Aluminum Oil filter cap assy leaking

[skag1T]

:help: Aluminum Oil filter cap assy leaking

2018 4R SR5 at 30k miles.

Last oil change I replaced the original plastic oil filter cap with a TOYOTA aluminum oil filter cap bought from Amazon and advertised as Toyota genuine part 15620-31060.

Replaced the inner cylinder with the one from the original oil filter cap, bent the tabs back out, etc.

New gaskets, oiled before install, everything torqued to specs, I noticed the cap screwed in very easy all the way to the end. The plastic cap was getting really hard to screw in about half the way, and had to use the filter cap key to be able to screw it all the way in and torque it correctly. Didn’t think anything of it, torqued the aluminum cap to spec (even though it was kind of bottomed out), and away I go.

I kept on eye whether there is any oil leaks and after about 350 miles I noticed a light glinting below the oil cap. I dropped the engine skid plate and found that indeed this thing is seeping oil.



I ordered another identical part from Amazon to test, see if maybe I got a bad part …. Will get it tomorrow.

Anybody experienced this ?

Thoughts ? Advice ?

 

[Gclark949]

I installed the Aluminum cap on my oil change and while I do not have a leak, I was not comfortable with the loose bottoming out feeling and it doesn’t have the special locking tab either. I think I will go back to plastic.

 

[CavPro]

:help: Anybody experienced this ?

Thoughts ? Advice ?

This is the 3rd post, on the first page, on this and one of them is exactly your issue. Good luck.

 

[skag1T]

Do I need a full oil change to replace the filter cap ? Somebody told me I could take the filter out and lose only a small amount of oil.

 

[Mack1611]

Do I need a full oil change to replace the filter cap ? Somebody told me I could take the filter out and lose only a small amount of oil.

Use a Shop Vac...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp1SpNpXwlE

 

[TOYO74]

No need to drain engine oil. You will lose only the amount of oil contained in the filter housing plus the small amount that runs down the side of the housing when you first loosen it.

 

[badattitude]

Just to check..you are using the second o-ring under the bottom cap, right? I have the aluminum Toyota housing and dont have leaks after three oil changes.

 

[skag1T]

I have both o-rings in place, yes.

To me it looks l ike the leak is from the top and flows down the wall. Doesn't seem to originate from the bottom cap.

I'm getting a second aluminum housing today, will try to swap them and see how it goes, i really like the aluminum housing, but if it leaks will go back to the plastic one.

 

[<<<<]

I have being using mine for years without issues. Since it is original part, you should have OEM fit. Make sure you place big O-ring in proper channel and rub some oil on it so it doesnt deform inside of receiver when you tighten the assembly. G.L.

 

[TheNicestGuy24]

Is it possible that you accidentally cross threaded it on when you put the aluminum one on? They don't seem that easy to cross thread to me. If not, maybe you have a faulty cap assembly (manufacture defect)?

I put an aluminum one on my 2011 Camry ( I know it isn't a 4R, but haven't gotten around to putting the aluminum one on my SR5 yet) because a plastic tab snapped off the original, and I haven't had any issues, driven it 3500 miles since change out.

Edit:: I also would assume your leak would be much worse if you did actually cross thread the cap on.

 

[CollinJ]

I’ve had one on for 20k plus miles and haven’t had any issues? Mine also “bottoms out” it seems but I’m fine with that, I get it bottomed out and try to snug it just a little more and it’s good to go.

I got mine from Amazon but the seller was a Toyota dealership

 

[skag1T]

Today I removed the engine skid plate with the intention to replace the aluminum cap with the original one. I expected to see more oil leaks, but the thing was dry as a bone in the desert. No sign of oil leak anywhere !!

So I am going to leave it on for this oil change cycle see how it does. Maybe it's going the turn out to be a keeper.

 

[BlackPhillip]

I had this same issue and discovered it was just the oil from the threads itself running down. Stopped leaking once that little bit drained out entirely.

 

[MidniteTRD]

i had the same situation, with less leakage than you had but enough i wasn't comfortable with it. this was using all OEM components from toyota dealers, not amazon parts.

as others have mentioned, very little resistance threading it into place even with all 0-rings in the correct position. it continued weeping after starting the car so i shut it down and went back to plastic.

i figured if it was weeping this much at idle oil pressure, i definitely didn't want to find out what it would do at 60-70psi trying to merge onto the highway at high RPM.

maybe i got a bad o-ring? or maybe i didn't wipe down the housing threads enough. i don't know, so i might give it another shot someday but for now the metal one sits on the shelf as an emergency backup should the plastic unit ever crack.

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Are you guys replacing the O ring with each filter change?

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Crazy, I had no leakage or weeping on my metal housing. Are you guys sure that you torqued it down properly?

 

[MidniteTRD]

Crazy, I had no leakage or weeping on my metal housing. Are you guys sure that you torqued it down properly?

yeah, i thought for sure i'd done something wrong. disassembled, checked, retorqued (with a calibrated wrench) and all that.

looking back, maybe i got a bad o-ring or didn't clean the threads on the mount enough and it was slowly draining out i guess. the metal housing never really bottomed out, and had almost no resistance being tightened down - did you have that too?

 

[ElectroBoy]

There have been other threads concerning this issue. If installed properly the metal housing snugs right up, bottoms out, and cannot be torqued any tighter like you experience with the plastic one.

If the o-ring is installed properly any leaking is due to a small amount of oil on the engine side threads seeping out. Once it all seeps out it’s done.

I saw that leaking with mine the first time after installing the metal housing. Now I clean all threads well and leave the skid plate off for a day or two of driving to check it. I’ve never seen any more leaks.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

yeah, i thought for sure i'd done something wrong. disassembled, checked, retorqued (with a calibrated wrench) and all that.

looking back, maybe i got a bad o-ring or didn't clean the threads on the mount enough and it was slowly draining out i guess. the metal housing never really bottomed out, and had almost no resistance being tightened down - did you have that too?

No, mine snugged up and definitely bottomed out