96 5fse leaking at distributor area - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

jessmad2003 · 08-15-2011, 09:29 PM

I've looked for any information related to a distributor leak, I know about the O ring needing to be replaced. I took it to a shop and was told that I needed a new distributor because the one on the car is leaking thru the weeping holes, and this leak is due to a worn shaft. any help on this would be appreciated. I kind of think that is BS but not 100% sure. I also have to change the cover gaskets. after this I hope I'm done with repairs for a while. thanks

RichieRichJP · 08-16-2011, 12:09 AM

What do you mean by weeping holes?
You may not need a new distributor. I'd order the distributor seal kit from twosrus.com and replace the seals.
The shaft goes through a rubber seal that may eventually leak. DIY is a pain in the ass but it can save you a lot of money.

hill8570 · 08-16-2011, 12:39 AM

Not necessarily BS. If you pull the dizzy cover off and the inside of the dizzy is covered in oil, then the shaft seal is likely shot. Not the most common failure, but it does happen. Personally never tried to rebuild a dizzy -- I don't have high confidence in being able to clean out an oil-contaminated dizzy to the point that I'd trust it not to arc over when the chips are down. Doesn't mean it can't be done, 'tho.

Tom 2000 · 08-16-2011, 01:12 AM

You need to rebuild your distributor so it won't leak. See this thread. It's for MR2, but the engine (5S-FE) is the same. Plenty of pics.

http://www.mr2.com/forums/mk-2-mr2-s...tml#post554437

When I had my old Camry (3S-FE), I had the same problem you described after about 140K miles.

jessmad2003 · 08-16-2011, 10:59 AM

thanks guys great info.
about the weeping holes, the way the mechanic explained to me was that at base of the distributor just bellow where the cap attaches to there is two holes where according to him oil comes out when the shaft is worn. this holes are there so oil doesnt come into the electrics of the distrubutor. but now that I see that the shaft has a seal I see how that can happen. The thing about it is that there is no oil inside the distributor, I took the cap off to check the rotor to see if it needed to be replaced. now the question is will it leak a lot if it is just the O ring? thanks in advance. thanks about the link to see those pics.

RichieRichJP · 08-16-2011, 11:32 AM

Follow that DIY! It wouldn't hurt to just replace everything after so many miles. Knocking out the pin is probably the hardest part.
If just the O-Ring was leaking, I'd still expect to see some oil in the dizzy, but not a lot.