97 Land Cruiser Leaking Oil Pump/Timing Cover - Need to pull head?? (2 Viewers)

[Rollinn]

Hey guys,

I have a 97 Land Cruiser w/ the 1FZ-FE. Has had a oil leak thats been slowly getting a bigger leak. I took it to a shop and they said it the oil pump gasket but not the front cover but the one behind the timing cover @ the oil pump..

Is it neccesary to remove the head to r&r the timing cover to replace the gasket? Any other preventative items to do while I have the timing cover off? Replacing front main seal is a given.
The shop also mentioned the need to replace the entire cover.. I'm unlcear why I would need to replace the entire cover..

Thanks for the help!

 

[brockdeck]

As I am local to you, curious as to where you took it?

If the timing cover is leaking that bad, you likely might as well pull the head, and replace your timing chain guides etc while you are in there. You can reseal the timing cover without pulling the head, but you will need to pull the upper oil pan. I remember Dan mentioning this years ago, that he would never do it again. Unless the cover is damaged, you don't necessarily need to change the whole cover. Lots of threads on here

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

During my recent head gasket (and thousands of dollars of "while you're in there"), the tech took the engine all the way out to make things easier and probably save an hour of labor when the timing guides disintegrated during head removal.

Head had to get decked so i sprang for the full remanufacture of it. My freeway mpg is way up.

 

[Augustiron]

I would just seal up the oil pump for now as it is a relatively easy job, clean everything really well and keep an eye on the timing cover to see how much it was actually contributing to the oil leak.
If it turns out the timing cover is leaking bad then you can decide how to proceed, but in my experience the oil pump is the first culprit to leaks in that area, for such an easy fix, worth doing, while the timing cover is a slippery slope of "what I should do while I'm in there"

 

[Rollinn]

Yes exactly my issue.. The while you're there scenario, turns into a freakin fiasco!! And i'm trying not to open pandoras box since the truck runs great and don't want to mess with it too much.. Just annoying with the leak is all.. But good call @Augustiron about maybe just doing the oil pump cover vs the timing chain cover fiasco..

 

[Rollinn]

As I am local to you, curious as to where you took it?

If the timing cover is leaking that bad, you likely might as well pull the head, and replace your timing chain guides etc while you are in there. You can reseal the timing cover without pulling the head, but you will need to pull the upper oil pan. I remember Dan mentioning this years ago, that he would never do it again. Unless the cover is damaged, you don't necessarily need to change the whole cover. Lots of threads on here

Took it to Certified Japanese Auto Repair in Lake Forest.. Not sure I would trust them with the job though..

 

[Mark W]

There is no gasket or seal on the back of the oil pump. If it is the timing cover gasket that is leaking, then yes the head has to be removed to fix it properly.

The common leak points in the area are the oil pump seal and the distributor shaft seal. Leakage from the power steering pump o-ring is possible. but again, uncommon. Leakage from the valve cover at this corner is possible, but hard to mistake for anything else. If the section of the head head gasket is that extends across the top of the timing cover is damaged on installation then a significant leak is usually the result. Again, hard to mistake for nything else.

Mark...

 

[reklund5]

There is a rubber o-ring between the timing cover and the head that seals the main oil passsge from the pump to the block. If that o-ring fails, it'll leak pretty badly. The only way to fix it right is to pull the whole engine and then pull the head and oil pan to get the timing cover off.

 

[Mark W]

There is a rubber o-ring between the timing cover and the head that seals the main oil passsge from the pump to the block. If that o-ring fails, it'll leak pretty badly. The only way to fix it right is to pull the whole engine and then pull the head and oil pan to get the timing cover off.

"There is a rubber o-ring between the timing cover and the head that seals the main oil passsge from the pump to the block." Think about that a second...

I think you mean between the timing cover and the block.


Yep, I negelected to mention that in my comment above. FWIW, I have never encountered a leak from there, or heard of one. Doesn't mean it can not or has not happened though.



You DO NOT have to pull the engine to remove the timing cover and the pan.

Mark...

 

[reklund5]

"There is a rubber o-ring between the timing cover and the head that seals the main oil passsge from the pump to the block." Think about that a second...

I think you mean between the timing cover and the block.


Yep, I negelected to mention that in my comment above. FWIW, I have never encountered a leak from there, or heard of one. Doesn't mean it can not or has not happened though.



You DO NOT have to pull the engine to remove the timing cover and the pan.

Mark...

I absolutely did mean between the cover and the block. My mistake!

 

[Kernal]

@Rollinn it might help if you could post up some photos showing where the leak is?

Unless the mechanic has significant experience with the 1FZFE engine i would get a second opinion before pulling things apart.

At a minimum you should clean the front of the engine off very well first starting below the level of the distributor and down.

It helps a lot if you remove the splash pan below the radiator first. Do not spray water or degreaser directly at the distributor or alternator.

After it's cleaned off and a day of driving post up new photos.

 

[Rollinn]

There is no gasket or seal on the back of the oil pump. If it is the timing cover gasket that is leaking, then yes the head has to be removed to fix it properly.

The common leak points in the area are the oil pump seal and the distributor shaft seal. Leakage from the power steering pump o-ring is possible. but again, uncommon. Leakage from the valve cover at this corner is possible, but hard to mistake for anything else. If the section of the head head gasket is that extends across the top of the timing cover is damaged on installation then a significant leak is usually the result. Again, hard to mistake for nything else.

Mark...

Great info! I think i will dive into just doing the oil pump cover gasket first.. The timing cover is just simply too big to get into at present time and i feel its pandoras box at that point. As mentioned truck runs great and just don't want to screw that up.

 

[Rollinn]

@Rollinn it might help if you could post up some photos showing where the leak is?

Unless the mechanic has significant experience with the 1FZFE engine i would get a second opinion before pulling things apart.

At a minimum you should clean the front of the engine off very well first starting below the level of the distributor and down.

It helps a lot if you remove the splash pan below the radiator first. Do not spray water or degreaser directly at the distributor or alternator.

After it's cleaned off and a day of driving post up new photos.

Yes was actually planning to do exactly that to make it more clear.. Once I do that I will post up those pics.. Thanks everyone for chiming in and helping out!