1996 Toy Corolla 151000mi Had it diagnost at a reliable garage they said rack had slight leak at one boot should not be a problem.Distributor slight leak I ck. could not find any leak told it should be fixed think I will by pass fix is this O.K.?timing belt an camshaft seal leaks, timing belt and water pump changed 10.000mi ago the said timing belt gets oil on it it can slip and change my timing is this true if so can this ruin any thing in my engine this is a non interferance engine I ck my oil levels closely and its never low. Im a senior on a fixed income but can have all repairs if they all need to any ideas thanks ever one @Ronny
You are right. It is a non-interference engine. If the timing belt breaks, the valves will in all likelihood not be damaged.
The leaking rack boot means the rack is leaking internally. The boot’s job is to protect the inner tie rod from the elements.
Keep checking those fluid levels.
When you start topping off more frequently or there are really bad spots on the driveway, it may e time for action.
The timing belt is a cogged belt so it isn’t going to slip if it get oil on it, but it is made of rubber so oil will cause the belt to deteriorate sooner than it would if dry. But oil leaking from cam and crank seals seldom gets on the timing belt.
I would keep an eye on the oil levels. If you start loosing oil at the rate of 500 miles per quart or less, then you may need to take some action. The weak seal in these engines is the front crankshaft seal and if it blows out, you will loose oil very rapidly, but you should begin to worry about this when the car is over 20 years old or approaching 300k miles.
Otherwise, next time you get the timing belt changed, have those crank and cam seals replaced at that time, They will already be torn down to the seals so replacing the seals at that time should not add very much to the cost of the timing belt service.
small leak distributor seal I can not find it used flash light, ran finger around it nothing, if it has a small leak is this any major problem @ Ronny P.S. thanks for all the great info from every one @Ronny
The distributor leak is probably around the drive shaft and the cap would need to be removed to see the oil. With several engine oil leaks being found it would be worthwhile to thoroughly inspect and clean the crankcase vent system and replace the PCV valve.
The distrbutor seal is not a major problem as long as it isn;t running down onto a blet or such, however you may want to check that the shaft does not have excess wear (play, either sideways or up & down). And, as alreaddy stated, monitor your oil level…which you should be doing anyway.
The rack boot is also not a problem, as the fluid is actually power steering fluid being pushed under pressure past the seal on the shaft of the actual rack itself (inside the assembly). Unlike CV joints, it will not self destruct if uncorrected. You do need to monitor your fluid in your power steering reservoir, however. Its location can be found in your owner’s manual.
These guys have the complete distributor seal kits for both the 4A-FE and the 7A-FE