Suspicious Sponge

[whatthehecksup]

Hey there,

I'm trying to get my Hilux (imported from QLD) registered in WA and it failed the pit inspection because of oil around the drive line (photos attached). The actual wording was:

• Drive line - engine - clean and rectify all oil leaks.

There seems to be a significant oil leak between the engine and clutch housing, and I think someone has jammed a sponge of some sort between the two, at the bottom of the assembly, to maybe soak up oil to save their driveway or pass an inspection in QLD. No idea really, but I'm pretty sure it's not meant to be there. It falls apart when you touch it.

Can anyone tell me whether the sponge is meant to be there (sorry for my lack of knowledge in this department)? If it's not and I clean it up it's just going to fall off. I suspect the car will fail the inspection again?

[campbeam]

I do not have an answer for your question about that suspicious sponge which could be a dodgy workaround.

However, you may find this YouTube video of interest as a potential cheap oil leak fix. Viewed this quite some weeks ago and kept this in mind.

 

[Bigpete]

That bit of sponge is a standard feature on these the oil can leak from the engine rear crank seal or past the front seal on the gearbox imput shaft .

youll smell the difference between eng oil and trans oil , if carefull remove the sponge and the tin plate in the front get a torch look up behind the flywheel for oil and back to the bellhousing brake cleaner squirted in the suss area to remove excess oil try not to get it on the clutch

 check your gearbox level  clean it up hopefully you can get through rego

Edited January 16, 2022 by Bigpete

[Tony Prodigy]

6 hours ago, Bigpete said:

That bit of sponge is a standard feature on these the oil can leak from the engine rear crank seal or past the front seal on the gearbox imput shaft .

Are you serious ? The factory put that there to soak up leaking oil ??

[whatthehecksup]

14 hours ago, Bigpete said:

That bit of sponge is a standard feature on these the oil can leak from the engine rear crank seal or past the front seal on the gearbox imput shaft .

youll smell the difference between eng oil and trans oil , if carefull remove the sponge and the tin plate in the front get a torch look up behind the flywheel for oil and back to the bellhousing brake cleaner squirted in the suss area to remove excess oil try not to get it on the clutch

 check your gearbox level  clean it up hopefully you can get through rego

Hey @Bigpete thanks for the answer. Yes I can now see that it's shaped to fit perfectly where it is. When I was viewing it from the rear of the car toward the front it just look liked a rectangle of sponge or foam stuffed in there. It was soaked through with oil and grit.

Anyway I cleaned it all up ands it passed the inspection so all good.

7 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Are you serious ? The factory put that there to soak up leaking oil ??

Yep @Tony Prodigy it is shaped and fits perfectly where it is. Definitely a Toyota part! The clutch housing has a slot in the bottom of it (breather or to prevent oil building up in there if there is a leak?) and the sponge is adjacent to that so I guess that's what it's for.

[campbeam]

3 hours ago, whatthehecksup said:

Anyway I cleaned it all up ands it passed the inspection so all good.

That is a good immediate outcome.

Seeing that you have made the effort to clean that area, it will be worthwhile to have a look later on to determine whether there is a leak and to what extent.

[Bigpete]

So long as it dosent inteaf with clutch operation  keep an eye on the oil levels all be good

 

[Tony Prodigy]

On 1/17/2022 at 1:09 PM, whatthehecksup said:

Anyway I cleaned it all up ands it passed the inspection so all good.

Brake cleaner is a wonderful invention. So much better than degreaser. I use it religiously when it's needed.

I like to stock up when SCA have them on special for like $2 ea. Buy a whole box and keep them handy.