1KZ-TE mystery oil leak

[DaveM]

Found the Prado has been dripping oil in the drive, but am struggling to find where it's coming from.

Had a look and it appears to be running from above the starter motor, eventually ending up dripping from the bell housing. Are there any oil feeds etc in that area? I can see oil around what appears to be a sensor on the block, just above/behind the oil filter, but there is so much crap in the way, it's hard to get a good view without stripping away a lot of bits and pieces.

Just hoping it's minor and not the main rear seal


Cheers

[tgaguy1]

That sender sounds like your oil pressure switch. They do breakdown and leak. Should be able to replace it with a after market item easy enough.

[DaveM]

Thanks, hopefully thats all it is, will ty to get a better look tomorrow.


Cheers

[prado_boon]

Dragging up an old thread, but I have the exact same problem as described here. Can't figure out where an oil leak is coming from. Just replaced the rear main seal (so it's not that) but it's somewhere underneath the intake manifold near the last cylinder... drips around and come off the bottom of the bell housing.

As I'm aware there is only a oil pressure sender and a oil level switch around those areas. But it doesn't SEEM to be them... (it's hard to see)

Any ideas?

Thanks

[reddog40]

My van has a leak in the same place , I've traced it to the tappet cover gasket leaking oil down the back of the block.

[prado_boon]

My van has a leak in the same place , I've traced it to the tappet cover gasket leaking oil down the back of the block.

I wish it was that! But the top cover seal is fine.
thanks

[Jerry]

oil pressure switch is 90+ gst from toyota

[d_b]

my kzj78 had a stripped bolt hole in the inlet manifold where the inlet pipe bolts up, caused a nice oily leak in that area. spray some degreaser and hose it off to see where it starts leaking from

[prado_boon]

my kzj78 had a stripped bolt hole in the inlet manifold where the inlet pipe bolts up, caused a nice oily leak in that area. spray some degreaser and hose it off to see where it starts leaking from

Funny you should say that. Found 2x stripped bolt holes in the intake manifold in the same place. Fixed them up with helicoils. But don't think that is the cause of my oil leak.

Thinking it has to be coming from either the pressure sender or level sensor connections...

What else is back there?

[andrew007]

headgasket leak

[prado_boon]

Does anyone have some photos of the rear right hand side of a 1KZ around the oil pressure sender and oil cooler area. And also one of the rear of the engine, I am trying to locate a oil leak and I can't seem to find any good photos on the net.

Appreciated.

[churchill]

oil pressure switch is 90+ gst from toyota

Our Mitsi diesel did the same thing, replaced it with one from BNT for $14. Will be a lot cheaper if your willing to go aftermarket.

[Henry]

Hi

I had a issue with needing to take the low oil sensor out and re sealing it. It also turned out I had to use sealer on the bolts as oil also leaks out around them......

[kbushnz]

Does anyone have some photos of the rear right hand side of a 1KZ around the oil pressure sender and oil cooler area. And also one of the rear of the engine, I am trying to locate a oil leak and I can't seem to find any good photos on the net.

Appreciated.

This help?

[prado_boon]

Yeah, that helps cheers Calvin. The only things it could be is the low oil level sensor or the oil pressure sendor theres nothing else around there! Hmmm it could be the coil cooler itself...

[prado_boon]

Well I'm getting quite frustrated now. I can't seem to figure out where the bloody leak is coming from. It's leaking down the block into the foam then dripping off the bell housing.

I managed to pull a few things off and take some pics.

There's a sensor I'm unsure about that's on the block in the picture (above the oil pressure sender).

Where do you guys think the oil is coming from?
*Oil cooler housing?
*That sender I'm talking about?
*Head gasket?
*Somewhere else!

The green arrows are where I suspect it might be coming from...

[churchill]

Degrease it with a can of degreaser and watch where the fresh oil leaks from.

[likemagic]

the sensor in red that is a water temperature used by the computer

[prado_boon]

Cleaned up the area... still very hard too see without taking manifold and starter motor off...

I'm wondering if it's oil at all now, possibly a leaky injector. How can I tell if it's oil or diesel crud?

[prado_boon]

Someone suggested it could be plugs in the oil cooler housing?

Bloody thing, so hard to find!

[kbushnz]

Cleaned up the area... still very hard too see without taking manifold and starter motor off...

I'm wondering if it's oil at all now, possibly a leaky injector. How can I tell if it's oil or diesel crud?

If it was diesel you would smell it...

Hit it with engine degreaser and then the hose on full bore....

Give it heaps.... Then let it dry and run it looking for leaks....

[imsohi]

is it leaking down the head could be from the half moon plug at back of motor under tappet cover

[diogenese]

Get a couple of cans of brake clean and give a clean with that, it will shift all the damp stuff with just the squirt from the can and dries up completely dry. finding the leak will be much easier then.

[prado_boon]

So the engine was spotless this morning. Gave it a good degrease and a hose down.

Went for a drive... seems it's coming out of the rear main seal area, which leads me to believe that it could be leaking out of the carrier that holds the seal in place (not the seal itself, as this as replaced not long ago)

So now my question is:
1) Is it even worth taking the box out and double checking it?
2) What damage could it do just to leave it?
3) There isn't anything else around there is there?

Cheers

[kbushnz]

To check it, remove the bottom cover and wash it out with the garden hose..
This will move all the loose stuff...
Let it dry and run it and see if any oil is dripping from inside the bell housing...
I had some drips coming from there and it turned out to be grease being flicked off the front drive shaft uni and melting which ran down the side of the bell housing. Looked like either oil or trans fluid....

probably wont do any damage...Per say.
Unless it develops into a big leak..

If its a manual then you could get oil on the clutch...slippy slippy..
At worse lose enough oil to cause engine problems.

Otherwise its an annoying leak.

[Big]

Also one thing to add.. and it does work.. is if it is leaking from the main rear seal.. change the brand of oil.. as they all do the same thing but some have different additives and the seal swells a little more and stops leaking.. Just putting it out there..