Generation 4 distibutor oil gasket

[jeffbreeden]

I am trying to chase down some oil leaks on my 97 generation 4. I have researched some of the post regarding oil leaks and the distributor oil gasket seems to be a source of potential oil leaks. I know the generation 3 cars ahve this but did the generation 4 cars do away with the distributor?

Any help would would be appreciated

[ghettosled]

i dont recall off hand if yours does. pop your hood and take a look. heres a pic of my 1996 camry. the distributor is to the right side of the photo behind the engine hoist hook that the spark plug wires connect to.

[hooRAH]

Thats a nice looking VC. I recently did one in black I'm almost done with, came out with a similar finish to that.

You will want to replace the VC gasket (obviously). The spark plug tube seals usually don't need to be replaced, as they don't deteriorate that much (but this is just my experience).

Thats about it on the top end for taking the VC off. Its a quick 15 min job. You have to pull the spark plg wires off to get to the VC, but I generally don't recommend replacing those unless you're having a problem.

[hooRAH]

Oh and the 98 gen 4 I have doesn't have a distributor, it has a round plug that your surround with RTV and set it in the head. I suppose you could reseat this also with new RTV while you're in there.

[alltracman78]

IIRC 96 is the cutoff for the 5SFE w/dist.
You SHOULD have 2 coils.

But the seal in place of the dist will leak over time and need to be replaced.

Also, on older 5SFEs the headgasket will leak oil out the rear. I don't remember if they solved that by the 97s or not. If that's the case it will run down the rear of the block.

[ghettosled]

Originally Posted by alltracman78

Also, on older 5SFEs the headgasket will leak oil out the rear. I don't remember if they solved that by the 97s or not. If that's the case it will run down the rear of the block.

really? damn. maybe thats where my mystery oil leak is coming from. the one gasket i havent replaced yet plus i dont feel comfortable replacing myself and dont have to money to pay someone.