leaky seal on engine? oil overfill?

[jeff69dini]

first of all, thanks for these forums, I just discovered them and was really impressed, wow :)

anyways, I have a 2007 Yaris 4 door Sedan with automatic trans....I recently changed the oil and filter and used ~ 4 liters, I think the manual calls for something like 3.7 I believe....the dipstick showed full or maybe a bit past full....hard to see when new oil, LOL

anyways I noticed from the back of the engine, in a corner really, there was oil enough to make your fingers dirty and grimy.....I took it to the dealer they said the seal looked fine....I drained a bit of oil as a last resort...is it possible just that little bit of oil made that much of a difference? it caused oil leakage? did I harm the seals permanently I wonder? :(

thanks for any advice guys...

Jeff

[drifto]

maybe overspill? if the dealership looked at it then it should be fine. but if your really worried drain it and refill. and clean everything that is grimy beforehand so if the next time you check you will know for sure. im surprised the dealership didnt do this for you???:confused: i would have done this at my shop esp. if it is was a new car...

[PetersRedYaris]

Prabably a spill. Drips of new oil runing down the side of your engine is very difficult to see but will quickly accumulate dirt and grime and look terrible.

Be careful not to overfill your oil as too high of oil level can be very detrimental. It can become airated and quickly lose it's lubricating qualities.

[hans_fh]

4 Liters are not much

[jeff69dini]

thanks guys, well I know I did not spill any oil on the engine...lol...I was extremely careful...I was basically wondering if ~ 4 liters or so compared with the 3.7 called for would stress the engine seals that much and cause a leak?

I didn't think that minor amount could cause a leak...really only amounts to 300 ml extra or so.......

[jeff69dini]

any thoughts? btw, do these little engines have any kind of relief to let out "extra" oil pressure or oil? just a weird thought....lol

[Toyotech]

any thoughts? btw, do these little engines have any kind of relief to let out "extra" oil pressure or oil? just a weird thought....lol


many little outlets where leaks occur...could be a manufacture defect. by corner do u mean at the valve cover?...extra oil will go through the pcv and puddle into the manifold in most cases

[jeff69dini]

ok I hope I can explain this better....

standing in front of car with the hood up....by corner, then I mean the left side at the back of the engine ~ half ways down...,the engine block is sorta sculpted into a little square piece where anything, oil, water, etc can pool.....if it helps, it looks like the piece of metal in front of it has a ball bearing in it....hard to describe, sorry......anyways I found some oil in this little "square piece"......only place I could see it being from was a seal...

Jeff

[punch]

ok I hope I can explain this better....

standing in front of car with the hood up....by corner, then I mean the left side at the back of the engine ~ half ways down...,the engine block is sorta sculpted into a little square piece where anything, oil, water, etc can pool.....if it helps, it looks like the piece of metal in front of it has a ball bearing in it....hard to describe, sorry......anyways I found some oil in this little "square piece"......only place I could see it being from was a seal...

Jeff
no you don't have to worry, probably from the manufaturer or the last person who did an oil change...the oil isn't under pressure so don't worry.

[jeff69dini]

I changed my own oil, so it wasn't that......read my 1st post, LOL.....

[nimith]

all is well it would take alot more than four l's

[Lafiro]

:needpics:I changed my own oil, so it wasn't that......read my 1st post, LOL.....

[YarisSedan]

On our valve covers. There is a special channel that if you accidentally spill any oil. It will go under your plastic cover down the channel on the valve cover and spill out the back. If you take off your engine cover and look near the oil cap you will see what I mean. More than likely you unkownling spilled a bit. It went down the back and left a light residue. Easy way to check is just clean it with some brake cleaner. And check in a week or so and see if its gone or if there is fresh fluid.

BTW Where the oil goes is the back left corner exactly where you describe you see residue.

[YarisSedan]

BTW you would ahve to overfill your engine by a decent amount to start blowing oil seals. Usually close to a quart or more.

[PolarWhite]

You can do some research on your own, but I can assure you that 1 quart will NOT blow seals. Each and every manufacturer builds a good amount of room for error when it comes to overfills. Don't worry. Just clean it up and see if you can pin point the leak source.

[supmet]

^^ And then the penguin says, "No, its just ice cream"

[yaris-me]

After I drain the oil, I put in three quarts and run the engine. After turning off the engine and waiting a few minutes, I check the oil level. I add additional oil according to the oil level, half to three fourths quart.:thumbsup:

The easiest way to confirm an oil leak is to clean the engine and check periodically.:smile:

[Hershey]

this is the same location where our oil seems to be leaking from . It's possbly from the upper rear timing chain cover , the manifold or the valve cover of our '08 automatic sedan . Seems to collect and drip from the square piece ( part of engine block ) as stated and runs down the entire length of the seal for the timing chain and ends up on the upper left hand corner of the oil pan over a period of time . I DO NOT OVERFILL OR SPILL OIL DURING THE OIL CHANGE . I highly suggest other YARIS owners to take a look or have someone else inspect for possbile leak . Seems to be the sedans . Hatchback owners may want to check it out as well . Plan to take it to dealer and post back with the findings .

[Lucas13]

I found some type of leak the other day after I changed my oil I looked like coming from the valve cover but I removed the plastic cover and I found that I spilled a little bit of oil when making my oil change.

[Hershey]

no spill . Use a funnel and quarts .

[TheSilkySmooth]

Did the OP use a funnel? I find these new oil groups(ii + iii) used today to be more weep and leak prone than the old gunk used 7 year ago or more.

[Hershey]

wonder if those that are using a lighter oil such as 5w-20 or a 0w-30 should look for this leak along the back of the engine block on the left hand side where the timing chain cover is and runs from the top down to the oil pan ? :iono:

[Hershey]

removed the oil cap , lift the cover up , and used a flashlight to look for oil that may have been spilled during previous oil changes I've performed only to find it clean and dry as it was from the factory . So not my doing .

[Hershey]

JEFF69dini , the technician said that the " BALL BEARING " you described is the source of our leak for the '08 sedan and that it's associated with the head gasket . Dye was used in the engine to locate the source . There's a ledge ( part of engine block ) above the " BALL BEARING " that is inverted that catches the leaking oil and mixes with the road dust , etc. . Then below the ledge it forms into a smaller square bottom where the oil drop forms ( this is looking up to the upper right ( passenger side ) hand corner of the backside of the engine block from beneath the car ) . Using a flashlight is very useful to spot the oil . Did you ever find out anything of your dilemma ? THANKS