4age Oil Leak

[predator]

This has been happening for a while, quite a bit each day and it's really making a mess.. Finally pulled everything down, but still not overly obvious where the exact leak is coming from, other than it appears to be the front of the engine. Going to replace cam seals, also will do crank seal, although I'/m not sure it's either of them that is the chief culprit.

Does appear to be coming from the top.. wetest part looks like it may be at the head gasket at the front corner which is of course the hardest to replace Head gasket otherwise appears fine with no oil in coolant, overheating, etc.

I do know the head was replaced with a reco about 12 months ago. If they didn't torque it down properly, is it possible it would leak from there? I don't quite know what the stocko looks like, but is that an aftermarket metal head gasket?? Looks a bit like copper in the corner there.

I'm going to try sticking some sealant along the head there, but really doubt that is going to help..Can I retorque/check that individual head stud, or do I have to remove the whole head and do the lot?

Probably doesn't help I spend 2 hours a day at 3800rpm on the highway for any leaks to manifest themselves.

Also: How do you remove the bottom crank gear? Harmonic balancer wasn't too difficult, but no idea on the crank gear there, seems to pretty stuck on. Any advice appreciated.

[Twisty92]

I got the 4AFE engine which is the "fuel encomony" version of the two i too have a oil leak doesn't leave a spill on the ground but similar to the appearance of yours. i haven't started pulling it apart though. i degreased it all today from top of the motor down so in the next week or two i will recheck and see if i can see the exact spot...this doesn't really help your situation but if you can't find why, you could degrease it head to toe

in my case it does kind've look like the head gasket aswell but also no coolant mixed with oil, vise versa

[Victim]

Could it be possibly that the seals in the distributor are shagged? A common place for oil leaks to originate from, and you mention you think the leak's coming from the top right-ish area...?

If so, might be worth getting a 4AGE distributor rebuild kit.

[oldeskewltoy]

A new headgasket will likely cure your ills...

The 4AGE head gasket has gone through a few re-designs. The earlier styles had no rubber sealing bits around the oil passages

(Thanks for the pic Bill... )


See the orange bits of rubber surrounding certain openings... that rubber layer is not there on the earlier gaskets....

Also note... the earlier gasket is open to the bolt hole on the rear drain on the earlier type/style, and the bolt hole is EXCLUDED on the newer types.

[Julz01]

considering it is at a somewhat highish rpm for so long maybe the choice of oil you are using is wrong and cause it to thin out and creep through, what sort of oil are you using in it?

[LeeRoy]

I'd be looking at the distributor oring being the culprit - check if the oring is flat/hard. The oring is ~$10 from toyota and a 20minute job to replace.

[Cuzzo]

The other thing maybe leaking could be from under the cam covers. They need to have a small amount of gasket goo in the corners.

See pic attached.

[predator]

The distributor has been replaced with a non-leaking one.. it was leaking from there, but was cleaned since then.

Could well be the head gasket design.. I can't see the same copper colour on the corner tab in those gaskets above. If the one I have is aftermarket, possible it has copied the earlier design? Interesting on the differences there. Or could just be doesn't compress properly like the stock ones if it's solid metal.

Is looking like I will need a new head gasket to really fix it properly.

Oil is just a cheap Valvoline mineral 20w-50.. But for the moment it's leaking out too much to use a better oil.

[TERRA Operative]

I would start with the distributor. It's also worth replacing the bearing if you can get your hands on a small puller.
Be sure to use viton gear instead of rubber, it costs a few dollars more, but is high temp rated and will last waaaaay longer.

I have a guide on my site, it shows the 4AGZE CAS, but the distributor is exactly the same process.

http://www.jdmlevin.com/CASSealReplacement.html

also

http://www.aeu86.org/index/engine-di...156/post=74211




also, did they replace the cam cover seals with new ones? they will leak if they aren't replaced.

[Cuzzo]

IS the gasket copper gasket?

Looks to be

[predator]

yeah.. think it's the head gasket, not sealing properly, or bad design copper gasket.. it is not the dizzie, checked and is dry. All the replacement cam/crank seals are the high temp vitton stuff.

Got the crank gear off.. sprayed wd40 over the front, and the back of the gear, let sit for a couple of days, did so again today.. using a good quality flat head screw driver, pried it off fairly easily actually whilst the engine still in the car, and car on the ground.

[Blindnz]

That head gasket just looks to be copper coated, which is quite common, even on new head gaskets.

How much oil are you actually losing?

[Cuzzo]

If its a copper gasket, proper copper. That is the reason.

[Blindnz]

Whats wrong with copper head gaskets? are they not used for turbo applications? i thought these were about second best to the multi layer steel ones?

[30psi 4agte]

well......... if it was leaking from the head gasket its not going to find it way up the motor to the cam seals. oil will only flow down unless it flung upward.

Id do the cam seals and r/c gasket. Then give the entire motor a good degrease. Start it and run it for a little while then re-check to see if there are any further leaks.

Having a clean engine will quickly show where fresh oil is coming from