My roommate has a 2007 Toyota Solara with an online 4, 2.4L engine with 247,000 miles on it. Its valve cover gasket has recently failed but other than that it's doing great. We have started changing the oil (0w20) every 3000 miles now since it gets noisy if we push it to 5000 miles and we want it to last as long as it can. I have been thinking of maybe using thicker oil or oil stabilizer to extend the life of the engine, or should I just stick with the oil changes every 3000 miles with the regular 0w20?
Just replace the valve cover gasket. They're not too difficult to replace, just make sure you seat it properly and torque it to specification. Scotty has several videos on how to fix them.
Always check your oil routinely. It's making noise past 3,000 miles because It's losing oil, add what's missing from the dipstick and it will go to 5,000. Oil is cheap, engines aren't.
What is the manufacturer's spec for the oil? I would go to 5w30.
