So I was having some starter issues and took my 97 rnr in so someone can look.... on the call back the words many oil leaks crushed my soul. He said everything from the valve covers to the rear main were leaking. I have been smelling oil recently but figured it was a spot leak for a random seal that can be easily repaired. i wasnt prepared for what I heard. Now what do I do? With 200,000 on the engine and so many leaks?? I'm sitting here this morning distraut at the idea of having to sell and take up payments on a newer vehicle. Can someone give me their .02 here. fix the problems ? The way he referred to it as as soon as you plug one leak than more would come out elsewhere. Replace the engine?? Not even sure where tget that could happen or who would do it. Or just trade it in and take a payment on something. I would hate to selll it outright and not tell someone about the oil leaking. It doesnt even drip on the driveway, it just hits warm spots on the engine and smells like burning oil. Someone please assist. I'm in fredericksburg Va also if there are members close by

 

How much do they want to fix everything. Aside from the leaks if the truck isn't giving you any other problems I say fix it, 200000 is nothing on these motors ( What motor by the way)

 

it's a '97 with the 3.4L V6 (5FZ-VE). He said he wasnt trying to suck money out of me but in order to fix all the leaks it would be about 2k or 3k. Very frustrating

 

Sounds like he's trying to suck money out of you to me bro. If you don't have any obvious leaks, don't mind the smell of the oil burning and when you change the oil don't notice a large loss then I'd just deal with it. For the 2-3K you can get a nice used engine installed so I'd be wary if this guy. That's my .02.

I have 96 Limited with a replacement 3.4 in it and didn't smell anything until I recently switched to synthetic. I can't see anything leaking anywhere except some dampness by the back of the passenger side head. The oil is still full so I'm not going to worry about it.

 

OK thanks for the feedback. I dont see any oil from the top but he said its leaking from the valve covers as well as the rear main and multiple other points. I suppose I could just keep checking the oil level and add as needed but just not keen about driving far and having something major happen now. Who knows.... I guess I can keep my eyes peeled for a replacement motor also. If anyone knows of one and someone who can replace I would be interested.

 

Lots of cars have rear main leaks and valve cover leaks, I wouldn't worry much about it if you don't see any drops on the ground or loss on your oil dip stick. IMHO, not worth replacing the engine for these common leaks. Now if you run the oil low and cause damage to the engine then by all means look for another engine.
I drive mine all over the place, to the beach, 600 miles back to Ohio and I don't have any problems but mine doesn't have the leaks you stated yours does. Just drive it and check the oil level every so often, perhaps on the weekends just to keep an eye on it. I would highly doubt you'll have any problems taking a trip anywhere.

 

a rear main seal leak on a manual trans truck will do damage to the clutch. Keep that in mind. Valve cover leak should be an easy fix that anyone that can turn a wrench should be able to do. The gaskets are cheap. Of course I have absolutely no experience with a 3.4 so I cannot say for sure how hard the valve covers are to do on them.

2-3K just to take a motor out replace the rear main seal etc etc is ALOT of money. Especially if it does not include a clutch which should not even really include the labor to do since the motor or trans for that matter and such would have to come out in the first place.

Sounds to me the guy is charging double amounts for labor on separate jobs. If you can follow me on that one. Very common with unreliable shops because they assume the customer has no knowledge of what has to be done.

In instances like that I ask for a total break down of the costs including the labor.

 

I wouldn't panic about this especially if you are having no driveability issues. I have a leak somewhere as well that doesn't leak in the drive (appears to be leaking above the rear of the front skid plate) but due to the cold I haven't had a chance to fully investigate. I just keep an eye on my oil level which isn't dropping much at all and continue on. I am not even familiar with these trucks yet and even I think $2k-$3k sounds like a lot.

I know a few FJ Bruisers in your area I can find out where they take their trucks for work. Also, there is a great shop up your way (Iron Pig Offroad) that have a bunch of 4Runner and Land Cruiser fanatics. Give them a call, I am sure they can tell you a reliable place to go (Guy named Terry has a 4R himself and is very knowledgeable on them - good info guy to talk to).

 

What tacomagrl said sounds like your best bet, for 3k you could drop a new engine in. I would recommend just driving it and keeping an eye on your oil level and crawl underneath it every once in a while and you might find yourself asking how certain things work...then...next thing ya know you'll do an sas and its all downhill from there just jokin lol but i would definitely benefit you to just start talking to people who love toyotas. Hell I've learned a few good tricks from guys i talked to in a parking lot that ive never met before. Anyway, good luck whichever route you take

 

If you end up buying a new motor I found mine for $575 (it was a carborated 87 so obviously it was much cheaper) on car-part.com, its a site that just compiles junkyards and list invintory/prices. Good luck

 

Get a list of every gasket he is replacing. Sounds as if he is as corrupt as my friends in the Duma are.....

I'd find someone else to pull the motor for ya and replace all the gaskets and freeze plugs for less than $2000. See if Tacomagrl will give you the name and # of some local standup folks who won't bend you over....

 

They are very hard to do

 

had to resurrect this old posting of mine to assist someone doing searches like I do. I forgot to post and update on it but while doing maintenance inspections trying to find where this leak was coming from I decided to put a socket on the rear valve cover bolt and see if I could tighten alittle. What I noticed was that they all have worked loose to the point where small amounts of oil would trickle out and drip onto the manifold occasionally. I wasnt even noticing the oil on the bottom of the valve covers which is weird. Guess its like looking at yourself in the mirror everyday and not noticing your fat. Hopefully the oil was also sliding down the backside and onto the rear main and thats what I was noticing also. While tightening up the VCG bolts were necessary it might be time to just go in and replace the gaskets.

 

Great news! Yeah, I bought my truck a couple of months ago with weeping valve cover gaskets. I snugged them up right after i drove it home and no more problems. A little TLC goes a long way!

 

The rubber valve cover gaskets get mushy over time which is probably why the bolts were loose. Mine were seeping oil onto the exhaust manifolds so every time I stopped I could smell oil burning and even see smoke from under the hood. Those gaskets are not that difficult to replace and I'm sure there is a write-up around here somewhere! Also, a few oil leaks is no reason to replace an engine unless it is leaking several quarts a day. Replace your VC gaskets and run 10W30 oil and the leaks should slow way, way down.