Thank you all for the very helpful suggestions! Sounds like checking oil and having the engine cleaned every year or so will be the most effective solution. I will reach out to a local mechanic to get the engine cleaned
I believe this engine is a smaller version of the Corolla 1.8L engine. There was not a picture head on of the pulley, but I believe there are two threaded holes in it for a âspecial toolâ to hold it from turning when removing that large nut.
The engine does not need to be removed. The seal is just behind the pulley. It can be removed easily after removing the pulley, the timing chain cover does not have to come off.
This will weep for a long time, but it can suddenly fail dumping oil at a rate of up to a quart per 50 miles. My daughters Corolla did this at about your mileage. Took me less than 2 hours to replace the seal, it had a serpentine belt that had to be removed first. Here is my homemade version of the special tool. One 1x4 board, two grade 8 8mm 3" bolts (could be 6mm, it was a while ago).
Edit: I just looked at the link above (@texases post) and it is the same. Those dealers should be ashamed of themselves.
Timing chain covers are sealed with form-in-place-gasket (FIPG). The timing chain cover must be removed and cleaned to be resealed.
But if you look at the seal around the crankshaft hole, you can see that it can be pried out and in my experience, it is easy to pry out and pop a new one in its place. The timing chain cover does not need to be removed, cleaned and then resealed.
Replacing the crankshaft seal wonât correct a leaking timing chain cover.
True, but I expect @Keith thinks the most likely leak source in that area is the crankshaft seal. Itâs a dynamic seal so seems like it would be more prone to form an external leak. Hard to say, the OPâs photos however seem to suggest the leak is further uphill.
When that crankshaft seal starts to weep, the spinning crankshaft slings oil 90 degrees from its axis, in other words, straight out to the sides. Not only will it coat the timing cover, it will leave a ring of oil on the firewall, underside of the hood, the radiator mount and on accessories in the way.
The OP asked if sitting for 250 days could have contributed to the seal failure, yes the seal could have dried out and it might actually not be leaking now. (BTW, form in gaskets donât usually dry out like this) It could have leaked out quite a bit when first started, but fresh oil caused the seal to be lubricated and swell up and seal itself.
You might just be seeing the aftermath of the initial leak, it wonât clean itself up. My first suggestion would be to check the oil level with the dipstick at every fuel stop to see if you are losing oil. If you are going over 1000 miles without losing over a quart of oil, then I would not worry about it, it probably fixed itself.
Iâm also a little curious about this âfailed inspectionâ the dealer mentioned. Are they an official inspection station? Sounds like a scare tactic to me.
Thanks. It was just poorly chosen words on my partâŠthe dealer performed a multipoint inspection with pass/fail/caution result and this was marked as âfailâ for engine oil leaks.
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