Loss of Oil Options

[Wadgti]

Hi folks,

I know that this has probaly been asked a thousand ties, and I had a look at ome other threads.

But my 97 7AFE ST is loosing alot of oil. It was filled 4/5 of the capacity 2 weeks ago and today it had very little oil let. I was using 10-40 semi castrol gtx as an stop gap in the meantime. there looks to be a small leak coming from the rocker cover gasket running down the front of the head next to the belts. ( i would think it would loose as much oil as it has via the rocker cover gasket)

I have seen the odd puff of blue smoke when foot is goes down, however I am not convinced that it is burning oil. On startup for 5 minutes, there is no blue smoke just petrol fumes.

The car has has a strong smell of petrol in the cabin now and again. It hasnt been serviced in about a year and has been left on a driveway for around 6months. It is going to be serviced at the end of this month to see it helps.

Can anyone suggest other areas to look at.

Many thanks

[Tigawoods]

Start with the easy and go to the hard

Valve Cover Gasket

Oil Pan Gasket

Crankshaft oil seal

[Wadgti]

Thanks tigawoods.

Just back from putting the car on the ramp and think I have found the culprit. Look likes the sump gasket (oil pan) is leaking. However the is some oil staining above the sump itself which is of some concern.

Pics below

Thanks






Lying from underneath the sump (below)



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Picture from just above the sump at the rear of the block looking up (below)



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Another picture at the front of the block underneath the sump (below)



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Picture below the alternator (below)



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And since I am uploading pictures from my phone,here is 2 pics of my mates XR2i (2L zetec conversion. running about 220bhp to the ton (it was weighed earlier in the year at 870kilos). One of the fastest car I have been in!



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[Tigawoods]

Since there doesnt seem to be a large amount of oil farther up, it could have been spread up there due to air flow from driving the car.

I would change the oil pan gasket first. Then if the problem continues, it may be the crankshaft seal.

My crankshaft seal is torn (i think ) and I am seeing oil in similar areas.

[Wadgti]

Thanks...i will do.

I tried a few places for parts and none of them have gaskets listed for the 7afe. Toyota parts has a sealant which they wanted £80 for.

Any ideas if the above is true?

[celica74]

two easy ways to figure it out.

1: wash the oil off the motor really good with some degreaser, drive it 5 miles and then check to see where its coming from.

2: get some oil dye, put it in, drive 5 miles, try to spot where its coming from.

its weird seeing the intake and alternator with oil on them. but like stated before, wont hurt to replace the oil pan gasket, very easy and all you need is basic tools, scrapper, and some fipg(think this is toyotas "rtv").

just thought of this, check your power steering fluid. might be why the manifold is wet.

This post has been edited by celica74: Aug 24, 2012 - 11:49 AM

[xxgetbackupxx]

I always lose oil. It all burns away...must don`t ever see anything dripping or on the ground. I think its an st curse lol

[alltracman78]

It is. But not just the 7AFE.
They burn oil past the piston rings; you're not going to see it as smoke, each cylinder burns a tiny bit each stroke. Enough to make the oil go down fast but not enough for smoke.

Unless you're seeing puddles/drips under the car a leak isn't causing fast oil loss.

Also, Toyota doesn't do oil pan gaskets. They use FIPG [very fast sealing RTV].
I'm sure you could find it FS online somewhere by someone cheaper than $100 [~80GBP].
If you can't I'll see about getting some and shipping it to you [PM me]. It still won't be cheap, but should be well under that.
And the black FIPG is the best thing to use.

[xxgetbackupxx]

Even if I rebuild my 7afe would it just leak again? Anything to slow it down? I tried locus oil but that didn`t help much... being down to about 2 quarts around 3,000 miles between oil changes. Eek! Also I do have smoke... and nasty smell out of exhaust... I am losing coolant, everytime I check it, it needs a little more... d=-(

This post has been edited by xxgetbackupxx: Sep 10, 2012 - 7:10 PM

[alltracman78]

It could. Or would eventually. It seems to be a design flaw. :shrug:

You may have other problems too. If you see smoke that's not from the rings. You may have worn valve guides/seals, or a blown HG [if you're always low on coolant]. It could be something else.
It's just a very common problem with the 7A.

[xxgetbackupxx]

d=-( maybe I should look for another engine....