Oil Leak

[Glenn britton]

Some help would be appreciated.
I have a 96 t100 sr5.
I began smelling oil smoke and noticed the front of the engine damp. I figured the crank/cam seals were shot. With 310000 miles on it, I replaced timing belt, tensioner, all seals, bearings , for the second time, where other than the front of the engine, valve covers or oil sending unit, could it be leaking from to make the engine smoke from the right rear of the engine. Thanks for the help.

 

[Djohn]

Glenn, the only place on the rear of engine would be the rear main seal. But I wouldn't think the leak would from that would be showing on the right rear. Did you use silicone on your cam seals when you changed your valve covers? If i know what I'm talking about?

 

[kennythewelder]

It can be hard to pin point a leak. When I was a mechanic at 2 different dealers, years ago. And we had an oil leak that was hard to find, we would wash the engine. Then run it for a little while so the leak would show itself. Sometimes this helps to find the leak. Also I find that high temp RTV silicone is a good choice as a gasket sealer, but the surfaces have to be clean and free of any oil. I like to wipe down the metal sealing edges with some alcohol to remove any oil before applying the RTV.

 

[toyotafan]

It can be hard to pin point a leak. When I was a mechanic at 2 different dealers, years ago. And we had an oil leak that was hard to find, we would wash the engine. Then run it for a little while so the leak would show itself. Sometimes this helps to find the leak. Also I find that high temp RTV silicone is a good choice as a gasket sealer, but the surfaces have to be clean and free of any oil. I like to wipe down the metal sealing edges with some alcohol to remove any oil before applying the RTV.

+1 on the idea of cleaning the engine. I had a water leak once on the front of a water pump that actually appeared to be coming from the rear due to the accumulation of grime up front and the fan spread the water backwards.

Anyhow, I always apply a light degreaser and will attempt to wipe down areas a rag to get a good visual.

I will say this, the Advent of the go everywhere with you camera and flashlight, I'm talking about smartphones, really has helped the hard to get to places be seen 4 diagnosis for leaks.