Coolant leak under exhaust manifold!

[Formulaonehd]

Lets start with a sigh... Another problem surfaces with VX Reborn...
I guess that's how it works, fix one thing another presents its ugly face.

Anywho calling on your expertise again, I have a substantial coolant leak which is a real pain to pin point without taking off the exhaust manifold .
As you can see in the pictures it's a constant drip from the side of the engine underneath the manifold. The best photo I could get from underneath was right near the front diff housing looking straight up under the manifold .
Symptoms:
Car runs fine not overheating (as long as coolant is topped up)
Aircon working normally
Can't see any milky discharge in the oil
Rad not bubbling or gurgling
Small hose under starter motor dripping cool clear fluid (no idea what that is for but never noticed the dripping before )

93 4.5 FZE

 

[slow95z]

oil cooler leak

 

[Gabriel 71]

Oil cooler yank the exhaust manifold and change the gaskets.

 

[Formulaonehd]

I had.no idea the oil cooler leak could come from there. Is this common for the FZE ?

 

[team420]

If you were running your a/c, the small hose dripping clear liquid is condensation from the a/c. Agree on oil cooler gaskets.

 

[Formulaonehd]

Going to try tackle this in the next day or so. My local autoshop doesnt stock any oil cooler gaskets so i ordered one online. Does anyone know if its just the one gasket or if there are two? Exhaust manifold gasket + oil cooler gasket?
Second question: is this an easy job? Sounds easy enough, just dont want to get stuck wishing i had a mechanic do it haha

 

[Formulaonehd]

Oil cooler yank the exhaust manifold and change the gaskets.

Thanks mate, is that oil cooler + manifold gasket when you say "gaskets" ?

 

[baldilocks]

The leak appears to be coming from above the oil cooler. Are you sure it's ancoolant leak? Has the coolant level dropped lately?

 

[450LX]

You will need the oil cooler gaskets, total of 3. The 3 gaskets consist of 2 small ones and 1 big one. You will also need the manifold gaskets as well. I believe there are 4 total. 2 round ones and 2 for the manifold to head. You will also want to make sure you have the correct special socket to remove the exhaust manifold studs from the head. Removing the studs will make it easier to remove the exhaust manifold, you'll see. I forget what size that special socket is, the studs have a star head on them.

I did mine recently...

 

[450LX]

The job isnt too hard. It's just going to depend how rusty your exhaust studs and bolts are. WD40 or some type of penetrent is your friend. A torque wrench helps too when buttoning everything back up.

 

[Formulaonehd]

The leak appears to be coming from above the oil cooler. Are you sure it's ancoolant leak? Has the coolant level dropped lately?

yes using lots of coolant (green here in Aus)

 

[Formulaonehd]

Thank

The job isnt too hard. It's just going to depend how rusty your exhaust studs and bolts are. WD40 or some type of penetrent is your friend. A torque wrench helps too when buttoning everything back up.

Thanks for the images hopefully i can tackle this myself. Is that oil or coolant leaking from yours?

I have found the exhaust manifold gasket kit no problems but like the pic attached i can only find single oil cooler gasket (is that an upgrade as it has two small shapes on this gasket that use to be separated into 3 gaskets (2 big & 1 small) ?

Thanks again appreciate the help

 

[450LX]

Here is the FSM on the oil cooler.

I did mine for preventive maintenance since I had the head off.

 

[Formulaonehd]

Here is the FSM on the oil cooler.

I did mine for preventive maintenance since I had the head off.

thanks mate appreciate it

 

[Formulaonehd]

Ok so I'm still waiting on gaskets to be posted but I removed the heat shield to pin point the leak. I discovered something odd in the process. On the top right section of the oil cooler housing I noticed a hole or indent with crusted coolant on it. No idea if that's possible for a hole to burst out from the inside. It when I cranked the car over coolant wasn't really coming out of there , very odd. I did find the leak and definitely looks like the lower part of the gasket is leaking
Here's the picture of the indent/hole .

 

[tominboise]

That looks like a hole in the cooler - but it might be an optical illusion.

 

[Formulaonehd]

That looks like a hole in the cooler - but it might be an optical illusion.

Haha what I mean is aren't the oil cooler housings quite thick? How would it get a hole in it right through?

Either way looks like I need a new one , no idea where to find one here but if anyone knows an online store that supplies them I'm all ears

 

[tominboise]

Oil Cooler - Toyota (15710-54030) | stockoempart


Here is a link to an OEM cooler.

 

[flintknapper]

On the top right section of the oil cooler housing I noticed a hole or indent with crusted coolant on it. No idea if that's possible for a hole to burst out from the inside. It when I cranked the car over coolant wasn't really coming out of there , very odd. I did find the leak and definitely looks like the lower part of the gasket is leaking
Here's the picture of the indent/hole .

You need to determine if that spot is indeed a hole or not. Take a pick and probe the suspected area to clean it out and establish whether or not it is an issue. IF it is a hole, have it welded up. It is quite possible for a casting to have a flaw that is the thickness of the part.

 

[Formulaonehd]

Interesting , I found another thread with a similar issue and you may be right with vary thing thickness causing a weak spot . I found one in California that posts to Aus so all good except the currency exchange and postage was a killer. Didn't want to buy a second hand one here and run into the problem again
Will update when the work gets done