lululalalu

88 4runner 22re has slow leak where the metal pipe bolts into the intake manifold above the oil filter on the passenger side.

I could barely reach the bolts to try tightening them with the tire off.

Any tips on how to replace that o-ring in there?

Thx,

92 TOY

ugh. that area is a tremendous PITA to get at.

check out my "THREAD B" in my sig. It's my rebuild thread and I do have a portion dedicated to that area.

SoCal4Running

Ditto on being a pain to get to.

There's obviously the 2 10mm bolts themselves and then another support on the rear of the head with a 12mm bolts that goes into the rear plate.

Most likely the O-ring is rotten and there also is probably some degradation of the aluminum too but the pipe will be fine.

I like to smear a little RTV in the manifold where the O-ring sits before reassembly if you can see pitting of the Aluminum. Don't go crazy with it as the O-ring is the seal.

lululalalu

SoCal,

I obviously misunderstood the job. I thought I could just undo the two bolts above the oil filter and sneak in an o-ring.

From your description, it sounds like the pipe needs to come out, side and rear. Is this correct?

Thx,

lululalalu

92,

Looking at your pictures, I’m not sure I can do it without removing the intake. That would suck. Any suggestions?

Thx,

92 TOY

well. no.

as you see I did mine as part of my rebuild, and it sucked then..a lot. other problem is that being that, that pipe is metal and at least connects from behind the head to the driver's side, it makes it terrible to play with in as much as you don't exactly have the ability to move it around much.

how much are you leaking? I can tell you that I split a hose near the thermostat and nearly emptied my coolant very quickly. under pressure, things will happen fast.

wish I could tell you that I did this a million times, but I only did it once. Chef monkeyed around with this area a few times if I recall correctly....he may have some better input.

lululalalu

The leak is just a few drops…

SoCal4Running

I'm not sure if you can get it down far enough with the rear still bolted on.
If it were kinked at all then it would not fit back on proper.

Get a small mirror and look behind the head and see which bolt needs to come out of the rear plate.

Stuwy123

iTrader: (1)

Get a headlamp and crawl under there.
There are some things that take time and patience to fix.
I believe it's a gasket, not a o-ring. Check the service manual or an autoparts store.

SoCal4Running

The small pipe uses a O-Ring. 100% sure on that.

corich

I screwed up and left that pipe off until after the lower intake manifold was on when I did my head gasket recently. I was able to get the pipe installed without pulling the manifold again, but it was a gi-gan-tic PITA. You'll need to get the hose of the other end of it, pull the two bolts in the intake manifold, and blindly grope around the back of the head until you find the bolt that secures the pipe to the head. I'm not sure I could have done it with the valve cover or exhaust manifold heat shield in place, honestly. But both of those are easier to deal with than the entire intake system, right?

lululalalu

I think I eyeballed the bolt in the back yesterday. Does it hold a bracket that holds two metal coolant pipes?

If so, I think the job will suck but may be possible. If not, I’ll feel around some more.

There must be a rash of this going around re. the other thread https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...t-leak-251940/

From all the threads I gather:

i. don’t clean anything
ii. don’t use any gasket maker
iii. ask the dealer if it is p/n 96711-24017, an o-ring, or a copper washer
iv. snug it up even

But, mine looks like there is a thin hard fiber gasket sandwiched between the flange and the manifold. If so, there is no chance that thing comes off clean.

92 TOY

from page 3 of "THREAD B"(in my sig)

lululalalu

Ok, so here is what happened.

I tried to unbolt the 12mm bolt in the back. All I did was bruise my forearm because while you can get a wrench on it, you have no leverage or room to push or pull. Maybe a small air wrench would work.

So I dropped the two 10mm bolts anyway. The metal heater pipe dropped about two inches.

My o-ring was completely disintegrated except for a few pieces stuck to the recess in the manifold. I use a wooden chopstick to fish out the pieces.

I installed the new o-ring (96711-24017, $8 from dealer, two day wait) over the piece of pipe protruding from the flange and slid it to the base.

I then put the two 10 mm bolts back in. Then I proceeded to BREAK THE HEAD off one of the bolts by over tightening it!

I drove around on it for a couple of days with one bolt and had no leak.

I got a flexible drill extension, some left-handed drill bits, and a drill hinge guide just smaller than the diameter of the hole in the flange (to protect the flange and center the drill bit on the broken bolt).

I then rolled around in the driveway for an hour trying to reach up in there and back out the broken bolt with the left-handed drill bits.

It worked like a champ.

I then installed a new bolt, washer, and lock washer.

I never want to work in that area again!

Thanks everyone for your help.

92 TOY

wow. sounds nightmare-ish.

leak fixed, the very hard way.

good deal getting it all done. wow on the $8 o-ring.

Arcticwolf

Thanks for this pic!
I didn't mount the tube brackets while I had the head off so have to try to get at them now. Head is already torqued down so it's going to be a PITA but at least now I can see, via this photo, where the bolt holes are. I do have some leaking at the plate but it's because I don't have the bottom plate bolts in yet.
Thanks again for this pic, it will help tremendously.

92 TOY

you are welcome.

Arcticwolf

I think I'm going to be able to get those two lower plate bolts in without dismantling much except for the lift hook. I just got the left bolt (as shown in pic) threaded in and am about to torque it down (end wrench only, not enough room for torque wrench). I got my finger to the other hole so I think it's possible too. Hot day so I came in to cool down before proceeding.

Gotta tell ya, finding this thread and your build thread helped me know exactly where my leak was and how to fix it. You did great on your build, I read through it and empathized with your struggles and overcoming the difficulties. I rebuilt mine (new shortblock) about 35000 miles back but recently blew the head gasket. (Pulled a trailer to the coast and back and overheated, head expanded, stretching head bolts and thus got water in oil via head gasket. Thought I got it all fixed but then this small leak. That should be fixed by the end of a PITA day. My mistake for not mounting those two metal tubes while I had the head off.
Best of luck with your rig, after your ordeal you should be able to fix/ maintain most anything now, great job!

92 TOY

tanx...good deal man