A bad bearing would have to be causing a lot of harsh vibration to kill a GOOD rear main seal. If the seal was already on its way out there would still have to be a significant amount of vibration to finish the job.... or you could starve the seals of oil to help kill them off quickly; the wipers or lips ride on a thin sacrificial layer of oil (that's right, an intentional, itty bitty leak) which lubricates and actually helps prevent any larger volume from flowing through (they're directional for a reason too. ;) ). Now, if the thrust washer is shot and there's significant lateral movement it may contribute further.

The oil pan and gallery seals would not be affected the subtle vibration of a bad main bearing or three.

As stated before, the rear main can be done without pulling the engine... it's still a decent amount of work but not $3000 worth.

fingers crossed
 

Took her down to Riverside Toyota and was meet by the service manager. It seems that information was lost when my old service adviser left and started with a new one. The leak was coming from a cover of the oil gallery. It has 8 bolts and was repaired using orange sealant which the oil ate through. The head mechanic is working on my car now. They will replace the coolant lines since they were soaked with oil. They are going to discount the repair by not charging to drop the transmission, etc.
Sure hope no new leaks spring up :p Not sure where she can leak from now. The seals in the front were changed with the new timing belt.

8 bolts, that sounds like the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculating) Cooler, the only problem is; you shouldn’t have any oil leaking from there. Inside you will normally find black carbon soot from the exhaust gases, no oil? Not sure if you can actually get at the bolts without taking the head off.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...EngineRear.jpg

8 bolt galley cover?? No idea what on earth they're talking about.... sounds like a LOT of BS to me.

Oh, she'll find somewhere... definitely.

Only thing I can think of that matches that description and yeah... NO OIL THERE. Hope they're not so clueless that they're going to pull the EGR plate because oil drooling down around it makes it look like it's the leak.

And yes, you can get it off without pulling the engine, but it's miserable.

I think they are that clueless. They dropped the transmission in search of the leak. They think it is the EGR unit that is leaking. Odd I saw no oil come from it. I do have one big leak, dropped a quart of oil on my garage floor. So if it is not the mains, then what can be leaking?

still leaking
 

Well the Toyota dealer "fixed" it for a silly price, It ran ok going home but there was a odd sound. Park it in my garage and the next night there were 2 leaks of about a pint or so each. Why is she leaking? Has the kami of Toyoda sanma come into my car? :eek:Any ideals?

Sue garage, find proper garage... in that order... :wtc:

How would you describe the noise, hopefully not a grumbling/growling that worsens under load as that would shout main bearings to me...

im not trying to hijack this thread. but a simple question along the same line

I see oil pooling and dripping from the oil pan under the intake side of my engine. infact the whole underside of my intake side is slick with oil. any thoughts as to what is leaking onto that side.. what above it will allow it to pool on the oil pan.
any insight is welcomed..

If its starting a few inches BELOW the lower plenum the HG and Head/Timing plate packing are the likely problems. If it's starting at about the same level as the lower intake plenum the cam seal should be inspected and if it's getting on TOP of the lower intake plenum the valve cover seals are the most likely suspect.

well I changed the valve cover seals. and put the oil pan gasket under the 14mm bolts. still have oil pooling in 5 n 6 cylinder well. (closest to firewall) but don't see any trace from the sides of the well. the HG was replaced about 4 or 5 years ago.
thank you. very insightful.. truly. I was at a stand still with this. just watching it leak.
starting with the timing cover packing. is it difficult to swap? something I can do in my own garage?