I think my 1GR is leaking oil.
 

Hello, first of all I want to tell you guys thanks for accepting me here because im new, and also i am very uneducated in the mechanics of a car, i only know the basics, so i hope i can be educated.

This is a 2006 v6 4runner with 4WD. I inherited from my mother who changed her car. I've used it for a couple of months and now looking in the engine bay i found a lot of oil in the left bank of cylinders (looking from the front). I started to follow but i cant realize where it is from, i dont have the knowledge. Then i crawled under the truck and saw even more. Everywhere where i found oil is in the pictures. I found it weird that in the right bank there was no leaks. Also, the idle is perfect, always in 500rpm and solid, it doesnt move.

On another note i also found something formed up, which could also be a leak. I think is in relation to the fuel lines/pump. Its also in the pictures.

I would like to know what are your opinions on this, what do you think could've caused this? Should i do something? should i take it to a workshop? Should i keep driving it normally?

** The truck has 100,000 miles**

Thank you very much before hand.

The last picture looks like grease has been slung off the driveshaft.

I think my 1GR is leaking oil.
 

How often do you have to refill/add oil?

Probably just the valve covers are leaking. Passenger side is a piece of cake. Just get a 10mm socket wrench, FIPG and go at it.

timing cover leak in the 5th picture where there's one point the fipg eventually degrades. quite common on early 1gr's. there was a tsb for it. it's not hard to fix yourself but time intensive so costly paying a shop to do it. most just let it be if don't have to refill often.

edit: adding pic showing where leak often comes from.

that last pic of the dipstick looks to be severely overfilled, very different from the 1st pic of the dipstick... but they can read wrong if checked right after the engine is shut off. make sure to check the fill level again to verify its not overfilled. pull the dipstick out a few times & wipe it off each time, be sure the engine is off for awhile to ensure no oil is climbing up the dipstick tube.

as others mentioned it could be a valve cover gasket if its coming only from one side & running down to the bottom of the engine. you can try & wipe everything clean from top to bottom with a couple towels & some paint thinner or brake cleaner etc, then go for a drive & check if you can see where the leak is coming from. that is the proper way to verify a leaks location... dont do what one guy on here does & just blame the oil for the leaks & continue to drive it, leaks happen for a reason like failed gaskets, loose nuts/bolts holding items like valve covers & oil pans or bad rear main seals etc.

if you dont feel comfortable cleaning & checking for leaks or replacing the part causing the leak, take it to a reputable local mechanic to find/fix the leak. not the dealership who will charge more than any other shop.

best of luck!

What type of oil are you using? synthetic or conventional.

True story: I switched to synthetic after 11 years of conventional in my 2005 V6 4runner with 160,000 miles. This was a "try-out"! Immediately I got oil drips on the garage floor, so I drained it and put NAPA conventional 5W 30 back in.

Immediately the oil drips slowed down. After 6 months they were down to three drips a month. Now, I'm down to one drip a month.

Synthetic is overrated IMO. In my car where I change the oil every 5000 miles conventional is better.

Kilmer on older cars using synthetic.

scott kilmer on synthetic oil - Bing video

:vader:

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Captsolo-fordf150 - this must be a lie. Haven't you said that synthetic is to slippery to do any good in your engine? Stupid is as stupid says.

just to be clear here, captnsolo/F150 stated on here numerous times he uses 10/40 oil now because the bahamas doesnt sell 5/30 because its too hot there. & that synthetic oil causes head gasket issues...

if an engine leaks on thick conventional oil, there is a gasket, rear main seal or other problem causing the leak, its not synthetic oils fault.

& scotty uses STP FULL SYNTHETC oil on that video in the high mile toyota...