what to do about this oil leak??

I have a oil leak and it is starting to worry me, its been like this for a year at least but now i checked and there looks to be more...what do you think? really dont wanna have to throw thousands at this!

 

Why would it cost thousands?

 

figured it would be some gasket where tons of stuff has to be pulled or something like that...i cant even tell where its coming from

 

Well perhaps you can have the dealer or some shop look at it and give an estimate. I seriously doubt it is going to be thousands. Most likely a couple hundred at most to fix or after they tell you what is wrong you could fix it yourself and save a few bucks. You would be charged something for the inspection, but if that is what it takes....

 

its been going on since like 58k miles....now at 72k




dealer wont even look at my truck the way it is.

 

Most people are likely correct.

 

Plus fan and radiator and water pump and coolant and oil and on and on...

 

I see what you did there.

OP, don't sweat it. Take some light powder (foot powder, flour, blow, baking soda) and dust the engine where you think the leak is coming from. Start it up and let it idle until it's warmed up. You will see exactly where it is leaking from.

 

It will likely be the typical front cover leak right behind the powe steering pump.

Some state it is due to the steering pump mounting setup that stresses the cover and creates the leak.

There is a TSB for this ( T-SB-0326-08.pdf ) but no recall since it is not a safety concern. There never will be a recall for this.

 

Pressure wash the area and it goes away. That is the cheapest alternative.

 

pretty sure i have the same problem, firestone told me it was power steering (I haven't noticed loss of fluid) and a toyota tech told me timing cover, i'm gonna believe the toyota tech

 

Mine doesn't leak. -1=stopfreakingout.

 

It comes back lol

 

Have the same leak. Took it to dealer under warranty. They said seapage is not covered, but a full on leak would be. Mine was only seaping. The tech cleaned the area and retorqued all the bolts n nuts, but wasn't authorized to perform the repair under warranty. It had been seaping since at least 30k miles, maybe more. Now I have 103k miles, and still seaping.

 

It's definitely the timing cover. I see this problem everyday when I walk through the Lexus part of the dealership I work at. Even the Lexus is250 and is350's are falling victim to that same oil leak. Different engines same design problem. At least 1 of those gets done a day.

If it was my truck I would just pull off the power steering pump and rub some rtv over the area it's coming from (caulk it like a bathtub). Seen it done that way many times. Sure it's not the right way to do it, but hey it beats $1200.

 

did you try tightening down the bolts in the area where the leak is occurring?

 

I didn't indicate it wouldn't come back. Clean it off once and a while and thats that. Unless you're using a shitload of oil every 5k it isnt worth bothering with.

mine has a slight leak by the power steering pump. If its lucky I do it once a year. If donw the road I have to pull the cover I will repair it. Until that time comes if ever it can seep away. It doesn't use oil so why bother?

 

Take your time and you can get a good looking seal. This shit is good for everything . I would definitly go that route before spending 1500, just clean it real good first. http://www.permatex.com/products-2/...l-resistance-rtv-silicone-gasket-maker-detail

 

The black permatex is great stuff! Not only is it a great sealant it works for other repairs as well. I once used it to repair a set of shifter cable cable ends on a MINI Cooper that the center had popped out of.

 

so rub the sealent along the outside? i have liquid gasket for a dirtbike case haha