I am no mechanic by any means but I enjoy a challenge and have learned a lot by fixing things on my easy to work on 85 sr5 22re. My current problem is sending oil on to a belt and flinging it all around the engine bay. I have since cleaned and washed majority of it to isolate the issue. Where I have circled right behind the distributor is where I believe the oil leak is coming from. My question to you all is, is this a front main seal leak like I have read about or something else?

 

Get some engine dye and introduce it into your crankcase.
Any auto parts store carries it.
Should be able to trace your oil leak to it's starting point.

 

You have circled the distributor to head interface. And a little bit of the valve cover. There is an o-ring there on the distributor housing, if you get oil out of there you likely need to clear the pcv system of a blockage and or replace its valve. The valve cover should be snug but not overly tight, if its too tight it ruins the rubber seal and can impacy the rocker tappets. To the left is the halfmoon.

The front main seal is located behind the balancer assembly on the front side of the oil pump. With the forward dust cover off the bottom of the engine you will likely see it dripping off the pulley (balancer).


Get it all clean and dry and look for leaks, as mentioned lots easier with the UV dye and light kit.

 

A proper introduction goes something like . . . Ms. Crank Case this is Mr. Engine Dye. He is here to assist you with your leakage.

Sorry . . . couldn't resist

 

LOL,

 

Bottle of what I believe to be the oil pump
The drip of oil where I believe its coming from. Possibly o ring or one of the bolts thats exposed to oil that needs the compound or replace the whole pump ?

 

Did you ever get the oil leak taken care of?

 

The O ring that goes on the distributor is usually so flattened and hardened up that it is cracked or broken and lets oil leak out from the distributor shaft. I get my O rings from the local parts store but sure Toyota has them available. When replacing the O ring on the shaft, while at Toyota get a new Dust seal for the distributor cap. It is worn and flat as well.

 

I had trouble finding what I assumed was an oil leak or two because it was actually many sources combined. List of suspects for a front engine leak: valve cover, front half moon, dist shaft o-ring or hold-down bolt, oil dipstick tube, timing cover gasket, front-most part of headgasket, oil pump gasket, top oil pump bolt threads, front main seal, oil pan seal. If you're unlucky many of those things are leaking a little bit and it can drive you crazy trying to find the source. You've gotta degrease the engine and then you'll have an easier time seeing where the uv dye is leaking from.