Has anyone ever heard of an oil gallery plug? its a plug behind the engine only seen if you remove the tranny, right above the rear crank seal. its kinda like a freeze plug only they use a ball bearing. Has anyone ever heard of this failing? Mines did and toyota doesn't want to repair it because there is not part # listed to repair/replace the thing. my truck leaks about a quart in about 1 hour. so it leaks pretty fast. my truck is a 2002 tacoma dc 4x4. it has about 62,000 miles on it. So my warranty is pretty much gone. The engine runs great except for the fact that its leaking out oil. I wanted to claim this as a manufacture defect, but the toyota service dept here in Hawaii said that they won't due to abuse and for the fact that it is lifted 6". I service my truck there every time so they know that i upkeep the truck. the engine is bone stock theres not even an aftermarket exhaust on it. The mechanic that worked on my truck gave me a few suggestions 1 is to weld a plate over it because that hole was only used when they built the motor(they have no welders in the service dept) 2 is to put JB weld over it.(yea right, thats not how it supposed to be done) 3 weld a rod on the bearing and pull it back to where it supposed to sit, it's pushed in right now. or 4 buy myself a brand new engine (no money and still paying for the truck.) so now i still think that this is a manufacture defect and i'm gonna call toyota motor co. in california. Hopefully they can help me. Does anybody have any other suggestions? Consumer affairs, court, anything?

 

Wow, man thats a new one for me. Id call toyota directly and tell them about the problem. If you complain enough and to the right people you may get it fixed for nothing. Good luck tho. :bounce2:

 

n-e one?

 

They are 'galley' plugs, not 'gallery'. And yes, they are used to permanently plug holes after drilling the block during manufacture. They are not supposed to go bad, ever. So, welcome to the new world of Toyota defects and lack of customer support.

The solutions your mechanic suggested are more or less correct. If possible, weld a rod onto the plug an pull it back as much as possible or remove it entirely, then seal the hole with J-B weld or a plate. You may be working with different materials, i.e. the plug may be steel and the block may be aluminum, so welding could get interesting.

If it were me, I'd find a MIG welding dude, attempt to remove the plug, then fill the hole entirely.

 

Drill it out to the appropriate size, and tap the hole, then stick a bolt in it.

 

or 5) slap a layer of poi over it.
or just do this --->