Oil Slick

[geomowat]

Since I have had my RAV it has dripped the odd spot of oil, but since I have now been using it on a some long journeys, it seems to have become significantly worse — so much so, a friend rang me after I had visited her to complain about the 'oil slick' I had left on her drive!

Until I clean it all off (it has been much colder down south than in northern Scotland!), it is difficult to tell from where it is coming, but it is dripping off the nearside end of the sump. I recall there was some talk of horrific sums to change the sump gasket (if this is what the problem proves to be), but could not find this doing a search.

Can someone remind me of the problems or offer any tips for tracking down oil leaks?

George

[john1944]

Since I have had my RAV it has dripped the odd spot of oil, but since I have now been using it on a some long journeys, it seems to have become significantly worse — so much so, a friend rang me after I had visited her to complain about the 'oil slick' I had left on her drive!

Until I clean it all off (it has been much colder down south than in northern Scotland!), it is difficult to tell from where it is coming, but it is dripping off the nearside end of the sump. I recall there was some talk of horrific sums to change the sump gasket (if this is what the problem proves to be), but could not find this doing a search.

Can someone remind me of the problems or offer any tips for tracking down oil leaks?

George

Do you have to top up your oil much, a little oil can make one hell of a mess, and you may well be better off living with the problem. Dropping oil used to be a common problem when I was young, why not get yourself a sump tray. Any so called friend who takes the trouble to phone you up to complain about the mess you left on their drive, was probably not all that keen on seeing you any way !!!

[bothwell_buyer]

When I had the 3SFE original engine in, we had a problem with the front crankshaft seal leaking and it just got progressively worse. I've noted other posts about this seal on the rav4world forum. Can't help you on the sump gasket as never had that done.

[Uncle Bob]

With an oil leak you need to start looking from the top of the engine downwards , near the top you have rocker cover/cam cover gasket, then camshaft oil seal, lower down on the engine block you have the oil pressure switch, oil filter, then towards the bottom, lower crankshaft oil seal, rear crankshaft oil seal and finally sump gasket, sump plug.

Being a reliable Toyota i would like to think its just a loose oil filter or the sump plug needs a new washer but i guess life's never that easy.

[geomowat]

When I had the 3SFE original engine in, we had a problem with the front crankshaft seal leaking and it just got progressively worse.

Thanks Bothwell, as this problem seems to be getting worse, I am also suspicious that it might be a seal around something that rotates — also, (might just be my imagination) I get the feeling that most of what does drop does so reasonably soon after the car is parked. The trouble with having been trying the car on a series of long motorway journeys is that there is so much oil over the underside (I know a little goes a long way, but . . .) it is impossible to tell whence it came until I treat it to a thorough clean-up.

I've noted other posts about this seal on the rav4world forum. Can't help you on the sump gasket as never had that done.

I was sure I had seen posts on both the seal and the sump gasket, but shall have to search a bit more.

Thanks,

George

[daveh_rav4]

Hi...

Assuming that you do not have a damaged seal or gasket...

Make sure that you have not 'over-filled' the engine with oil... check the oil level on a level surface. Also, depending on the age of the vehicle you may require a higher viscosity oil. Thin oil (esp when hot) can weep through seals. Anchor Man can probably advise you on the correct grade relavant to your type of engine and the milage it has covered.

Fourty years ago... I used to worry if my engine was'nt venting some oil!

DaveH

[anchorman]

Quite honestly when the engine is up to temperature any oil will be thin enough to find a leak. The chart fot the 4.1 shows our old friend 5W/30 as preferred and 10W/30 as an option.

Sealing the ends of the crank was always a problem on very high mileage or low use engines although things have changed a bit with very new designs. I am not familiar enough with the 3SFE but I know bothy has mentioned crank seal leaks in the past. So! Generically, you can sometimes get the sump off without removing the engine. However, the crank seals are a different matter. The front one again can sometimes be accessed without the engine being removed but the rear one is a different matter. It will at least need the gearbox out and then the flyweel off which can be done but you need to be reasonably competent, have a good selection of tools and some lifting equipment or some willing strong friends. If you don't have a garage choose a nice weekend in the warmer weather.

Nowthen! If the leak isn't too bad you can live with it. You can add an awful lot of oil before you even scratch the surface of how much it will cost you in either garage bills or your efforts. Leave a sheet of ply where you park it so it doesn't bggr the driveway. No matter what the claims are of anything you can add to the oil to stop leaks, avoid them like the plague.

As they say on blind date - it's up to you!

[geomowat]

Quite honestly when the engine is up to temperature any oil will be thin enough to find a leak.

As always, thanks Anchorman for your considered advice: like you, my experience is once the oil is hot, it makes little difference to what its base might specify.

Sealing the ends of the crank was always a problem on very high mileage or low use engines . . .Generically, you can sometimes get the sump off without removing the engine. However, the crank seals are a different matter. The front one again can sometimes be accessed without the engine being removed but the rear one is a different matter. It will at least need the gearbox out and then the flyweel off which can be done but you need to be reasonably competent,

In all honesty, I might have rebuilt quite a few engines etc. in the past, but these have always been of the 'old-style' (Alvis, Volvo, Bentley, V4-SAAB, Imp etc.) and I have to admit that my experience of the RAV — the only modern car I have ever owned — has been a rude awakening! When I say this, it is not only the complexity of the engine management systems etc., but the production design is clearly focussed on initial assembly rather than later servicing. This RAV was intended more to do service on the croft than (as I seem to be using it at the moment) driving all over the south, but it is a high-mileage example (140,000) that does not get used for a month or so between long journeys.

Nowthen! If the leak isn't too bad you can live with it. You can add an awful lot of oil before you even scratch the surface of how much it will cost you in either garage bills or your efforts. Leave a sheet of ply where you park it so it doesn't bggr the driveway. No matter what the claims are of anything you can add to the oil to stop leaks, avoid them like the plague.

I have this feeling that it might be the only cost-effective solution. I have noticed one new symptom over the last few days that has coincided with the greater loss of oil: the oil-pressure light takes a second or two to extinguish when first started in the morning. I had thought that this was probably just the one-way flap in the filter that was internally leaking, but does anyone know if it is possible for this to drain to the outside and, if so, where it might be worth starting to trace such a leak?

Thanks for the comments,

George

[anchorman]

The flap can only leak back to the sump. There is an additional valve inside the filter which is just there in case the filter element becomes blocked. The oil filter in this case is bypassed to prevent the engine being starved but again no oil can make to the outside.

Have you had it on ramps to see where it is coming from?

[bothwell_buyer]

With RAV number 1, which I have had from new, the 3SFE engine was leaking from the front crankshaft seal as I said before. The engine had done about 160,000 miles and had honestly been thrashed during its lifetime having been used for fast road use.

My daughters had the car latterly, and I think they didn't check the engine oil as often as was needed. The engine was losing a lot of oil - and was beginning to have trouble building oil pressure as well on cold start.

Eventually the engine seized..... and I got the car back! It stood for a while and I eventually got another 3SFE engine for it for about £200. This second engine was ok but slightly smokey and I decided to go the whole way and get a 3SGTE fitted in.

I kept the original engine to strip it down but as my garage was full with the Humber Hawk, I eventually dumped the engine. I never found out whether it was lack of oil or a bust cambelt, but reckoned it was the oil starvation that caused the seizure. (The engine was very very stiff to turn over).

Maybe if I'd done the seal sooner then things would have been different. It was dropping a lot of oil.

I think the 3SFE is a reasonable engine but I'm not so sure about it at high mileage. This engine was of course fitted to RAVs until 2000. Other cars as well.... so if need be there are good 2nd hand ones around.