About a month ago I stopped using my truck because it was leaking too much oil. Luckily my Grandma let me use her car for awhile <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (A/C). Being a Student it took me a month to find a clear weekend to work on it.

The leak started small, with a few drops then progressed to a quart of oil loss per day. When I realized that I stopped driving it. It went from drops to quart in about 3-4 weeks. The leak was comming from the bottom right side of the timming chain cover between the block and cover, at about the second bolt from the bottom. So I was guessing that the gasket failed. By the way it has about 4,000 mi since the rebuild.

My thoughts were to just take the cover off without messing with the head gasket and/or oil pan gasket. When I removed the cover some of the oil pan gasket came with and the head gasket looked pretty bent up.

So I spliced in the missing oil pan gasket with a new piece. Cut the head gasket back to the block because it was missing pieces and was bent. Also, there was no way that I could get all the peices/gaskets on without eliminating one. There is just too many things going into such a small space, that is how the head gasket got bent up. It would catch on something then bend.

After I drove it to work today there was oil leaking from the SAME SPOT plus a few others. So the darn thing got worse. Also I have an electrical issue. I don't think that the altinator is charging the battery. I barrly got to work today, the lights started to dim and the runner started to sputter. I didn't take the altinator out nor did I touch anything electrical. I do have two idiot lights on. One is the Emergency brake light and the other is the battery one, indicating that there is a drain somewhere is guess.

I am really frustrated with this whole thing. I can't afford to take it to a mechanic, and my grandma is getting kinda peved that I kept her car for that long. Now I am going to ask for it back <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. What should I do? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Am I going to have to do this the long way and take the head off, oil pan, cover. Then replace the seals and gaskets? It's not so much that other leaks came, but the leakspot I tried to fix, is still there. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

What would be you next suggestion/s in dealing with this problem/s? How should I go about fixing this?

Thanx in advance, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
GOI

Charge+brake light is often alternator brushes:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/alternator_brushes/

Did you use sealant on the leaking bolt threads?

I would use grey permatex rather than trying to piece in a gasket,and put it on bolts too as prev. mentioned,mine has leaked in those areas due to loose bolts.I was told to use only silicone on the oil pan trash the gasket .good luck

i did a timing chain tensioner replacement a couple months ago without pulling the head/oil pan. i use The Right Stuff gasket sealant, works great. i use a bead on the top of the TC cover, you'll have to cut off the head gasket up to the head and just use gasket sealant. after assembly i smeared some on the joint from the outside as well. dont use an oil pan gasket, use the grey RTV sealant. you shouldnt have to pull the head, but youll have to pull the oil pan if its leaking, replace RTV. if the TC cover is leaking at the head, pull the TC cover again. check your alt connections, make sure theyre all connected, you might have soaked the alt with coolant during TC work, it happens.

hope that helps.

I used the black permetex on all of the gasket/s. I only spliced in a piece of oil pan gasket for spacing, then gooped it with the black Permetex. The head also got gooped with the Black goop. I used black because it said that it was oil resistant.

Last night was a long story on my adventure home. Long story short; had to call my dad to tow me the last 1/2 way back home, I apparently have no altinator charging the battery.

It's not leaking out of the oil pan, put out from the block/cover gasket, second bolt from bottom on the left. And apparintly I didn't goop the head enough because it found a few cracks to leak out of.

What is causing the leak from the bolt area? That is the one I tried to fix in the first place.

THANX,
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />GOI

I had one or two bolts leaking when I did my timing chain. Just pulled the leaking bolts, applied black Toyota FIPG to the threads and reinstalled them; leaking stopped. Reason for leak? Bolts thread into an oil passage, oil leaks up past the threads. Sealant on the threads stops that from happening.

It's not comming out from the bolt, just above it though the gasket.

I use acetone to clean all metal to insure no oil is left and a good bond

Maybe the bolt is bottoming out in the hole and not applying enough pressure to seal the gasket. Maybe try adding a washer or two under the bolts on either side of the leak. Or perhaps the gasket is bad or the timing cover is warped there.

YEP, me too.

The bolt Idea with the washers sounds like a possibility, I'll try it with some sealent. How do you think the altinator went bad by just sitting for a month? Could antifreeze kill it? I didn't have the Idiot lights before I parked it, now I have two of them.

I'll try sealing up the area between the cover & head to see if that will fix the leaking problem up top. How do you suggest to clean the areas so the sealent will stick?