Oil is seeping :-(

[Silver-Aurion]

Lazy Friday arvo, no work, no parents, so I decided to keep busy by walking over to the car and have a look at her. I took out my flashlight and started inspecting the engine, I've never done this very thorough before so I decided I'll take my time to check it over, under, inside out for anything not right. And in plain view I came across Oil seeping.

I took pictures, and judge for yourself, is this normal, or should I get Toyota to check it out when I take the car in for the VVTI Oil line when I go in on the 7th of Jan.

Here are the first pictures

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/1010/dscn2464.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3971/dscn2465i.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/1332/dscn2466.jpg

Before you click on the links below, here with a dirty rag, I wiped off the oil and will constantly check that oil leek after each drive to see if it comes back

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/610/dscn2469x.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/8729/dscn2470.jpg

And before you click on these links below, oil seems to be also seeping out of the Oil cap, I'm not sure if this is normal or not BECAUSE the first day I brought the car home from the dealer, I seen those dry oil spots around the oil lid and I cleaned them off completely, and now on my second inspection after about two weeks, those oil patches have came back

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8678/dscn2472u.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3088/dscn2471x.jpg

Below here I put the engine cover back on:

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/8364/dscn2473.jpg

Here is the Oil lid, with the plastic "o-ring" (I guess you can call it that) is covered in oil which is where I suspect that the oil leeks out from eventually.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9112/dscn2474i.jpg

Thanks for reading guys, help will be greatly appreciated

:)

[Shidas]

An Oil leak aye!

Shouldn't be to much of a problem unless you are dumping oil, aslong as you keep and eye on the oil level and not let it run empty i think you should be fine, But Personally I would get it fixed up.

Probably just needs a new gasket or layer of threebond

[Woodsie]

Hi Unique

My guess is that the oil came from spillage when the oil was last topped up. From your pictures of the filler cap id say another possibility is that the cap was not properly tightened.

I would clean the area of all oil using a clean rag and inspect for oil after your next drive.

If the problem persists get Toyota to investigate when they do the recall.

Hope this helps!

[cranky]

from the first pictures it looks like the oil ran down from the cap to that spot where it is building up. i haven't seen an oil cap leak before though. maybe not enough pressure on the gasket to seal it.

[Silver-Aurion]

Hi Unique

My guess is that the oil came from spillage when the oil was last topped up. From your pictures of the filler cap id say another possibility is that the cap was not properly tightened.

Not possible, as I did say that I cleaned up around the oil cap two weeks ago when I seen those oil patches. Since then I never put any oil in the car nor no oil has been near the oil cap.

I would clean the area of all oil using a clean rag and inspect for oil after your next drive.

If the problem persists get Toyota to investigate when they do the recall.

Hope this helps!

Which I said I already did that too

[Silver-Aurion]

from the first pictures it looks like the oil ran down from the cap to that spot where it is building up.

lol, how is that possible? Your telling me it seeped out of the oil cap and jumped to the left and rested where the oil leek is building up?

i haven't seen an oil cap leak before though. maybe not enough pressure on the gasket to seal it.

Please note, these are two separate leeks. Your telling me I have to have my gasket removed? Will warranty cover it?

I feel so violated. :( :( :(

[cranky]

i meant by i haven't seen an oil cap leak before is that maybe the oil cap is no good.

i circled where i think the oil leaked down from the cap.

[Silver-Aurion]

i meant by i haven't seen an oil cap leak before is that maybe the oil cap is no good.

i circled where i think the oil leaked down from the cap.

Oh okay, nah that is just a smudge from when I touched the oil with my finger. I went back to the car, and for the second time I cleaned up around the oil cap. I have one week before I take the car, lets see if anything happens.

Also, the lid is on so tight that if I made it any tighter I'd probably break it.

Edited January 1, 2010 by unique

[David the Viking]

The "leak" in the first pic is a spillage of some sort most likely from removing the oil filler cap, this is an area that is just part of the engine mounts. One casting for the top of the mounting and the lower part to front of the engine. There is no oil in these parts as they are solid alloy.

The other leak around the filler cap just clean it up and make sure it is tight. If it continues to leak point it out at the next service or visit the parts department and get a new gasket/o ring for the cap.

[Silver-Aurion]

The "leak" in the first pic is a spillage of some sort most likely from removing the oil filler cap, this is an area that is just part of the engine mounts. One casting for the top of the mounting and the lower part to front of the engine. There is no oil in these parts as they are solid alloy.

The other leak around the filler cap just clean it up and make sure it is tight. If it continues to leak point it out at the next service or visit the parts department and get a new gasket/o ring for the cap.

Thanks for the reply. I still cannot imagine how the oil bunched up there. If there is no oil in those parts that is a HUGE sigh of relief because I thought that I had a big problem and I was about to **** myself.

I did clean up around the oil cap, and today I went to my bro in laws house and I showed him the problem as he also understands this sort of stuff and I showed him the pictures, when I went to inspect around the lid again. There was a VERY small patch of oil around the edges of the lid, which shows that yes OIL is seeping out from the o-ring.

So I think I do need to get the o-ring or the whole cap changed. Thank god I noticed it before I take my car on Thursday.

Thanks for the replies, they are very comforting. At least its just a cap which can be thrown in the bin and replaced with another one and not something huge.

Still baffled how that oil accumulated in that area in the first picture as its on the complete opposite side of where the oil cap is and there was no signs of oil trail from the cap to that area.

This might be a mystery for ever.

[David the Viking]

It may be possible to just buy the o ring and not the complete cap, well it used to be anyway.

[Silver-Aurion]

Look what happened when I took the cap off today. The seal/o-ring stayed on!

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/290/dscn2477j.jpg

And look at the seal area after I take it off, you can see oil already coming out after 5KM of driving since yesterday where I've pointed the arrows.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4124/fgfa.jpg

So dodgy Toyota.

[DJKOR]

So dodgy Toyota.

I wouldn't be so quick at jumping the gun to blame Toyota just for that issue. For all you know, it could have been stuffed by a previous mechanic over-tightening it and therefore reducing the quality of the seal on future services.

[Silver-Aurion]

So dodgy Toyota.

I wouldn't be so quick at jumping the gun to blame Toyota just for that issue. For all you know, it could have been stuffed by a previous mechanic over-tightening it and therefore reducing the quality of the seal on future services.

Yeah thats true, but I've never in my life had this happen to me before and I would always service my cars and I would always make sure the lids are tight and thats never happened before. The mechanic that serviced this car must of used a torque wrench to tighten it then!

Also, off-topic question, is it normal to have those cables wrapped in duck tape like that in those new pics I posted.

Edit again: Not sure where to post this so I'll ask here: I was searching Youtube for Aurions and came across your account, nice stuff there mate.

On this video here: 'Taking it easy around Nebo' are you using auto or the semi? Have you made any performance mods to your engine? That Aurion sounds nice, and I can't believe how you treat her!

I treat mine like a new born baby while you go thrashing it about.

Edited January 2, 2010 by unique

[DJKOR]

Yeah thats true, but I've never in my life had this happen to me before and I would always service my cars and I would always make sure the lids are tight and thats never happened before. The mechanic that serviced this car must of used a torque wrench to tighten it then!

Even if that wasn't the case though, in the end it is a rubber seal. You can't expect rubber seals to be 100% lifetime, that's why o-rings are sold as replacement items.

Also, off-topic question, is it normal to have those cables wrapped in duck tape like that in those new pics I posted.

No need to panic mate. It is common with split cable loom to have the ends (and sections along the length) to be wrapped in electrical tape to ensure the cables don't come out and to keep it neat and tidy. Otherwise if the cables came out, the loom would be pointless. Everything you see there is fine.

On this video here: 'Taking it easy around Nebo' are you using auto or the semi? Have you made any performance mods to your engine? That Aurion sounds nice, and I can't believe how you treat her!

I treat mine like a new born baby while you go thrashing it about.

Firstly, I would not say that I thrash my car around. I drive her hard and take good care of her. There is a difference between hard driving and thrashing in my opinion. Anyways, I was only driving her at about 40-50% in that video. Nearly all those corners could have been taken at least 15km/h faster than I did in tat video. Had a group of motorcycles up front slowing us down.

To answer the question, I had to use 'S' mode for the simple fact that driving in 'D' around a road like that is a pain in the a**. Left in 'D', the transmission will always try to shift to the highest gear which makes acceleration really laggy. In 'S', I can limit the transmission between 3rd and 4th for greater pickup around corners etc.

No performance mods to the engine. I just use a quality oil and keep her in good shape. The only performance mods that I have on this car are TRD suspension (though the Sportivo suspension never stopped me), better brakes, and grippy tires. Also I've made sure to not add additional weight to the car. One key thing I believe has helped a bit (even if it is all in my head) is that I do drive her hard frequently as well and take good care of her so it feels like it has 'adapted' in some way to a harder style of driving.

[David the Viking]

Look what happened when I took the cap off today. The seal/o-ring stayed on!

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/290/dscn2477j.jpg

And look at the seal area after I take it off, you can see oil already coming out after 5KM of driving since yesterday where I've pointed the arrows.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4124/fgfa.jpg

So dodgy Toyota.

I would be inclinded to say that the cap at one point was not tightened enough and it has allowed oil to escape and get around and above the o ring. I would clean it all up with some degreaser (cap and o ring separately) and then rinsed with water and dried before fitting. Make sure it is tight and see how it goes.