Decent Mechanic - East Sussex & Kent

[AllanWhoops]

Hi,

We have a 1996 JDM Rav4 which looks to have a weeping crankshaft oil seal. The cam cover gasket was weeping and we had that done by our local garage about 3 months ago. The oil isn't coming from there. Does anyone have any recommendations for a specialist mechanic in East Sussex or West Kent please who knows what they are doing as I suspect that, technically, this could be 'one of those jobs' and specialist knowledge would be of benefit!

Many thanks,

Allan

[gjnorthall]

There's nothing specialist about this job that a decent indy couldn't tackle - infact it's quite straightforward but longwinded. It involves removing the timing belt etc - and the advice would be to replace the belt whilst you're at it (it's bad practice to refit an old belt - especially with a fixed tensioner - as in this case). The crankshaft seal doesn't leak very often on this model - failure of the camshaft seal is more prevalent - the oil trickles down the side of the block and gives the indication it's coming from the crank seal. For the cost involved - it's probably wise to have both seals available before starting the job.

[AllanWhoops]

Many thanks for getting back to me. Is there anything else which should/worth having done while the cambelt etc. is changed?

Many thanks,

Allan

[gjnorthall]

Depends on the history of the car and when the cambelt was last changed. If it's not recent, it's worth replacing the tensioner and coolant pump at the same time. Fitting a new belt with a fixed tensioner is often enough to finish off a worn coolant pump (because the new belt will be tighter than the old one). If you do the belt, tensioner, pump and oil seal(s) - you're pretty certain of a trouble free few years in this area of the engine.

[AllanWhoops]

Thanks for this. The engine is OK as is the body work etc. so it will be worth getting this done.