Scotty,

We own a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid with 2K miles on it.  We are the cars second owner and its a great car that has only had a few things go wrong in the 7 years that we have owed it.  Recently, I replaced all four struts because the rears were leaking and I thought why not replace all of them.  Ran me $400 for the struts from RockAuto.com and about 3 hours to complete.  During the last oil change I noticed that there is a lot of dried oil residue inside the valve cover and the oil flows very slowly, I mean really slow, I have to take my time filling it or it over flow.  So, I am thinking it is time to replace it and buy a newer Toyota, but my wife is against the idea.  She points out that we just replaced all the struts and thinks we just wasted $400 dollars.  So, thats alot of information for a simple question, can I safely use an oil flush to clean out a lot of that dried gunk in the engine or is it too hard on the seals?  Should I just count my lucky stars and sell the darn car and buy her a newer one? 

Rob in Colorado