Hey guys,
I have a heavy oil leak from my distributor. Can I repair it or do I need a whole new distributor? And if so how much do they usually run?

 

Ok, maybe im just a dumbass

 

Is this an engine related question?

moved.

 

I'm there now bro. Yes, it is a simple o-ring. Removing the distributor will be much more of a challenge however or not. You need to crank the engine until you can see the tip of lobe of the intake cam through the oil filler hole. Then you may remove the distributor and replace the oring. The distributor seems to be marked quite well as to drive gear and button orientation on install. Problem is getting the mechanical advance back. Make sure you clean the mounting bracket location and mark it clearly as to attempt to replace the distributor exactly as removed. This way timing will be as close to original as possible. I would highly recommend checking timing before removing anything. Resolve any timing issue that are present (as there were/are with me) - then fix your oil leak. Food for thought, I thought it was my distributor leaking - it still could be and I have the 1.10$ Elmhurst Toyota o-ring but I also found all valve cover gaskets dry rotten and cracked, the center spark plug bracket for wire location totally rotted and no rubber washers under the 10mm bolts holding the valve covers down. 4 of 6 plug seats were full of oil. Oil was weeping everywhere. Still in the process of fixing it. Chances are, if your dist. seal is bad, so are your valve covers. PM for a list of seals #'s. Curt Ainger of Elmhurst Toyota has been instrumental in assisting with these pieces. Also Steve Ganz of Carson Toyota will be equally helpfull. Enjoy...

I always recommend the factory service manuals..... take some pictures while you are in there. I'm interested to see how others situations look...

 

I had the same problem with my 1st gen GS300. I just had a local mechanic do it for $50. I thought it was too complicated for me to line up the distributor and cam properly. Just by the o-ring from Lexus/Toyota and pretty much any shop can do it.

 

Thank you for the good advice. Just installed the new o-ring on distributor. It was actually relatively simple work. Thanks again.

 

So, is the o-ring easy to replace as just marking the bolt and housing really good and sliding it out/in?

I've done this before on another car, but I usually set the engine to top dead center first.

Anyone?

 

just fiy

most of the time it is the o-ring that goes bad. sometimes it can also be the bushings inside the housing itself. this is my current problem. there is no simple solution to this since the unit is not rebuildable and has to be replaced as an assembly.

the old unit may be rebuilt but i have not tried since it is on my daily driver and i dont have a spare distributor.

 

Oh, do you mean the distributor has oil seals within the housing? I imagine there's one that seals the shaft that has a bearing on it?

I need to look the manual over real quick.

 

factory manual says to set it at top dead center.

This is the procedure which I find VERY ODD!

1.turn crank CLOCKWISE by hand until you can see the cam lobe where you put the oil in the motor
2.turn the motor COUNTER CLOCKWISE 120 degrees..>WTF!
3.turn motor back CLOCKWISE 40 degrees!!

Whats the deal with that? Usually you only turn the crank one direction.

 

Huh very strange because i have almost the exact same issue here. When i was doing valve cover gaskets i found oil in the spark plug valley. I also have the distributor leaking as well. Ususally if seals and gaskets are leaking it means that unwanted pressure is building up inside the crankcase and blowing seals all over. I would replace the PCV valve while you're doing the gaskets ($8.33 from Carson Toyota) and takes a few seconds to replace it.

 

The engine mechanical/internal parts may last for 300k miles, but not all of the seals, gaskets and o-rings will make it that long.

 

I have the same oil leak issue with my 1st Gen GS300. The oil leak leaked on my altenator causing a short in that. I've replaced the Altenator before finding out the oil was coming out of the distributor. Would replacing the O-Ring fix this oil leak before it shorts out my new altenator?