leaking engine
 

I have a 86.5 mk III with a 3.0 engine. The fracker is leaking in the rear of the engine. Riverside Toyota of Tulsa says they have to pull the engine to fix the leak. They want 3k to fix it. :nuts: What could be leaking between the engine and firewall? Yes these are the same people that missed the leak in the rack unit after fixing the pump. :rant2:
My problem is do not really know the 3.0 engine very well. I did some work to my 2.0 liter engine the Japanese version. I can not think of anything that would be leaking with the exception of a cover for the cams? Think old age has affected me. :p

There is an oil seal and gasket at the rear of the engine (see pic below) this is where the crankshaft end connects to the flywheel or torque converter, depending on whether you have a manual or an auto box. I would definitely check the cam cover seals and possible the sump seal for any oil leaks before assuming it’s the rear crankshaft oil seal. Also the 7M engine does slope back at an angle (probably about 5 degrees at a guess) any oil leaks will eventually find there way to the back of the engine.

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

Bill UK, thank you for your information. I had the rear seals changed when the clutch was replaced by Toyota. They were also suppose to change the cam seals as well. Yes I suppose any engine leak will migrate to the rear of the engine. It is a good size leak and am annoyed that they did not fix it.
I would fix it myself but no longer even have a floor jack. Guess I need to give it the once over myself.
Thank you again for your useful information!

rear main seal...
 

it most likely the rear main seal ive had the same problem. you said you replaced it put the truth is it probably wasnt done right i would try that first because its easy to access and the seal is fairly cheap.

I let Riverside Toyota of Tulsa change the rear main seal when they changed the clutch. You would think the dealer would do a proper job. I know where not to buy my next new car. Suppose I could bring it by the competition dealer. The maintenance "adviser" said something about a seal on the backside of the engine leaking. He said this to me not long before getting sacked. What could he be talking about? He said the engine had to be removed to fix it.

There you go ! all the likely places where an oil leak could accrue; I’ve marked the oil gallery plug only for reference, its very unlikely this would leak.

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

the dealer messed up
 

Got a chance to look under her at the wheel shop. She is leaking from the rear main, the oil pan, the oil plug. Talking with the owner of the shop he thinks the main bearings may be bad. This would cause the seals to leak.
My gripe is they were suppose to repair these items. You would think the Toyota dealer would do a proper job. Well gotta run, school tonight a biology exam :p

sounds like someone is entitled to a free repair.

Talked to the General Manager of the dealer. He was unable/unwilling to help. He is passing this off to the service manager or the person I have been dealing with on this problem. If I felt better would do the work myself. Could a worn out bearing cause the seal to leak? My thing in life is aircraft structural repair and not piston engines. Even that has been some time ago, the Corps has me warming an office chair now :p

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?

Ok, hang on.... is this leaking into the plug galley or down the side or the engine? Is the leak toward the front or the middle or rear? Are we only talking about one leak? Did you happen to overtorque the valve cover screws? They used screws for a reason... should only be at 22 INCH lbs. Have you checked the valve covers for warpage? Have you pulled the galley cover and made sure the four giant allen bolts which secure it are well sealed?

The timing cover packing is the packing you put down before you set the HG on the block deck and then lower the head... if you miss it or you put it on too thin it WILL leak... usually into the timing belt cavity and down the front driver's side of the engine. The easy way to fix it.... pull the head again. :( I've done it another way and it was miserable and when I tore the engine down for my rebuild later on I found that it did some minor damage here and there.... but it didn't leak.

towards the front.

as for the spark plug galley. yes i replaced the valve covers. no they are not over torqued. I had the screws back in for now. I did remove and put in oil pan plug gaskets under the 14mm bolts holding on the valve covers. but not to the ones inside the galley.
i was addressing 2 leaks. one on the intake side towards the front. and the one in the galley. sorry I just lumped it all together there. my mistake.
I can not determine if the intake side leak is coming from below the lower plenum or just under the upper but i can clearly see it pooling and dripping. just cant locate the source. the entire underneath twords the front on the intake side is coated with oil. .. defiantly explains my 1qt monthly leak.

I also have smoking on the turbo side of the engine near my cps. I have the gasket and O ring sitting in my garage but havent found time to replace that yet. I know im needing to rebuild my 140k engine. but just havent the time or another DD atm. ;( so i have to troubleshoot and repair as problems arise. but other than the mysterious oil leak from the depths of my block. all is really well.

baka caruma-jin
 

Brought it back to Riverside Toyota in Tulsa, after extensive testing they discovered the new power steering pump, they installed was leaking oil. Also the cam shaft covers which they replace were leaking. The cars high speed vibration is being caused by a bad U joint. Funny I had paid to replace both of them and that is in writing. They say the drive shaft will go to a special shop to get fixed. All at their cost, they have had my car 2 weeks this time. I am pissed! Wonder if she will be ok after their work?
They still have her

i hope someone looses their jobs over that.. do it right the first time.

They still have her and have not returned my phone call. It is almost 3 weeks now. At this rate I am going to get so mad and will turn into the Hulk!

what does the owner of the dealership have to say about it?

They have fixed the oil leaks, yea the crowd goes wild. It seems the seals were installed incorrectly. However the car still has a vibration at about the 55mph 3300 rpm range. Gee Ranma, the mechanic is not sure what the problem could be.... :dunno: They have not sent the drive shaft back to the shop and it is on hold to have them check the rear axle. Yes the vibration is coming from just behind the seat.
The weather is perfect and I can be driving her around with the targa top off. You think they are professionals...

You stated "you would think the dealership would get it right". Alas... I have NEVER had that experience. lol.

I took my car in for a simple service and to get the engine looked over top to bottom and came out with a cracked cover, 3 vacuum hoses disconnected and a coolant line (runs to the turbo) split on the way home. Luckily, I was able to fix everything myself, but I have never found a dealership that has done anything right for me yet.

I ask around.. find a shop that people say does excellent work, research what I want done, and then tell them to do it (along with asking them how they are going to go about it). Then I tell them any change in the way I want them to do it (there are better ways in some cases then what the TSRM will offer up). I find the Supra forums (there are 3 I use) to be totally invaluable because all of us run into the same problems and some of the members are very knowledgable. They answers I get in the forums are usually always more than correct. : )

i agree. im friends with acouple "certified techs" one being a very close buddy of mine. I walked into the dealership and he was holding some sort of plastic dash molding. im like what are you doing? and he replys. "oh i broke this fucking piece of dash molding now im trying to glue it back together." oh and don't get me started on the OIL tech guys that work at your neighborhood oil depot. those fuckers will put any shit in your car and charge you for the premium stuff. also had one break a oil cap off his mazda. its a push in / turn sorta deal. and they wrenched it off and broke the shit outa it. so yea. taking shit to a "dealer" cause there certified dosnt mean spit. If i were you I would leave them a very nasty review. even call the local news station..

man thats why when it comes to work on my car this is what I put on my mind, " I will try to fix it , take pictures of what I work on , look for info in the forums :crazy2: and at last if I can`t fix it , then I will call first and ask the mec if they come with the " I got to see the car :whateva: , I will pray 100 Holy Marys and 150 Dear Father !!!!!! . take care supra friends . Q

We were looking under my car at the ford drive shaft and I noticed two puddles of oil under the car, oil leak not fixed.

I wonder what is left under the intake that can leak? The only thing I can think of is the head cylinder gasket. Any thoughts guys? It does not leak much under idel but bring her out on the road and she leaks!

Problem found, the head is cracked :eek: Well she will run just fine with a new one...

update
 

The car is still in the shop awaiting parts. the cylinder walls look factory nice :)Attachment 3532

Attachment 3533

Ahh, but are they still round?

Ahh, but are they still round?

At least I found the source of that annoying oil leak. The cracked looked like 3 inches or so on the inside of the head.
I am having them change out the Ford drive shaft and doing some rear end work as well.

lol you silly uk's and your inside jokes!

Stupid one piece driveshaft has a "ford" sticker. I would think it came from a ford :barf:We are still waiting on all of the parts for the new head. After all of these overheating threads decided to replace the lot.