PLEASE!!! help my 3.0 (oil leak)

[vipergrhd]

my cousins truck is leaking oil past the cam sprocket bolt on the right bank only,he had somebody repair the head gasket issue a few weeks ago now it's leaking oil.let me just clarify this,the leak is not coming from the seal.i removed the sprocket bolt and there was oil coming out of the cam,i decided to clean it up and apply a bit engine rtv to the threads,this help a bit but still leaks after running for a while.i also have a similar set-up on my own truck but i don't remember having this kind of issue.thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

yes i have searched and even visited the yota forum but nothing close to this issue,i'm stopping by at the yota dealer across from where i work i know a few guys in service.


john

 

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

So the oil is coming out of the bolt hole that holds the timing sprocket onto the end of the camshaft? Wow.. Odd. I can't say for sure that there should be oil behind that or not, if not then I bet the cam is cracked or something, but if it should be there, then you'll need to try cleaning the bolt hole and using some sealant again... Best of luck!!

 

[vipergrhd]

Thanks Jerod, your the second person to tell me about the possibility of a crack camshaft.i will verify from toyota techs tommorow,i hope they have a better ansswer for me.

john

 

[raydouble]

How did you know it was leaking? Was it coming out of the valve cover gasket?

 

[KLF]

I happen to have a spare camshaft from a 3VZ-E sitting here on my desk, all cleaned up. This cam is line-bored down thru the center so oil can travel thru it and out the journals to the bearings. It looks like the ends are sealed by a ballbearing that must be pressed into the ends of the cam after it is bored but before it's been heat-treated. I can clearly see a ball bearing in the bottom of the threaded hole for the sprocket bolt. My guess is that this ball bearing has somehow no longer fully seated in your cam, so oil is getting around it.

As for how to fix it, I would try what Jerod says, carefully clean the threaded hole with some brake cleaner, then coat the bolt with RTV. If this doesn't work, then you'll probably have to get a new cam. You can't let this leak go on, it will ruin the timing belt.

 

[vipergrhd]

got some answers

I was able to talk to craig at toyota (20 years in service),he said this is not uncommon specially after having the heads out.what happens is that the front cam journal caps need to have a sealer applied to both edges and also ends of the valve cover gasket.he also mentioned that there is a machined groove in the heads which directs oil to the the front cam journal.i haven't had the chance to tear this down.he also gave some rtv that toyota uses (they call it FIPG).


Hope this helps someone in the future when things go wrong and cannot be explained.i did try the rtv on the bolt hole and it only slowed down the leak.

john

 

[WristPin]

FIPG is the best thing out there.

or use aerobic sealant

 

[vipergrhd]

KLF you nailed it

after i got this thing apart today taking a closer look at the tip of the cam there is a check ball inside,i was able to measure the depth in comparison to the left cam it was about 1/4" deeper on the right cam.KLF got it right,would the cam yo got be a rt.side cam?let me know.thanks again.

john