V6 Gen 3 Oil Leak?

[Stangar]

Guys, I did a search and could not find anything like my problem. I have a 96 (Gen 3) with an oil leak near the front of the engine. Not valve covers, not oil filter, and not the pan. Engine has oil all over the front and covering the pan. It looks like it is coming from the front motor mount. Anyone ever hear of this? Dealer seems to think it's the motor mount or a cracked block. The car has only 135,000 miles with a Mobil 1 oil change every 3500 or less. I'm not happy. Cracked block? I may buy a Ford next time. I might know more from the dealer this afternoon. Any ideas? Experiences? Thank you in advance.

[d0rkiishchris]

Could be anything, and anything I state would be too general to help at all... I hope its not a cracked block at that many miles. I worry for my cars next 30,000 miles if so.

[chronoti]

i doubt a cracked block unless you overheated your engine and diped it in ice water.

the mount has nothing to do with oil leaking. check your front seal. cam shaft oil seals. oil pressure switch. left over oil from an oil change?

also when you say front to toyota the real front is the side next to the firewall. in all error codes it will come up as that being bank one.

[xylium]

I don't think it's a cracked block. Get a flashlight and trace the problem up to it's source.

[deekay140]

its the oil cooler adapter. the piece where the filter screws to bolts to the block and has an oring between the cooler and the block.

[whocares04]

^^^that or there's something wrong with the actual oil pan...

[Stangar]

Originally Posted by deekay140

its the oil cooler adapter. the piece where the filter screws to bolts to the block and has an oring between the cooler and the block.

I don't see any kind of oil cooler adaptor. Isn't that on the 4 cylinder? Mine's a V6.

[deekay140]

sry, they stopped using that in the v-6 in 1994, That is a 2 piece oil pan, maybe aluminum top piece is leaking? put some oil dye in it and get a blue light.

[Stangar]

Originally Posted by deekay140

sry, they stopped using that in the v-6 in 1994, That is a 2 piece oil pan, maybe aluminum top piece is leaking? put some oil dye in it and get a blue light.

You were right. The top piece was leaking and maybe the bottom one also. I'm not a mechanic and they replaced both "rtv gaskets" for $450. They said it took a while to troubleshoot and they also removed the front motor mount for inspection. I made an appointment two days prior and they said the car would be done on Tues afternoon since I took it in on Monday night. I got the car back on Friday! Said they had a lot of cars come in. Guess that the idea of an appointment is something in the past. Did I get taken? It seems like a rather high price but it was a Toyota stealership. Thanks for everyone's comments.

[ag6286]

$450?? ....damn

[JetspeedCamry]

Originally Posted by ag6286

$450?? ....damn

Mind sound silly, but you'd be suprised in the amount of labour involved!
Doing it yourself, is CHEAP AS compared to getting mechanics to do it.

[deekay140]

No, you weren't taken. I am master tech at toyota dealer,, thats fair price, Its about a 5 hour labor job.

[Cammy4U2NV]

i hate goin to the dealership but i have to admit...when u need something important done right...they are pretty damn dependable especially if u don't have a set local mechanic or anything...just charge out the ass for the service...

[ag6286]

yea i kno its a fair price.....im just one of those ppl that would rather learn about it and do it myself and save $$$$$$, given i have the time to

[Stangar]

Originally Posted by deekay140

No, you weren't taken. I am master tech at toyota dealer,, thats fair price, Its about a 5 hour labor job.

They also found a weeping freeze plug that they fixed and charged me another $75. They were thorough and the reason I complained was probably based on the 4 days they had the car instead of the promised one. No leak, no more.

Thanks again for everyone's reply. Great group of people on this site and I really appreciate the feedback.