oil leaks - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

lm4600 · 12-01-2007, 09:58 AM

Hi, guys, I'm new here...i'm sure this question was posted here before but I have no time to read through the whole forums.. Question is I have 99 avalon and I've noticed that there is a spot of oil on the floor where I park the car. Where is the leak come from? oil pan? or other area..I figure that this might be a common problem for this year of the car...any help would be greatly appreciated..thanks.

4runnerracer · 12-01-2007, 10:52 AM

If you not afraid to get down and dirty, jack up the car, place on jackstands and see if you can find where the oil leak. Some the common ones are not tightening the oil drain bolt tight enough or not changing the oil drain bolt gasket every 3-5 oil changes.

wonger · 12-01-2007, 11:17 AM

common on avalons but mainly that v6 motor.. pop the hood and look where the timing belt covers are.. just above the power steering pump. if theres oil all over that area and since it made it to the ground the power steering pump also be covered in oil..
both cam seals and rear valve cover are whats common the those v6 engines to leak from. replace both cam seals, replace both valve cover gasket. t-belt and water pump if it is due since t belt comes off anyways.

if it is not leaking from these areas.. than it might be oil pan.. but make sure u look all the way to the top of the motor .. to see if it is leaking down from somewhere else

sheepwundr · 12-01-2007, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wonger

common on avalons but mainly that v6 motor.. pop the hood and look where the timing belt covers are.. just above the power steering pump. if theres oil all over that area and since it made it to the ground the power steering pump also be covered in oil..
both cam seals and rear valve cover are whats common the those v6 engines to leak from. replace both cam seals, replace both valve cover gasket. t-belt and water pump if it is due since t belt comes off anyways.

if it is not leaking from these areas.. than it might be oil pan.. but make sure u look all the way to the top of the motor .. to see if it is leaking down from somewhere else

x2 on this. dont forget if you are removing tbelt replace everything there. tbelt water pump 2 cam seals crank seal idler pulleys if you have high mileage. if the ps pump is covered in oil dont assume that is leaking, the valve cover in that corner will leak onto the pump. oil drain plug gaskets should be replaced every oil change not 3-5 it only costs 50 cents. if you do valve cover gaskets be sure to get a new intake plenum gasket and some fipg(form in place gasket). make sure to clean all surfaces very well and reseal the half moons on the ends of the heads.

cexsiman · 12-01-2007, 06:42 PM

x3

but you have to check, it could be from anywhere almost. heck if you just did an oil change it could be some oil that. id say check your head gasket, i am starting to leak a little from there. speaking of which, anyone have a ballpark idea what it would cost to get that fixed? i know parts are dirt cheap (gasket) but other than that, anyone know how many labor hours it takes?

thanks

wonger · 12-01-2007, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cexsiman

x3

but you have to check, it could be from anywhere almost. heck if you just did an oil change it could be some oil that. id say check your head gasket, i am starting to leak a little from there. speaking of which, anyone have a ballpark idea what it would cost to get that fixed? i know parts are dirt cheap (gasket) but other than that, anyone know how many labor hours it takes?

thanks

its not common for avalons to have blown head gasket.. u must have drove the shit out of that motor to get it to overheat that much to blow it..

Cylinder Head Gasket Replace One Bank 8.0 hours
Both Banks 10.8 hours
in your cause i would read what i typed and a few below.. as valve covers and the seals would leak oil.. not so much head gasket..

lm4600 · 12-04-2007, 08:32 AM

Thanks guys for your responded, wowww...those gaskets that you mentioned make my head spin.. I can't belived that toyota're using so much papers to hold their stuff togeter. now if i knew what is what..

CupCate18 · 12-04-2007, 03:22 PM

My girl is leaking from the rear main seal and my mech told me to pour some stuff into oil and it would def help. It did, jut got oil changed though, and now its leaking very noticeably. Added more stuff to it.. hopefully it'll slow down again...

It wasn't leaking as bad as it is now when I first went to mech about it. Hopefully service didn't mess it up more...

cexsiman · 12-04-2007, 05:04 PM

funny auctually, for some reason i am leaking much more oil than i care to talk about from what is seeming to be more or less the valve gasket, not the head gasket. i cant get it checked out for the next 1k miles because well i have a lot of driving to do in the next week. how much has anyone paid to get their valve cover gasket on one bank?

i know its obvious, but if i'm doing one shouldnt i do both at the same time? and while i am in there wouldnt it also make sense to do like the timiming belt and all the rest of it. i mean i am at 86k and i am usually good to the car, but i pound on the engine sometimes.

i know the obvious answer is yes, do it while i am in there, but what are everyones thoughts?

sheepwundr · 12-04-2007, 08:14 PM

you are do for the belt but you dont have to remove any of that stuff to do the valve cover gaskets. yes do both gaskets at the same time.

aigochamaloh · 12-04-2007, 10:13 PM

like mentioned above, it is most often the rear valve cover gasket. i had that problem and would smell burning oil through the cabin vents. replaced that one gasket and it took care of the problem for me. doesn't hurt to look for other leaks though.

wonger · 12-04-2007, 11:35 PM

putting additives in to stop leaks is just to hide a problem for a while.. its best to get your seals replaced because. it will cost the same if u keeping buying oil to top off and the additives

if it a v6. the rear valve cover gasket is harder to replace but any toyota tech can get it done pretty quick but will still charge for what the labor time calls for..because thats how they get paid by beating the time.. anyways the rear cover requires removing the intake manifold and will need to replace the intake manifold as well . im sure the time for the rear bank is like 4 hrs..

aigochamaloh · 12-05-2007, 12:04 AM

yes, it does require taking off the intake plenum. might as well change your spark plugs while you back there since it's almost impossible to do with the intake plenum on there.

wonger · 12-06-2007, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aigochamaloh

yes, it does require taking off the intake plenum. might as well change your spark plugs while you back there since it's almost impossible to do with the intake plenum on there.

unless u got long skinny and flexible arms and hands like me haha. .but yea those plugs are killer but wait till u see the new 2GR motor in just about any V6 toyota car.. those are even harder

cexsiman · 12-06-2007, 08:57 PM

i cleaned some of the oil off and drover 200+ miles today and the headers are "wet" from oil from top and bottom? and it looks like it is the cam seals because there is a oil over the timing belt cover and all around there. i'm taking it to a mechanic my dad and i have gone to for the past 18+ years, so i know i will get a straight up answer from him. i'll keep everyone posted on how it turns out.

(Hopefully easy, and more importantly not too much $$)