Oil leak
 

My son just bought his 1st car today. A beautiful 1987 Supra (non turbo). The car drove amazingly great, but after we got done eating dinner we noticed an oil leak. We checked the oil before leaving and the level was full. Any info on common oil leak problems with this model?

A little help please!

I'd check first to see if you can narrow down what part of the engine you see the leaking at. If I couldn't determine that, then I look at the oil drain plug and oil filter, I've found those loose on a couple cars I've had. If that looks okay, then there are a couple common oil leaks on these Supras. Check on the exhaust side of the engine just below the distributor. Lots of oil there? Likely a bad o-ring around the distributor shaft. Remove distributor, replace o-ring, reinstall distributor, and reset ignition timing. Another common oil leak is the no. 3 cylinder head cover. This is the piece that runs the length of the engine between the valve covers, that the spark plug wires clip into. This cover doubles as a gasket for 4 oil passages across the cylinder head. When these leak, which they almost always do, you usually find lots of oil on your spark plug wires, and it can get bad enough to cause misfires if left unchecked. You likely won't see the oil until you pull a spark plug boot out and fling oil everywhere. This piece is fairly straightforward to replace after removing the throttle body, intake pipe, and spark plug wires. Remove it by removing the 4 oil plugs holding it in, they use a 14mm hex key or Allen wrench. If it was leaking, you should replace your spark plug wires and possibly spark plugs as well. Also, since you're already torn down this far, its not a bad idea to replace the valve cover gaskets as well, as they tend to leak a little oil with age.

Thanks a lot for responding and the advise. I'll check that out ASAP.

Looks like you were right. There is a lot of oil built up underneath the distributor and there was also a lot of oil around the spark plug wires on the head. I sprayed some purple power on it to clean it off before tearing it down, but now the car is idling rough! It was running perfect before?

If the oil is around the spark plug wires, it seeps into the wire making a poor connection to the spark plug causing the spark to short at the cylinder head and not travel to the plug, resulting in misfires and rough running. I'm not sure how a degreaser could cause a rough idle, unless a lot of it collected in one spot and is basically doing the same thing the oil was

What do I clean the wires with? Is electrical wiring spray good enough? Thanks again for your help.

I've never had any luck cleaning them off to try and get rid of the oil, to be honest every time it reached that point I ultimately replaced the wires because the oil soaked into the rubber and ruined it anyway. On my old '88 non turbo, I deleted the center gasket so I could see in around the plug wires, and just bought a set of ACCEL wires for a V8 and made my own. I'll see if I can find a pic, if so I'll share it on here. I thought it turned out nicely

Is a Toyota dealer the only place you can buy the #3 cylinder cover? I have been looking online everywhere and can not find one.

Yes, there is, but why do you need that? The car should not be leaking oil anywhere. I took it to a shop today and going to go ahead and replace crank seals, distributor oil seal, timing belt and water pump. Better safe than sorry. Those motors cost too much.

Yeah, who ever had the car last removed that gasket, because you can see all the spark plug wires. After it gets out of the shop it should be good to go. I probably could have done it all myself, but I wanted to make sure it got done right and that way I will have receipts to prove the work has been done. It's going to be my son's car, so I want the car to last him a while. I probably will end up buying the car back from him later because he'll be off to college in a year and a half. I really like that car.

Yeah, they're fun cars. I had a 87 N/A as my first car, and I'm on MK3 number 7 now :bigthumb: Glad to hear you're getting it taken care of, once you get past all of the neglect these cars (and most 25+ year old cars) have been through, they actually are quite reliable cars that treat their owners well.

CoosSupra82, I've only seen that no. 3 cylinder cover at the dealership. You may find it somewhat cheaper online through the various OEM Toyota parts retailers

Just do a google search for no. 3 cylinder cover. Prices are $46 - $48 for a new one with its plastic coating over the metal. The plastic coating tends to degrade over time. You will need a Hex socket to remove the 3 plugs. Harbor Freight has a good set for cheap. I think its a 14mm. I always add a bit of Permatex Black Ultra silicone to the threads of the hole and the plug before laying the no. 3 cylinder cover on. Tighten it down securely. This tends to be a leak problem area as are the valve cover gaskets where I use Black Ultra as well. I can offer you a used no. 3 cylinder cover without the plastic coating painted black for $10 plus $7 shipping. Just send me a private message.

Thanks for the help. I found that the oil leak was coming from the cam seals. As far as the #3 cylinder plastic cover. It doesn't seem to be there. Maybe the previous owner removed it because it got corroded. If you can please send me your email address or website, so we can discuss that cover you offered me. Again, thank you for the advise.

Ivan