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engine oil leak
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Author:  Jarsee [ Mon Jul 08, 2019 10:08 pm ]
Post subject:  engine oil leak

Hello to everyone, I've been a visitor to the forum for a while since buying an ST185RC a couple of years ago but now need to benefit from the experience and knowledge of other members.
I noticed a few drips from under the engine which seemed to be coming from the top so changed the cam cover gasket but this didn't fix it so I got my local garage to put the car on the ramp for a better look and It appears that the oil is leaking from the head gasket.
I've heard that this can happen on some engines where the oilways are close to the edge and maybe also a poor gasket so my questions are:
Is the engine prone to this:?
How many hours labour would a garage typically take to change the head gasket?
Might a "Stops Leaks" oil addative help?
There are no other signs of head gasket failure.

Thanks

Author:  Bazross [ Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Hi and welcome.
well I've never heard of that before that's not to say it can't happen but to be honest I'm dubious about it.
I don't own a 185 only a 205 and if I'm correct the head gasket are almost the same and not prone to going.
where are you based as it may be that you need to take it to a gt4 specialist there are a number about.
can you get any photos of the leak and post them there are a number of places for it to leak from

Author:  Jarsee [ Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Thanks for the reply.
I didn't take any photos on the ramp but I did see for myself, it's on the buklhead side of the engine which is why I thought it might be the cam cover gasket. The head was clearly dry above the joint but it was wet along the joint on the block The oil is dripping from the rear at the pulley end of the engine and onto the exhaust. Is there anything else that could leak and run along the head/block joint?
I'm just north of Bristol close to the M5, who would you recommend near me to take a look.

Author:  Bazross [ Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Ok I'm up north but your best bet is the speak to Paul pridham at tcb Toyota he knows his stuff and can supply you with everything you need in fact now you own a gt4 he will be your best friend.
how are you at spanner work if you handy you could do a head gasket and cam belt and tensioner in a week end and that's going slowly.
I have all the repair manuals in pdf I could provide you with a link to download them

Author:  Bazross [ Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Also if your interested in traveling there's a guy in the north called Martin Kingston he is regarded as one of the best and I also got to know him personally through the gt4 world he's a solid guy and will offer you advice freely he's at MK repairs in Blackburn lancs

Author:  Jarsee [ Wed Jul 10, 2019 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Thanks for your advice Bazross, It's in my mind to maybe to do it over the winter when the car will be laid up so the manuals will be a great help.
At the moment the drip is very small but I'm just preparing myself for if it gets bad and needs immediate attention. You say there are other places that can leak, where else did you have in mind that I can check, I don't want to get the head off and find that I missed a quick fix.

Author:  Nibbles [ Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

I've known one other diagnosed by a garage as head gasket - but it wasn't. The only high pressure oilway in the gasket is in the corner near the distributor, but I've not heard of one failing.

185 head gaskets are paper based and prone to failing if boost is increased. 205 ones are steel. However - the failure is usually from cylinder to waterway, chucking out the coolant when giving it some welly.

There is nothing on the back of the engine with oil other than the cam cover gasket. The most likely would be distributor leaking where it goes in the head. There is an O ring on the outside of the shaft that fits in the head. At the age these cars are now, all rubber seals will have gone hard and possibly started cracking. If you end up doing a major winter refurb. it's worth changing all the seals you can get to - cam seals, oil pump seal, oil pump Cord gasket, crank seal. These are all easy if you're changing the cam belt.
Another common oil leak os the large oil pump housing gasket. The torque spec. for the bolts is very low and I've known a few engines where these have come loose causing this gasket to start leaking, once this happens it's too late to just tighten and changing this gasket is a sump off job. Worth tightening the bolts if the belt cover is off any time.

Author:  audiodjmp77 [ Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Have you looked at the rocker cover gasket? Mine started leaking and put an order of a replacement one from tcb

Author:  Jarsee [ Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Thanks Nibbles, definitely wet under the distributor but I doubt if this would travel to the other end of the engine before dripping so maybe the oil pump housing is leaking as well as that's near to the drip.
Thanks audiojdmp77, the cam cover gasket was my first thought so I changed that.
The consensus is that it's unlikely to be the head gasket so I'll live with the leak for now and start pulling bits off over the winter to get a better look.

Author:  Bazross [ Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Sorry I missed the post
yeah I had a leak from the oil pump housing but in all honesty if it's rhe head gasket it's not the end of the world and change out the gasket for a 205 one... I have a brand new Toyota one here that was supplied with the engine seal kit that never got used you can have it if you need it

Author:  Jarsee [ Wed Dec 08, 2021 1:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

I did get around to fixing this and it turned out to be the oil pump cover gasket which is accessed by dismantling the front end to do the cambelt. The gasket was around £7 from TCB and easy to do at the same time as the cambelt so would recommend doing this at a cambelt change if not done before. There was also a slight leak from the camshaft seals so I rplaced them at the same time.
There's now just got a dampness around the sump joint so will do this if it's do-able in the car. Can the sump be eaily removed in place without major work?

Author:  Sirius [ Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

It is quite a lot of work to remove the sump - do you know which bit is leaking the upper sump or the lower sump?

Author:  Jarsee [ Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

It's damp at the joint with the block visible on the front (radiator side) of the engine. Most of the bolts look accessable but I was thinking about the gearbox end and also if the sump can be dropped without anything fouling it.

Author:  Nibbles [ Mon Dec 20, 2021 2:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

The 185 is a single piece steel sump. It can be done in-situ but you need to remove the cross member plus the longditudinal one which carries the lower engine mounts. The rear bolts are accessible, I can't remember on the 185 whether you need to remove a bung to access the last 2 behind the flywheel.

I presume you did the inner oil pump gasket not the outer one as that requires sump off. Most of the ones I've come across were this outer gasket leaking coupled with loose fixing bolts.

Sump leaks are rare in my experience. It doesn't use a gasket but silicone sealant. Oil leaks at the front are often turbo or oil cooler / filter.

Author:  Jarsee [ Tue Dec 21, 2021 8:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: engine oil leak

Yes, I can see that the supports and exhaust need to be removed so might give it a go, as I said it's only damp at the joint and not dripping.
The gasket was the rubber O ring type behind the oil pump cover not the pump body so easy to do at the same time as the cambelt.

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