help! oil leak

flybikes1593 · 08-18-2009, 09:37 PM

alright i have a 86 mr2 and have a pretty descent sized oil leak. But i cant tell where its coming from. the oil is dripping from the passenger towards the front of the car. And i replaced a oil line, the distributor o-ring, valve cover gaskets. And we did a compression test, the head gasket is fine. And we took the valve covers off and it doesn't look like the cam seals are leaking either. So what else is over on that side of the engine that could be leaking that much????
I mean we checked the engine over hundreds of times and still cant pinpoint the leak.

So a little help would be great.
Thanks

toyotaspeed90 · 08-19-2009, 12:16 PM

how did you determine it isn't the cam seals? The cam seals aren't visible when you take the cam covers off..... they are between the #1 cam bearing cap and the timing plate....

also, when you replaced the valve cover gaskets did you use RTV in the hard corners?

typically when either cam seal goes bad the oil actually travels behind the timing plate, to the top of the HG, then pours down the exhaust side of the engine.....

flybikes1593 · 08-19-2009, 01:46 PM

yea that does make sense, because thats exactly where the oil is leaking out

ill have to replace those and see what happens

toyotaspeed90 · 08-19-2009, 05:31 PM

FYI you might as well do a timing belt while you're at it.....

to do these seals....

you have to pull the timing backing plate... which requires you to pull the timing gears... which require you to remove the timing belt.... which if you want to make sure you do it right requires you to remove the motor mount.... which you have to pull the timing covers, which you have to pull the crank and water pump pulleys....

so, like I said, you might as well just do a timing belt while you're at it...

Dave In Indy · 08-24-2009, 09:20 AM

It might be the sending unit. I just replaced my valve cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, and oil cooler lines. Started it up and it kept leaking when it was running from the front passanger side. Turned out to be the sending unit.

flybikes1593 · 08-25-2009, 12:47 PM

The leak was the cam seals, finally figured it out and replaced them

Thanks for all the help guys

randomxzero · 08-25-2009, 01:42 PM

camshaft seals are pest lol i had the same problem after replacing the HG i thought i did the HG wrong :/ but it was just the seals

08-18-2009, 09:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
flybikes1593 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Neenah Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	help! oil leak alright i have a 86 mr2 and have a pretty descent sized oil leak. But i cant tell where its coming from. the oil is dripping from the passenger towards the front of the car. And i replaced a oil line, the distributor o-ring, valve cover gaskets. And we did a compression test, the head gasket is fine. And we took the valve covers off and it doesn't look like the cam seals are leaking either. So what else is over on that side of the engine that could be leaking that much???? I mean we checked the engine over hundreds of times and still cant pinpoint the leak. So a little help would be great. Thanks

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08-19-2009, 12:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
toyotaspeed90 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 422 Thanks: 0 Thanked 32 Times in 32 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	how did you determine it isn't the cam seals? The cam seals aren't visible when you take the cam covers off..... they are between the #1 cam bearing cap and the timing plate.... also, when you replaced the valve cover gaskets did you use RTV in the hard corners? typically when either cam seal goes bad the oil actually travels behind the timing plate, to the top of the HG, then pours down the exhaust side of the engine.....

08-19-2009, 01:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
flybikes1593 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Neenah Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	yea that does make sense, because thats exactly where the oil is leaking out ill have to replace those and see what happens

08-19-2009, 05:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
toyotaspeed90 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 422 Thanks: 0 Thanked 32 Times in 32 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	FYI you might as well do a timing belt while you're at it..... to do these seals.... you have to pull the timing backing plate... which requires you to pull the timing gears... which require you to remove the timing belt.... which if you want to make sure you do it right requires you to remove the motor mount.... which you have to pull the timing covers, which you have to pull the crank and water pump pulleys.... so, like I said, you might as well just do a timing belt while you're at it...

08-24-2009, 09:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
Dave In Indy Some Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 62 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	It might be the sending unit. I just replaced my valve cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, and oil cooler lines. Started it up and it kept leaking when it was running from the front passanger side. Turned out to be the sending unit.

08-25-2009, 12:47 PM	#6 (permalink)
flybikes1593 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Neenah Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	The leak was the cam seals, finally figured it out and replaced them Thanks for all the help guys

08-25-2009, 01:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
randomxzero Downshift to Reverse! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: 562 Posts: 1,034 Thanks: 10 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	camshaft seals are pest lol i had the same problem after replacing the HG i thought i did the HG wrong :/ but it was just the seals