Leaking Dizzy inner seal -- how long can I drive like this? 93 FZJ80

[Therealtotodile]

Description is in the title. 93 FZJ80, with a leaking dizzy (comes out the hole in the bottom of the cap).

How long can I drive with this leak? Will it affect any other parts, other than the distributor? Shop quoted me about 1k for replacement and install??? WTF? I really would not like to spend a grand here, but the rebuild process seems a bit above my paygrade, and you have to use parts that were not part of the OEM set up in order to make it work -- the inner seal doesnt seem like it can be sourced, but you could get something close to equivalent from Koyo.

Thanks mud!

 

[cruiserdan]

If the leak is between the shaft and housing the seal is not serviced. Eventually the oil will take out the pickup coil. No way to guess how long it will take. You may be able to find a used distributor.

 

[Therealtotodile]

Thanks @cruiserdan. Figured a much. What a friggin bummer.

 

[cruiserdan]

Install is not at all difficult. Pay attention to the rotor orientation and have a timing light and a 12mm combination wrench.

 

[Kernal]

^^^This^^^

IME you can drive the vehicle thousands of miles with the leak but as Cdan said it can eventually damage the pick-ups.

You can IME get more miles out of it by cleaning out the inside of the distributor (under the cap, and the cap itself ) by using a Solvent designed for electronics ie: CRC Quick Dry Electronics Cleaner. Do NOT use Carb cleaner or regular Brake cleaner; those contain Toluene and/or Acetone which can damage the shaft and bearing seals and make the leak even worse.

OEM is always the best way to go (I have one in my parts stash) but if money is tight a couple of people have installed aftermarket Distributors. IIRC one person swapped the electronic bits from his original distributor over to the aftermarket distributor when he had a problem with the cheapo distributor??

Or, if you're handy with tools you could try to rebuild the distributor. As CDan said and by-the-book it's not considered rebuildable by Toyota (and Toyota does not sell the seal or bearing as CDan said) but a couple of people have replaced the shaft seal and bearing with aftermarket parts that fit.

So it's doable to replace the bearing and seal, just no way to tell how long it will last IMHO (see link below)

FWIW

97 Distributor Oil Leak - internal seal replacement How To

After some help from the good folks on the forum, thought I would attempt a replacement of the internal seal and bearing Symptoms: Oil covered Alternator from the top LHS side of engine Oil dripping from the alternator housing Step 1. Remove Distributor Cap and observe if there is copious...

forum.ih8mud.com

Another discussion on aftermarket distributors:

Distributor Replacement

I'm wondering if anyone has used this: Aftermarket Distributor My wife and I both drive 80s. And I have a parts 80. My wife's leaks a lot of oil. A few months ago, I noticed the oil was even on top of the alternator, so .... popped the cap and there was oil. It's dripping down to the...

forum.ih8mud.com

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Here's a link to RockAuto for aftermarket distributors:

1997 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 4.5L L6 Distributor | Shop Now at RockAuto

Ignition Parts and More for Your 1997 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

Another link with a few options, with one distributor for $80

1993-1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Ignition Distributor - Replacement 905-049 - PartsGeek.com

Buy 1993-1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Ignition Distributor Replacement for a low price of $80.95 at PartsGeek. FREE SHIPPING on most Replacement 905-049 orders.

www.partsgeek.com

 

[LandLocked93]

I went with this dizzy a little over 3yrs ago and have had zero issues.
Amazon product ASIN B00VVC3T7M
It's one of the very few items not OEM that I've used. Thankfully it's been a no hassle experience.

 

[Kernal]

^^^Good to know^^^
How many miles on that dizzy, any internal leaks?

Would be interesting to see a photo of the (uncleaned) inside of the dizzy (under the cap) ie: after XXXX miles just for comparison.

 

[LandLocked93]

^^^Good to know^^^
How many miles on that dizzy, any internal leaks?

Would be interesting to see a photo of the (uncleaned) inside of the dizzy (under the cap) ie: after XXXX miles just for comparison.

First 2 pics, exterior, unmolested since install in May 2020. Estimate about 13kmi since then.

Underside of cap and interior:

 

[clx16]

I also ran several years on the amazon dizzy without issues. I recently rebuilt an OEM one and put that in when I was chasing a noise. Turns out it wasn't the amazon dizzy making the noise but since i had a rebuilt OEM unit, I put it in instead.

My original was leaking when i purchased the truck and I believe it ruined my alternator. Dropping oil on it constantly may have cause a heat issue.. however it went bad and that thing was full of oil and gunk from the dizzy.

 

[Kernal]

@LandLocked93 : Inside of your aftermarket Dizzy looks very clean, is that a slight amount of oil/wetness at 6 O'clock?? Hard to tell if that's oil or a shadow. Either way, looks very good.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I went with this dizzy a little over 3yrs ago and have had zero issues.
Amazon product ASIN B00VVC3T7M
It's one of the very few items not OEM that I've used. Thankfully it's been a no hassle experience.

Me too, last year. OEM part doesn't particularly impress in this case, considering how often they leak badly.

 

[LandLocked93]

@LandLocked93 : Inside of your aftermarket Dizzy looks very clean, is that a slight amount of oil/wetness at 6 O'clock?? Hard to tell if that's oil or a shadow. Either way, looks very good.

I saw that in the pic. It does look like oil. But alas it is only a shadow. (plus my current oil status is much darker than that anyway lol)
Something else I noticed in the pic of the underside of the cap, it says "Made in Japan". Amazon states the dizzy is of China origin. And that is the cap that came with the unit.
Interesting they outsourced the cap. lol

 

[LandLocked93]

My original was leaking when i purchased the truck and I believe it ruined my alternator. Dropping oil on it constantly may have cause a heat issue.. however it went bad and that thing was full of oil and gunk from the dizzy.

Indeed, same with my rig at purchase.
When the dizzy was replaced I bothered to pull the alt, pull the electronics off the back, and pour hot degreaser through and around the wire wraps and internals a few times (careful to avoid the bearings of course) to get alot of that crud out of there. Then replaced the brushes and reassembled.
This too was over 3 yrs ago and haven't had any charging issues from the vintage alt even after adding roughly 500aH of storage to the charge load.

 

[clx16]

Me too, last year. OEM part doesn't particularly impress in this case, considering how often they leak badly.

There are some quality differences in the gear compared to oem. The oem gear did seem to be better machined and have no burs on the edges. The bearing on the after market dizzy was not sealed like the oem, only had a metal shield on one side in place of rubber on both sides, and in my particilar unit, it seemed to be on the side that would keep oil out of it. Not sure of that is better or not but it was a little gritty when testing it after i took it apart(i took it apart to see what seal they used in the after market one). Also the rotor on the after market one seems to rotate on the shaft quite a bit compared to the oem. It takes some effort for it to do so, so it likely isn't a big deal and never seemed to be an issue for me. Just once you've taken one completely apart you can see they are different.

As far as the oem having a tendency to leak, I wonder if that is just an issue of time since mine I think was 24 years old and well over 200k on the odo.

 

[LandLocked93]

As far as the oem having a tendency to leak, I wonder if that is just an issue of time since mine I think was 24 years old and well over 200k on the odo.

Tend to believe it is a direct result of long term exposure of the shaft o-ring to contaminated lubriation (inconsistent oil change intervals).

 

[clx16]

Tend to believe it is a direct result of long term exposure of the shaft o-ring to contaminated lubriation (inconsistent oil change intervals).

Oh I think you might be right. I have wondered/worried the high detergent oils that are meant to clean up neglect might damage seals. That is what has kept me from trying them. I change at 3k and maybe that alone has slowly cleaned up the engine but I really don't know how the previous owner treated it.