus a few parts inside. Def a good thing it wasnt the head gasket!