Need help with mysterious major oil leak

[Outrider]

I apologize for this very long thread, but I am trying to include enough information that someone might recognize something and point me in the correct direction on something to look at.

'99 SR5 V6 with 191k miles. Prior to my recent timing belt job, I had a very tiny oil leak. Not even enough to really worry about. I never had to add any oil between my 3k mile oil changes. After my timing belt job, it got worse. Now, instead of a tiny drip, I have a big puddle. I tried cleaning off the bottom of my engine, so I could identify where it is coming from. I am still unable to find the source of the leak.

More background, in hopes that it gives someone here some clue about my problem:

I recently replaced the timing belt, water pump, cam seals, front crank seal, radiator, radiator hoses, all drive belts, and valve cover gaskets and spark plug seals as preventative maintenance. During reinstall, my passenger side valve cover wasn't lined up perfectly, and I cracked it as I was installing the bolts. I replaced it with a Dayco valve cover from Rockauto, which came with yet another new gasket.

During the cam seal replacement, I discovered a nick on the camshaft. I either nicked it while pulling the seal, or it was previously nicked from the 95k previous owner timing belt change. I filled the nick with JBWeld, and hand-sanded it smooth and flush. I have had success before, on another vehicle, doing that. Yesterday, I pulled the upper timing belt cover back, and could not see any oil on the timing belt, or any leaks under the upper belt cover, which I did not completely remove. So, I am thinking that my massive oil leak is not from the repaired nick on the driver side camshaft. Now, I am wondering if the new crankshaft seal is leaking, but it is very difficult to tell, without removing a whole bunch of stuff.

The majority of the oil is on the passenger side, starting at the front, and I see oil on the a/c compressor bracket, when I am underneath it. The oil pan is covered in oil, from the front to the back along the passenger side, as well as both cross members and the skidplates. I am now losing a measurable amount of oil as I drive it.

Here is the really, really strange part: I took it on a 30 mile trip yesterday. After shutting it off and re-cranking it about 10 minutes later, a huge plume of white smoke came out the back. I have no money for a wrecker and had to drive back home, so I did. I stopped for an errand on the way back and got another plume of white smoke when I cranked it. I did not notice any smoke while driving. It may be a coincidence that I have both some kind of leak, and possibly the head gasket recently blew too, causing the white smoke out the exhaust, which I have never noticed before.

I don't see any oil leaks around either valve cover, nor any oil coming down either side of the engine, but visibility is quite limited. I am at a complete loss as to the source of this leak and the plumes of white smoke on restart. And why could I be getting that, as well as a major exterior leak, or could that be just a coincidence?

Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this, and can point me in a direction to look, before I tear everything apart again, maybe needlessly? Since the leak appears to start down low, and the only thing I did that I think might cause that happens to be the crank seal that I replaced, am I missing anything in my thought process?

I am currently unemployed (though my wife works and we are not in dire straits financially, unless I have to replace this vehicle), and need it real badly if I get an interview, and will really need it if I get a job. I no longer have a spare vehicle, so this is a cause of major stress and I am probably not thinking as clearly as I could be.

 

[thegipper]

Pull the inspection cover on the bell housing. If the flexplate is covered in oil, your rear main seal failed (even though it was new).

Are you loosing any coolant? How does the oil look?

Unless the front of the engine (behind timing belt cover) is covered in oil, I doubt its your cam seal leaking.

When was the last time you replaced your PCV valve?

 

[Outrider]

Pull the inspection cover on the bell housing. If the flexplate is covered in oil, your rear main seal failed (even though it was new).

Are you loosing any coolant? How does the oil look?

Unless the front of the engine (behind timing belt cover) is covered in oil, I doubt its your cam seal leaking.

When was the last time you replaced your PCV valve?

I will look at the inspection cover. The rear main seal was never replaced. I recently replaced the front one. Could a failed rear main seal cause oil to cover the bottom and front of the oil pan, far forward of it, when fan air and air from driving is always blowing it backward?

Not losing any coolant. The oil looks fine. 540 miles on this oil change, and the oil on the dipstick looks brand new.

I don't recall how old the PCV valve is. Could that be causing the plume of white smoke out the exhaust? Unrelated to plume, but I replaced the PCV valve gasket when I replaced the valve cover I cracked during timing belt re-install. It isn't leaking oil around the PCV valve.

 

[Outrider]

Also, I'm a dummy on the inspection cover and flexplate. I presume the inspection cover is the sheetmetal on the bottom front of the transmission. I'm hoping I can just unbolt and remove it. But I know nothing about the flexplate. I presume I can see it when I remove the inspection cover. I will go downstairs and try to pull the inspection cover now.

 

[Outrider]

Ok - I pulled the inspection cover. Normal grime in the back inside face, but no fresh oil on it. Front outside face has fresh oil on it, blown back from oil leak forward of it. No oil on the front face of the flywheel. Now, what and where is this flexplate?

 

[Outrider]

Here are some pictures I just took. I took a ton, but only included the ones that show any leaked oil - not the ones where stuff looks dry.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

First the oil leak:

You need to clean ALL areas around the potential leak areas, or more specifically, the areas you addressed. Use some good degreaser to get the heavy stuff off then get some BrakeKleen to finally clean and "dry" the area. Nice thing about BrakeKleen is it leaves a matte finish that helps easily spot the beginnings of a new,shiny oil leak.

You should be able to find the general area of the leak and find the highest point of that leak. Since you said it looks to be mostly around the AC bracket, I would take the front TB cover off and look at your cam seals. I would think that would be pretty obvious if you were leaking there. Really, if any oil is in the TB area, then it would have to be either the cam seals or the CS seal as this area is pretty well sealed externally. If all is dry in there then the front of the passenger side VC would be where I would look next. Just start eliminating the areas YOU fixed as obviously you exacerbated the leak somehow. With VC gaskets, you have to be meticulous. FIPG in the sharp corners of the gasket, on the rear cam plug holder, on the half moons and on the seams where those half moons contact the VC gasket. I assume you used new, OEM parts which include, cam plugs, spark plug tube seals, VC cover bolt washer seals, the VC gaskets, and the plenum gaskets.

2nd, the white smoke:

I never think anything is a coincidence, although it very well could be. It's more likely something you did wrong.
I think I read somewhere on here that someone mixed up their IAC coolant lines with vacuum or PCV lines. As I was reading it I was saying to myself "how the f&*^ do you do that" but I guess it's worth mentioning. Secondly, did you spill any coolant down the intake somehow when you removed the upper plenum? I would think that if that happened, it would go away quickly but once again, I guess it's worth mentioning. If your consistently getting white smoke then your head gasket could have blown or your head cracked, but I just find it too much of a coincidence that that would have happened RIGHT after you worked on it. Monitor your coolant levels. Pull your spark plugs and see if any look "steam cleaned" (after you verify all your hoses are correct) Report back on all your findings

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Ok - I pulled the inspection cover. Normal grime in the back inside face, but no fresh oil on it. Front outside face has fresh oil on it, blown back from oil leak forward of it. No oil on the front face of the flywheel. Now, what and where is this flexplate?

Right here you just figured out the leak is FORWARD of the REAR main seal. The oil obviously can go from back to front. Concentrate on the front.

Actually would like to see some pictures of where it is dry so we can rule out components in that area, and break down the anatomy of your oil leak.

And your pictures are all from below. Look higher up and right under potential leaking areas, like the seam where the VC cover meets the head, the areas right below the 3 seals in the front (after you take the TB cover off. I think your leak is in one (or both) of these areas.

 

[sawguy]

My guess is the front crankshaft seal. A few months back I blew the one out of my '96 and when replacing it with an oem seal it went in way too easy. Removed the new oem seal and went with Napa seal. This one fit a lot tighter.

 

[Outrider]

First the oil leak:

You need to clean ALL areas around the potential leak areas, or more specifically, the areas you addressed. Use some good degreaser to get the heavy stuff off then get some BrakeKleen to finally clean and "dry" the area. Nice thing about BrakeKleen is it leaves a matte finish that helps easily spot the beginnings of a new,shiny oil leak.

You should be able to find the general area of the leak and find the highest point of that leak. Since you said it looks to be mostly around the AC bracket, I would take the front TB cover off and look at your cam seals. I would think that would be pretty obvious if you were leaking there. Really, if any oil is in the TB area, then it would have to be either the cam seals or the CS seal as this area is pretty well sealed externally. If all is dry in there then the front of the passenger side VC would be where I would look next. Just start eliminating the areas YOU fixed as obviously you exacerbated the leak somehow. With VC gaskets, you have to be meticulous. FIPG in the sharp corners of the gasket, on the rear cam plug holder, on the half moons and on the seams where those half moons contact the VC gasket. I assume you used new, OEM parts which include, cam plugs, spark plug tube seals, VC cover bolt washer seals, the VC gaskets, and the plenum gaskets.

2nd, the white smoke:

I never think anything is a coincidence, although it very well could be. It's more likely something you did wrong.
I think I read somewhere on here that someone mixed up their IAC coolant lines with vacuum or PCV lines. As I was reading it I was saying to myself "how the f&*^ do you do that" but I guess it's worth mentioning. Secondly, did you spill any coolant down the intake somehow when you removed the upper plenum? I would think that if that happened, it would go away quickly but once again, I guess it's worth mentioning. If your consistently getting white smoke then your head gasket could have blown or your head cracked, but I just find it too much of a coincidence that that would have happened RIGHT after you worked on it. Monitor your coolant levels. Pull your spark plugs and see if any look "steam cleaned" (after you verify all your hoses are correct) Report back on all your findings

I had cleaned it all, just like you mentioned, about 2 weeks ago. All of the oil in the pictures leaked out since then.

I used new Felpro VC gaskets and spark plug seals, but when I replaced the VC I cracked, I used the ones that came with the new VC. I did not replace the plenum gaskets, but those were replaced a few years ago when I thought I had a blown head gasket (but which turned out to be a bad injector - another thread). I did not replace the cam plugs or valve cover bolt seals.

I will look into the things you mention, and post updates. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Ok - I pulled the inspection cover. Normal grime in the back inside face, but no fresh oil on it. Front outside face has fresh oil on it, blown back from oil leak forward of it. No oil on the front face of the flywheel. Now, what and where is this flexplate?

One other place I just remembered is the oil dipstick tube. You had to take this out when you did the job.. Was the oring in place on the tube where it goes into the engine block?

 

[Outrider]

Right here you just figured out the leak is FORWARD of the REAR main seal. The oil obviously can go from back to front. Concentrate on the front.

Actually would like to see some pictures of where it is dry so we can rule out components in that area, and break down the anatomy of your oil leak.

And your pictures are all from below. Look higher up and right under potential leaking areas, like the seam where the VC cover meets the head, the areas right below the 3 seals in the front (after you take the TB cover off. I think your leak is in one (or both) of these areas.

I will look at those areas. Here are the pictures I just took, that you mention, without any visible oil:

 

[Outrider]

And more pictures:

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

I had cleaned it all, just like you mentioned, about 2 weeks ago. All of the oil in the pictures leaked out since then.

I used new Felpro VC gaskets and spark plug seals, but when I replaced the VC I cracked, I used the ones that came with the new VC. I did not replace the plenum gaskets, but those were replaced a few years ago when I thought I had a blown head gasket (but which turned out to be a bad injector - another thread). I did not replace the cam plugs or valve cover bolt seals.

I will look into the things you mention, and post updates. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Cam plugs are a major leak area BUT are behind where your oil is coming from. Doesn't fit the oil leak your having. Don't take this wrong but why not replace the cam plugs when you did the job? They are right there. Did you re seal the half moons? Did you use FIPG in the right places I mentioned.

I have read that people reuse the plenum gaskets, which I don't understand as they are a metal "crush" style gasket (at least the OEM ones are)and should be replaced once removed.

 

[Outrider]

One other place I just remembered is the oil dipstick tube. You had to take this out when you did the job.. Was the oring in place on the tube where it goes into the engine block?

Excellent point. I will look at that. I only unbolted the top of the dipstick and moved it aside - didn't completely remove it. I may have knocked something loose.

Now I have some things to take a close look at after lunch. I will report my findings a little later.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

And more pictures:

Ok good. Now look through the wheel wells. Take the little covers off.
Also, take off the upper TB cover.

Also a pic downward where the oil dipstick goes into the block.

 

[Outrider]

Cam plugs are a major leak area BUT are behind where your oil is coming from. Doesn't fit the oil leak your having. Don't take this wrong but why not replace the cam plugs when you did the job? They are right there. Did you re seal the half moons? Did you use FIPG in the right places I mentioned.

I have read that people reuse the plenum gaskets, which I don't understand as they are a metal "crush" style gasket (at least the OEM ones are)and should be replaced once removed.

I wasn't aware at the time about cam plugs. I did use FIPG in the corners of the VC gaskets at the half moons, if that is what you mean by sealing the half moons. I didn't use FIPG anywhere else, though.

I agree about the plenum gaskets, in hindsight, but I don't see how they can be the cause of this oil leak.

I am normally very meticulous and thorough, but I obviously missed a bunch of stuff on this very involved job. Of the 10-12 timing belt jobs I have done on various vehicles, this was by far the most involved and difficult one.

 

[Outrider]

Ok good. Now look through the wheel wells. Take the little covers off.
Also, take off the upper TB cover.

Also a pic downward where the oil dipstick goes into the block.

Will do - after lunch. Lots to look at and do. Don't hold your breath. :biggrin1:

Thanks for the great advice so far, everyone.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Excellent point. I will look at that. I only unbolted the top of the dipstick and moved it aside - didn't completely remove it. I may have knocked something loose.

Now I have some things to take a close look at after lunch. I will report my findings a little later.

Hmmm, moved it aside? That tube doesn't have that much movement when that oring is in good shape. You may have crushed the oring if you leaned it over, especially if it stayed in a leaned over position. Only one nut holds that tube in anyway, although I think some years had a split tube, not sure on that though. Whole thing should just pull out once that nut is off and you pull it of the stud.
I think I replaced my oring from a kit of orings i had and it still weeps a little right now. Yet another reason to use OEM parts.

 

[Outrider]

Hmmm, moved it aside? That tube doesn't have that much movement when that oring is in good shape. You may have crushed the oring if you leaned it over, especially if it stayed in a leaned over position. Only one nut holds that tube in anyway, although I think some years had a split tube, not sure on that though. Whole thing should just pull out once that nut is off and you pull it of the stud.
I think I replaced my oring from a kit of orings i had and it still weeps a little right now. Yet another reason to use OEM parts.

I can't see the rear bottom of where the dipstick tube goes into the block but there is no fresh oil at the bottom front of it, and when I run my finger around the bottom back of it, it comes up with some grime on it, but no fresh oil, so I don't think that is the problem.


I keep hoping it is just something really simple and easy like this. But of course, it isn't.

I'm about to remove the upper TB cover, as much as I can without removing the radiator hose. I will look at the front of the VC's, and look for cam seal leaks. The thing is up on ramps, so I can't remove the wheels and look through the wheel wells after removing the covers.