Oil Leak/seep - AC Compressor coated with oil (2 Viewers)

[m3fan]

I don't know why I do this to myself but I took a peek around the engine compartment just to see how things are going since I pretty much never even have to open the hood between oil changes.

Noticed the AC compressor is basically coated with oil, as well as the bottom of the head immediately above it. It's really tight in there so tough to even get a good picture or get any feel for where it could really be coming from, even with an inspection mirror. It is not coming from as high as the VCG area, the source must be lower than that. Tried searching the site already and most references are talking about a cam tower leak, which I don't think this is. The VCG area looks totally dry above it, the side of the head above the exhaust manifold is totally bone dry, zero leakage there. The passenger side is also totally dry top to bottom. Which tells me it's maybe the front timing cover or perhaps even the main crank seal being flung up there?

The consistency of the coverage tells me this has been seeping for a while now. The one picture that came out at all here is looking diagonally up from kinda above the AC compressor, if it's any help at all.

2014 with 120K miles. I'd totally expect this on any of my BMWs but a little surprised to see it on a Toyota!

 

[bloc]

Somewhat common to get an oil leak at the RTV at the top driver's side of the timing chain cover where it meets the engine block. Mine has this, and a few others have posted about it.

I put a half can of Gunk standard engine degreaser on it each oil change and it never quite gets to the ground. In the back of my head are plans to remove the cover and re-seal it, but that is a whole lot of work for a leak that has been easy to keep in check for the majority of my 80k miles ownership.

Not that your leak isn't as bad or maybe worse.. I'd recommend doing as good a job as possible degreasing things and monitoring. Is any of it even getting to the splash guards or ground?

 

[m3fan]

Not getting to the ground yet.

 

[TLC2013]

@m3fan I noticed the same oil seepage on my 2013 at around 95,000 miles. Haven’t seen a drop hit my skids. Assuming I have either a cam tower leak/seep or more then likely it’s the timing cover like @bloc mentioned. I now have 120k on my LC and it hasn’t progressed any more. I am monitoring it closely as I am a little OCD with my 200; yet I don’t think it’s anything worth losing sleep over, even my Indy mechanic said don’t worry about it.

 

[04UZJ100]

Clean it up well and switch to 5W30. Wouldn’t be surprised if it stops.

 

[bloc]

Clean it up well and switch to 5W30. Wouldn’t be surprised if it stops.

Didn’t have any impact on mine. But as stated it wasn’t bad in the first place.

 

[NKP Garage]

Have you checked and replaced your PCV valve? So many times this little gizmo is overlooked and not replaced, leading to oil consumption, small oil leaks, and sometimes poor gas milage. Get a new OEM Toyota PCV valve pop it in, then use some brake cleaner to get all the oil residue off that spot and give it a week to see if it comes back.

 

[TLC2013]

I changed out the PCV and am on the 5w-30 oil train. I haven't noticed an improvement but i need to get in there and give it a deep cleaning to be sure. Its a tough spot to get pristine. Its been 20k with the 5w-30 Valvoline Full Synthetic HM oil and around 30k on the new PCV.

 

[bloc]

Removing the foreword fender skirt helps a lot to get direct access. I can look up the part number of the white plastic clips if you need.. they can be saved but it isn’t easy.

 

[gasman4u]

Doesn't the high mileage oil have additional levels of seal conditioner (or "swelling") additives? I thought I remember reading this on BITOG, but could be mistaken. This will likely mitigate your leak more so than the 5W30 transition IMHO.

 

[TLC2013]

From my understanding the high mileage oil additives aren't designed to swell or condition the Toyota type of FIPG material like a traditional rubber/poly seal.

 

[bloc]

Plus, I absolutely wouldn’t want my non-leaking seals swelled. The same rubber increasing in size lowers in hardness and density.

The definition of a band-aid fix.

 

[gasman4u]

Plus, I absolutely wouldn’t want my non-leaking seals swelled. The same rubber increasing in size lowers in hardness and density.

The definition of a band-aid fix.

Right. This was the point the garage chemists at BITOG were making.

From my understanding the high mileage oil additives aren't designed to swell or condition the Toyota type of FIPG material like a traditional rubber/poly seal.

Thanks for this. I didn't know the Toyota seals were different than what the conditioners were formulated to act on.