I have been chasing sources of oil stains on the driveway. 2002 ES 300, 240k miles 5,000 mile OCI.

I did the rear valve cover gasket because I reached up from underneath and felt a mess. A week ago, more or less, I found that the front bank VVTi solenoid was leaking badly. Not just at the o-ring but up into the electrical connector. It has been replaced. A week and 50 miles ago.

I am not certain I did the world's best job cleaning the car afterwards there was a lot of oil in the area of the VVTi and going down from it. I mainly concentrated on the upper side of the engine. This morning I notice some oil on the driveway and got this photo. It has only had 50 miles or less driving since I re-did the VVTi Solenoid. I also retorted the valve cover gaskets as was surprised to find how loose they were. I use the two washer method to ensure they do not bottom out.

My concern is for an RMS leak, they do not seem too common. For now, I plan to clean this off with degreaser and watch.

Any thoughts? I am trying to be optimistic that a RMS leak would not have so much oil up high and flung around.


Thoughts?

 

Note: The rate of leak in terms of loss in the engine was around 1/2 to 3/4 quart in the last 5k miles. I use an oil extractor and get a visual estimate at every change.

I typically use Mobil 1 or Castrol in a 5w-30 weight.

Would it be wise to switch to a high mileage Mobil 1?

 

Hello,

What Valve Cover Gasket Brand did you use?

Not sure who came up with this idea in the first place, but using Washers with those Bolts is a bad practice, mostly due to the fact that they are specifically designed to bottom-out against the Cylinder Head, giving a perfectly spaced gap for the Gasket that is, more importantly, a lot more Uniform than anything you can ever achieve by hand, by using Washers and relying on the Torque Wrench, you are not only tightening the gasket Unevenly, as you are relying on the internal friction of the threaded joint to set the height, which will always be different, you are also leaving them prone to loosening up, as there is nothing in place that would prevent them from doing so.

Here is a thread on how to tighten them correctly, and here is a thread that goes in a bit more detail on the subject. In your case, you should be able to get all the Washers out without having to pry everything apart, you just need to do so with one Bolt at a time, but the effectiveness of this solution would depend on how hard you managed to crush the Seal when tightening it, and how long has it been sitting this way, as Rubber Components tend to develop memory of the shape it was clamped in.

What Brand of Solenoid did you end up using? Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where OEM is just about the only reasonable option, though luckily at least they aren't too expensive, the thread above dives a bit deeper into this subject as well. That said, I am not sure if I've ever seen a Toyota Solenoid leak into the Connector too, with the way they are constructed, it's not a particularly likely scenario, so it could just be that you've mistook some residual Oil or Grease in that Connector that some people use to prevent Corrosion to the Terminals for a leak, though it is hard to say without seeing the issue in question.

One way to tell would be to take the Access Panel off on the Bottom of the Transmission, used to unbolt the Flywheel from the Torque Converter, a look inside with a Mirror, or better yet, a Borescope Camera, here is a thread that shows the Panel in question. Being the giant blender that those two are, a single drip of Oil from the Rear Main Seal will immediately turn into a veneer all over the internal surfaces of the Engine and the Flywheel, it will be pretty hard to miss. That said, I don't really see it as a likely scenario, usually those Seals tend to be quite robust.

So in summary, I would start by getting rid of the Washers under the Valve Cover Gasket Bolts to see if that helps. Also, check who made the Solenoid that you are using, not just due to the concerns of it leaking if my experience is anything to go by. If none of that helps, you can also get UV Dye for the Engine Oil that would help visualize the Source of the Leak, though you will either have to wait until the Night or use a dark Garage to see anything in that case.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Do I need to replace the existing VCG bolts because the rubber washer is shot or are they reusable?

I have a Toyota Solenoid on order, in fact, per my email it has arrived this morning. To get the car on the road I got a Dorman to get by as there was a considerable delay from the dealer I use. I have every reason to believe the one in the photo is original to the car, here is what i looked like.

Solenoid as I found it.

I should have guessed there was an access cover. I will take a look tomorrow. I was beginning to think my drip looks like axle shaft seals, but I thought I was seeing oil not transmission fluid.

Thanks for the assistance

 

Have I got the right area for the RMS relief hole?

I have not seen any signs of oil in this area.

Looking more closely, I am thinking my drip is perhaps the output shaft seals on the CV axle shafts?

 

Again, as mentioned in this thread, those Washers don't get Crushed at all, the ones pictured had about 220,000 miles on them, even the Service Manual doesn't mention them anywhere, even though, for some inexplicable reason, those Washers could be purchased separately, even though there is Knurling on the bolts designed to keep those in place. I did end up using the bolts from the RX330 that I got the Valve Cover off of instead of the original ones, but only because they had but a speck of rust on the Heads, the Washers were exactly the same thickness.

Honestly, even if it was to leak a bucket full every day, I would still keep an OEM part as opposed to installing anything made by Dorman, as at that time, a leak in that solenoid becomes the least of your worries, even the Test Light I purchased from them a while back was defective, that is without even mentioning that I paid at least 3x the amount that it was really worth. When my Solenoid failed, I installed a spare Used OEM one I've had laying around while I waited for the New OEM one to arrive.

Interesting, I wonder if the Connector would've kept leaking if it was properly cleaned out..

Yes, it should be right behind the fold of an Exhaust Hanger on the Engine Side. If you were to have a Rear Main Seal leak severe enough to leave Stains on the Driveway, the Drain Cutout to the Right of the Arrow in the picture would show Drips, but it look clean, so I don't think that there is any reason for concern.



That is a possibility, but seeing that the Valve Cover Gasket is right above that area, I would start with that. You can also try getting a clean White paper towel to carefully collect the drip in question to see what Color it is, while not a sure-fire method, it may still give some clues.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Arsenii,

From the time years ago when you pitched in on my #2 cylinder valve failure, I have valued every word you have written.

My photo of the solenoid does not really show the volume of oil that got past. It was a mess.

I am starting to get your VC bolt points. And I do have a newish scalibrated 1/4" torque wrench I use on both these and bicycles. So, I am going to redo the bolts during our upcoming snow storm and see if I can get it right. The sealing process sounds a bit like a modernized version of our '94 Landcruiser which relies on little cast in tabs on the valve cover. The IH8MUD site is littered with tales of broken bolts from people trying to tighten their way to a leak free seal.

I was pretty comfortable that I was seeing motor oil and not transmision oil. I will pay attention but my trans oil is recent and I am pretty certain the first photo looks like oil.

The valve cover gasket is Toyota. Given my pace of work, it makes no sense to use anything else.

 

Well, mine wasn't any better, but in this case I was more curious about the Connector in particular leaking, as I've only seen that in German cars up to this point, though it could also be that after shoveling away decades worth of cultural layers that get collected on those engines, it's pretty hard to tell what is leaking and what's just there for the company.

At least you are not dealing with that not-so-cunning system they designed in early UZ Engines, where there actually weren't any shoulders to bottom out against, just a plain Bolt with a Rubber Washer that would get squished out once you reached the correct Clamping Force, and would keep the bolt from spinning out .. or at least attempt to, mostly unsuccessfully in my experience..

The issue with using Torque Wrench is that it is too dependent on the Outside Conditions being absolutely perfect, outside of forces created from compressing a Gasket, you are also relying on the Internal Friction of the Threaded Joint and the Washer to know how deep the Bolt is, and if it just so happened that one bolt got a drop of Oil on the thread that the other one didn't, the Cover will already sit cockeyed. It's the same as measuring the Temperature of Water by checking Static Pressure in the Vessel, while technically doable, you will have to complete a whole slew of preparations to ensure that all Conditions in and around the Vessel are absolutely perfect to get any meaningful data, or you can just throw a Thermometer (aka the Shoulder on the Bolt or the Cover) to know when you are there.

At least it's not just good old J-B Weld as I would expect .. not yet that is..

Huh, been a while since I've seen Genuine Valve Cover Gaskets, at the time I was doing the repairs in the thread linked earlier, I could purchase the entire Mahle kit for the price of OEM seals for just one side, but then it would depend on how long the Mahle kit lasts.

Hope this helps and best of luck!