[canadian_psyko]

So I bought a supra, had it for a little over a month now. and it seems to be leaking oil. in 2800 km its gone through about 4 liters. apparently its leaking either from the front seal, the rear seal or the valve cover gasket. which of these is the most likely, and which one will i like the least?

thx
cam

 

[canadian_psyko]

to clarify, i also whiched to castrol 10w30 syntec. thats probably why its leaking. now to fix the leaks.

 

[Racefiend]

most likely culprit on the 5m is the cam tower gasket. But any of the others might casue it too. Wash the engine out and keep an eye on it to see where the oil comes from is really all you can do. There is a big gap of metal between the three seals you spoke of. If there is oil covering everything all the way up to the cam towers, then I doubt the front/rear mains are the ones giving you trouble.

CHristian

 

[trdmkii]

its probably all the seals you mentioned as well as the cam tower gasket, once one starts they all start going...lol

 

[Dave A.]

The rear main crankshaft seal is by far the worst headache and PITB to replace since you have to pull the transmission to get to it. Thoroughly degrease the entire engine and then look for leaks as they appear. Keep your fingers crossed that it's not the rear crank seal and don't forget about the front camshaft seals that lurk behind the timing belt cover. :?

 

[Village]

I have virtually the same problem. It started leaking some fairly serious amount of oil (about 1 qrt per tank) after I had the oil changed. Since it wasn't before, I figure the previous owners had been using 20-50w oil.

Since at the moment I lack the funds to have the car to be fixed. I was thinking of taking the following approaches.

1. Switch back to 20-50w and see
2. Try one of those engine restorers (any of these magic products work?)
3. Penny pinch, keep putting in oil until I can afford to have to fixed.
4. Convince a Supra owner with more experinece then me from Victoria/Vancouver to help me for a case of beer.
5. Drive it till it dies and replace it with a 6M-GE engine from RabidChimp.

or some option I haven't considered.

 

[Muchbzy]

I have virtually the same problem. It started leaking some fairly serious amount of oil (about 1 qrt per tank) after I had the oil changed. Since it wasn't before, I figure the previous owners had been using 20-50w oil.

Since at the moment I lack the funds to have the car to be fixed. I was thinking of taking the following approaches.

1. Switch back to 20-50w and see
2. Try one of those engine restorers (any of these magic products work?)
3. Penny pinch, keep putting in oil until I can afford to have to fixed.
4. Convince a Supra owner with more experinece then me from Victoria/Vancouver to help me for a case of beer.
5. Drive it till it dies and replace it with a 6M-GE engine from RabidChimp.


or some option I haven't considered.

I think you're on the right track and in the proper order. :wink: I just started buying my oil by the case. 8)

 

[Dragonfyre]

wow, 20w? That's some heavy stuff man. As mentioned above it is all the seals you said, and cam towers or a combination of the all. Plus an overlooked spot which has caused alot of problems is the drain plug gasket. if this gasket is shot it will leak at a steady pace. I'm not sure if I read this above or not but are you burning oil at all?

 

[suprathepeg]

Your most likely candidate is the cam cover seal. it is pretty cheep to fix and you can do it yourself in about 20 mins. If other seal are leaking down the line and you don't have any blowby and the engine is solid I would get a gasket kit and see if you can find a local guy to help you do all of the gaskets from the head gasket up. Many times that is all the engine needs. The rabid chimp j-spec looks like a good deal but is considerable more expensive. But if you can refresh you 5m then you might be able to get a good buck for it and recoup some of your costs.

 

[Village]

Well, I really have no tools to do that kinda thing. Finding some well meaning MKII person nearby will work best for me. =)

Maybe I will try a 10-40w or 15-40w first.... Has anyone noticed any real difference between brands? I tend to stick with Penzoil for the most part.

 

[SDRmk2]

U might also check your oil pan gasket. :?

 

[Tanya]

I notice with my rear timing cover leak, it doesn't matter what weight oil it is, it leaks out just as fast, if it is your oil pan gasket, I recommend a stop leak for it, I believe I used STP and after about 200 miles, it sealed up fine, until just recently ( we're talking 13,000 miles later )

Hopefully, you can figure out where it is coming from

 

[Dave A.]

Finding the actual leak could be like looking for a needle in a haystack if the engine is all greasy and covered with grime. You can degrease the whole engine without spending more than a few dollars and that would really help to locate the source(s) of the leak(s). How about blue smoke coming out the tailpipe while you're driving? Blue smoke indicates burning oil. 20W-50 is safe to use in Summer weather when the outdoor temps. are higher, and it can also help "fill the gaps" a little on a worn engine. Personally, I don't care much for oil additives as they can't heal worn out parts, and the healing effects are generally only temporary. Don't be fooled by those goofy names like "Marvel Mystery Oil" (so what's the marvelous mystery? :lol: ), "Motor Honey" (yeah right, and I'm Winnie The Pooh), "No Smoke" (except from the stuff itself). "STP (Super Treatment Power) oil treatment" is probably about as good as it gets in the oil additive and snake oil department, aside from using some ATF. 8)

 

[Dave A.]

Pennzoil has a good detergent additive (Z7) and Castrol GTX is another good choice.

 

[canadian_psyko]

at the moment i dont have access to a lift, though in about a week ill have access to my schools lift, and then ill be able to to work there. at some point in the not too distant future, i will probably be pulling the tranny (has problems, and i think i have access to a free one in good shape), so changing any seal wont be that big of a deal.
thanks for the help so far, ill keep posting how it goes.

cam

 

[GreyFalcon]

I did the same thing by switching to Syntec. I was going through a quart every time I filled the tank. I switched to Castrol high mileage oil, with a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer, and all the leaks virtually stopped.

 

[Village]

Good to hear GrayFalcon... Maybe that will work for me as I ust bought the GTX High Melage, still looking for the Lucas oil stabalizer. I've seen it in a couple of places, just can't remember where. =)

 

[GreyFalcon]

It would be worth finding a Lucas dealer, because their products are really great. Their power steering additive claims it will heal worn racks, and it works, it took all the play out of mine.

 

[canadian_psyko]

if your in canada, or at least bc anyway, i cant say for sure about anywhere else, you can get lucas through napa.

 

[MWebber]

*hack* *Cough*... I know... I still have some oil on my windshield...
:mrgreen: at least you were in front right?!? lol

Mike

I think you're on the right track and in the proper order. :wink: I just started buying my oil by the case. 8)