99 rav4 leak engine oil


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Old 02-02-10, 09:55 AM
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99 rav4 leak engine oil

last year my '99 rav4 started leak engine oil. Mechanic replaced engine valve seal. It leaks again. Mechanic replaced engine valve seal again under warrenty but rav4 still leak oil. My car lose about 2 bottles of oil for 4000 mile driven.

1st question: does oil leak from the engine damage other component of the car, such as other metal or rubber or plastic parts?

I put a cardboard under the car right after I drive the car for a while. cardboard caught oil drip from the car. If I park the car for 1 hour and then put the cardboard until the car, car does not leak oil. My car seems to leak oil right after I use the car or during driving. Any idea what could be wrong with my car?
 
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Old 02-02-10, 01:14 PM
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Adding 2 quarts of oil every 4000 miles could be due to normal engine oil consumption. A drop of oil always looks like more after it hits a driveway. There are many seals in an engine and anyone or more can leak, and probably will over time. Distributor oil rings, timing chain covers, main seals etc., and valve covers and spark plug seals are common, but you have had those replaced. Oil filters can leak also if not properly installed. Are you also sure it is engine oil dripping out. Transmission shafts can also leak for example, as can air conditioning compressors. I suggest that you clean off the engine and other components and try to see where oil is coming from. There is no other way for anyone to diagnose this, as there are just too many possibilities both from the engine, and also from other driveline components.
 
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Old 02-05-10, 10:59 AM
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I took the car back to mechanic today. He say there is a leak from the oil pump. He mention something about wire in the pump. Any suggestion?

Will oil pump fail if it is not repaired and cause more damage later?

He will charge $450 and takes 6 hours. Is it reasonable?

Is it easy to confused oil pump leak with valve seal leak?
 

Last edited by cyzpro; 02-05-10 at 11:30 AM. Reason: more info
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Old 02-05-10, 06:27 PM
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if the gears inside the oil pump are worn, or there are excessive clearances between the gears and pump housing, or the housing or end plate are worn, the pump will leak pressure internally and may not deliver as much oil flow to the engine as it did when it was new.
 
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Old 02-06-10, 04:27 AM
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I might heard wrong things over the phone. I talked to mechanic in person. He say oil pump seal is leaking oil. He also recommend changing timing belt at the same time. Will oil damaged my timing belt?
 
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Old 02-06-10, 06:11 AM
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The timing belt is a 60000 to 90000 mile maintenance item and depending on your mileage it could be due, or close to being due to be replaced, and while your mechanic has everything opened up, he might be saving you some future expense because of overlapping labor savings. In many cases it also makes sense to replace the water pump at the same time. While I don't think that yours is an Interference Engine, if it was, and the timing belt broke, an oil leak would be the least of your problems. Once he takes off the oil pump he may want to replace it also rather than just replacing the seal, depending on what he finds regarding internal component wear. Some oil pumps in Toyota models are known for premature wear, and failure.
 
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Old 02-06-10, 06:30 AM
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Originally Posted by cyzpro
I might heard wrong things over the phone. I talked to mechanic in person. He say oil pump seal is leaking oil. He also recommend changing timing belt at the same time. Will oil damaged my timing belt?
Oil will damage a timing belt. Can't comment on whether your engine is interference or not.
 
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Old 02-06-10, 06:39 AM
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previous owner change the timing belt at 57k. now mileage is 130k. I get the car back from the mechanic and tell him I will think about it. I opened the hood, the plastic anchor that hold spark plug wire in place are broken. A wire was disconnected and a sensor was not in place. I bring the car back to mechanic, he say it was a grounding wire, and no big deal, and he forgot to screw back the sensor. Sensor stay close to the engine by a screw on the engine. What was he thinking? I am looking for another mechanic. I am thinking about bring my car to a vocational school and let students work on it. I am assuming it is cheaper. Is it a good idea?
 
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Old 02-06-10, 06:55 AM
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I would never do it.....my 0.02 worth.
 
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Old 02-06-10, 09:20 AM
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Sounds like quite a run around!

It sounds like your considering three different things as far as the loss of oil your experiancing.
1) valve seal leak - that'll cause oil consumption, but won't leak outside the engine. Checking the condition of each spark plug one at a time can help determine this. If one or more spark plug is blackened instead of the normal light tan color then that may be the case.
2) oil pump leak/worn - that'll cause loss of oil pressure, but won't leak outside the engine. An oil pressure test could determine if that's the case. Low oil pressure could be anything from worn oil pump to clogged oil filter.
3) Your seeing something drip onto cardboard after you've driven your truck and you believe it is an oil leak.-
Find out for yourself if in fact the drips you see are engine oil.
 
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Old 02-06-10, 10:09 AM
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Hi, mickblock
are you saying that oil pump gasket leak won't leak outside the engine? So this oil leak should Not damage the timing belt?
 
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Old 02-06-10, 11:26 AM
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The oil pump gasket(o-ring) is used to seal the pump where it attached to the engine block. They cost less than $10.00. Assuming that your oil pump is located behind your timing belt cover, leaking oil could contaminate the belt but regardless you are getting close to the time to change the timing belt. Oil pumps are around $100 and timing belts less than $30. the rest is labor. The water pump is also behind the timing belt cover and it makes sense to change it out at the same time as it is driven by the belt. It makes sense at this point to also change out the cam and crank seals as well as the timing belt tensioner after this many miles. These seals could also be the problem and not the oil pump gasket. I would suggest that you find a good mechanic you can trust to have a look at it, and if you have the timing belt changed all the other possible locations for oil leaks can then be check.
 
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Old 02-28-10, 03:26 PM
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I went to another mechanic. He say it is leaking from oil pan seal. Is it easy to confused oil pan seal leak with oil pump seal leak?
 
 

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