Just picked up my first Landcruiser! one odd issue

[AJLFJ80]

Bad News and worse news:

I topped the engine off with oil and exactly 150 miles later the light came on again..... I took it into 2 different shops and both said the same thing:

Bad leak coming from the timing cover, distributor and oil pan. Both shops quoted SEVENTEEN hours to do the job at between $2K-$2500.... They said the head has to come off and while im in there might as well do the head gasket/valve cover gaskets as well.

reeeeeallllyyy shoulda researched that oil leak worse when i bought the truck but it's all on me now. Thing is I dont want to dump $2500 into a truck I only paid a bit more for however i LOVE the damn thing.

So i guess instead of blowing $2500 on a 195K engine i'll blow some more money and go for a 4.7 motor/tranny swap.... Time to research this as it seems like it would be a good fit for this truck and a relatively easy bolt-in with minor fabrication(I hope, I could be wrong on this as well).


Oh well.... I still love the truck regardless but I cant keep throwing a quart of oil in it every 150 miles

Leaky timing cover and oil pan, yet no spots on the driveway, at least from what you have told us....sounds fishy to me.

 

[Turbo74]

Well there are spots on the driveway but nothing that would lead me to believe it was losing a quart every 150 miles. The spots are actually spread out quite a bit like it's leaking somewhere bad and spraying back all over everything and then leaking from there.


Rob

 

[Turbo74]

Well it's getting weirder by the day...

I took the advice of the board and brought it into another shop and had them inspect the oil pump gasket. It was indeed hard as a rock and seeping badly. They replaced it, drove it to make sure nothing was leaking out of the pan or anywhere else and all seemed perfect. I picked it up today and took it straight on a trip to my office 2 1/2hrs away. 30 miles into the trip the low oil light comes on again

I pull over to a gas station and its indeed a quart low. I figure maybe the shop didnt fill it to capacity and I add a quart back into it. get back on the road and hope to not see it again.....

....which only lasted about 26 miles until the damn light came on again ... At this point im already a good ways into my trip so I had to deal with it... 7 quarts of oil later I am home from my trip and pissed off. I looked under the thing and i see no pan seepage but definite wetness around the bottom of the engine. It's barely leaking a drop on the ground so its obviously spewing out under pressure? I cant imagine its using a quart every 30 miles as i'd HAVE to notice some blue smoke or something....

I'm just baffled at this point and dont want to throw any more money at it than needed to figure this out

 

[tromz]

just another .02 maybe you are overthinking.... Check the drain plug and the filter.
Shops are notorious for only putting 6 qts. in a 6cyl. Maybe clean it all up change the oil and use a OEM filter and go from there. 7.8 quart capacity. Good luck

 

[sky90]

Sounds like she's playing hard to catch, but i bet its going to be worth it

If you're loosing 7 qts... get someone to tail you while you drive around. to better understand the leaks/exhaust

 

[thirdmatt01]

When I bought my 94 it was leaking what I thought was the arches
Or rear main, however the lower (small) oil pan had a hole rusted in the side. I think it was around a 100 from Beno and about an hour of labor. Just remember which bolts go where I think some were different lengths.