Oil inside the cap, distributor shaft seal?

[PandaBear]

While "scraping and sanding" my cap I notice oil in it. Searching the forum I found that people said it is due to leaky shaft seal.

Car of interest is 95 Corolla 1.6L (4AFE engine), the timing belt and cam seal on the timing belt side is recently changed, but I don't think (not sure actually) the mechanic has touched the distributor side of the seal.

Can't find this seal as a part online, is it something that I can buy on my own? Is there another seal that sit between the cam and the outside / distributor that I need to replace along the way?

 

[beast3300]

It's probally just an o-ring. I'm sure autozone could match it up with a reg o-ring.

 

[beast3300]

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: beast3300

Beast,
This is a very good example of someone finding a solution, and helping someone that needs it. Good job.

 

[onion]

Yeah, great job Beast. Except that that isn't the seal he's looking for.

He's looking for the distributor shaft seal, which is not the same as the distributor o-ring.

 

[PandaBear]

Thanks guys. To be honest until I start taking it apart and replace every seals I have no idea what does a shaft seal look like and whether it is the O Ring or the shaft seal.

Do I just go to the counter and ask them to match one up for me? because I couldn't find it as an individual item on rockauto catalog or the OEM part number for it.

 

[joel95ex]

this is very similar to honda's set-up. the o-ring in the diagram will prevent oil leaking all around the head and dist. but the seal in question here is inside the distributor and IS the bearing or right next to the bearing.... common issue on hondas and i replaced a dist. after replacing the o-ring just solved the external problem.... some forums will have a how-to on dist bearing replacement, but for me, i could only find one for older models.....

 

[joel95ex]

i would start by searching toyota forums, and use different terms like dist. bearing, dis seal, replace bearings etc. otherwise you might just order the body of the dis and swap the other internals if cost is a concern.

 

[beast3300]

Originally Posted By: tig1

Beast,
This is a very good example of someone finding a solution, and helping someone that needs it. Good job.

Thank you and that's what I do!

Originally Posted By: onion
Yeah, great job Beast. Except that that isn't the seal he's looking for.

He's looking for the distributor shaft seal, which is not the same as the distributor o-ring.


You don't do car repair, do you?

 

[beast3300]

I would just match it up at Autozone, we're not going to the moon here.

 

[PandaBear]

Thank you!

 

[severach]

I would start by rebuilding the engine. The PCV is supposed to make air pull in at all the cracks. When the blow by is too great then air blows out at all the cracks leaving oil trails everywhere.

The circled o-ring is to keep oil from leaking on the engine and has nothing to do with the oil in the cap. The cap oil is leaking through the seal of the shaft bearing which is below that o-ring.

 

[mechtech2]

That 'O' ring seal is for external leaks.
You need an internal seal - good luck finding it. The dealer is your best chance.
But first make sure your PCV system is evacuating properly, and running at negative pressure. This helps with all sorts of leaks.

 

[PandaBear]

Just checked the distributor again after a few hundred miles. No oil what so ever. Could it be possible that while the valve cover gasket is opened some oil got spilled accidentally and enter the distributor from outside?

I'll keep an eye on it and see if it accumulate more oil in the future.

Found a distributor gasket kit for $30, not sure if I need to replace them all though.