Oil pan leaking

[gottadiesel]

Does anyone know of alternative to pulling motor to replace oil pan gasket? Recent purchase and have begun to go through it, but did not get far enough to investigate if the cross member is removable or not. Any advise is appreciated.

[SideWinderGX]

Removing the cross member to change the oil pan/gasket has been done before, but you've got to have quite a lot of room underneath to support everything in the absence of the cross member.

[gottadiesel]

Thanks for the info, I do have a 30x48 shop, so have plenty of room and options for supporting, so that is good, I would much prefer to do that then lift motor.

[tsupranami]

Are you sure it's the pan leaking? It's pretty rare unless it's been messed up or worked on. Cam covers can leak and drip down to the pan seal surface, travel along for a while till it finds the lowest point, then drips down off the pan. Cam position sensor o-ring fails commonly, too.
Depending on the condition of the hoses at the back of the engine, rear main seal, clutch, etc., it might be better to pull the engine/tranny combo all at once and go through the hard to reach parts for good measure.

Removing the lower crossmember will be no easier than pulling the motor, and in fact could be more complicated as the suspension mounts to it. That means hanging brakes (to avoid disconnecting/reconnecting and bleeding), steering fluid will have to be drained (rack is mounted to xmember), alignment checked, etc. After all this, you could still have a leak from the rear main, old and failing hoses that are nearly impossible to change at the back of the head, etc.

Pulling the motor isn't easy, but it is the best way to eliminate future problems.

[gottadiesel]

Got it - thanks for the advice, no am I am not sure yet. At this point I am looking to minimal, so hoping to find something leaking that could be replaced without major work, it is coming from front that I know, so could be a seal up front.

At this point I am I am looking at doing the following, it is a started project, that I am taking over and there was some cheesy work done, vacuum lines disconnected, kinks in tubes to boost line, etc....

Replace EM with high performance stainless manifold, it has a leak now anyway.

Replace oil pressure switch with mechanical one, the current one reads low, but I have no other symptoms that I have found so far, so I am hoping it is the gauge.

replace boost intake with a custom HP one,

replace all vacuum lines

do a valve check

need to replace tie rods inner and outer

and of course have plenty to go inside for tunes 1600 watts total...

new custom dash trim and boots for shift lever and E brake

I think this would get me a decent running car until I go to the next level, which would include pulling everything and upgrading numerous aspects.

If you have any other advice on where I am headed, I am always glad to here from others experiences. Or if you have a favorite web-site for aftermarket parts, please share.

Thanks

[tsupranami]

Yeah, I'd check the valve covers for leaks. Super common on these motors. If you can turn any of the screws holding the covers down, it is probably leaking and wont seal very well even if you tighten up the screws. New gaskets w/rubber compression washers should fix it for a few years.

"Replace EM with high performance stainless manifold, it has a leak now anyway."

FYI: the exhaust studs commonly strip out of the soft aluminum head, causing exhaust leaks at the manifold/head area. Heli-coil all the stud holes in the head before fitting the new manifold, or it will likely just rip any remaining threads out of the head when you torque it down. $45 for a full helicoil kit at most auto stores.

Also, unless I'm missing something, most SS EM's are for T4 style turbos not CT26. Are you planning on a new turbo, too? I picked up a brand new cast manifold from Toyota for $160. With a little porting it'll flow over 400rwhp with the right setup, holds heat in better, fits perfectly, and almost never cracks unless abused.

I actually bought my "other" motor ($200 w/turbo) from a guy who thought it would be easier to replace the entire engine with a used jap motor rather than fix his stripped exhaust studs. OK?! Now his 'new' engine has started to lose exhaust bolts and leak exhaust. Go figure.

Other than that, it sounds like you have a pretty easy project ahead and are on the right track. Good luck!

[gottadiesel]

Thanks for the additional info. You for sure right about the SS EM, well perhaps I will just wait on EM, and just replace gasket and repair stud threads. I will wait on turbo till I do other mods, not worth it till then, imo.

Do you know what the inlet size is for the CT26 turbo off hand, otherwise I can measure tomorrow, but I need a new sir intake and saw a SS one, but required 4" inlet, I am thinking it is only app 3". But I figure there is no reason to go with stock on that if I need to replace anyway.

By the way, what part of WA are you in? Do you know anyone that has the software for these cars, I am not sure if anything has been altered, once I know I do not have any vacuum or boost leaks, I will see how it runs, right now feels weak.

Thanks again for info, I am pretty certain valve covers are not leaking, clean on top, any other typicals that you are aware of on front of engine, but lower down? Main front seal by chance?

[tsupranami]

Yeah, both (all) main seals f&r are wear items. Cam seals are wear items, too. How many miles on it?

Where is the highest point the engine is wet with oil? Wherever that is, it is usually closest to the source of the leak(s).

CT26 inlet is ~2.75" (70mm). My hose is cracking already, only a few years old, been through 3 OEMs to date. If you can find a replacement, get one!

Where did you find the one you're looking at?

What 'software' are you referring to? Pulling codes from ECU? MKIII's are OBD1 cars, so no fancy readers, just flashing lights on the dash.

I'm in the Tri-Cities, where are you? Vancouver area?

[gottadiesel]

Try to get it clean enough to tell 1st and trying to get it to leak when not moving as it blows around etc...

I found an intake @ cxlightning ebay store, but must be for a T4, it required a 4" inlet.

I will keep looking, I prefer not to got with OEM if I can find something with better aerodynamics if you will through the air path.

I am in Winlock, between Portland and Seattle. My Dad and a niece and some other relatives are over there in the Tri-Cities area... if I get over there later with my car, I'd love to take a look at yours.

So no ECM that you can control fuel flows are anything, I have been working with the VW TDI motors and it utilizes a software package, so it will only throw error codes is what you are saying. In that case I have no dummy lights on.

From my earlier post, have you have expereince with the oem oil pressure gauge being inaccurate? I am a little leary about doing too much till I verify oil pressure, but then several of the little items I need to replace, would be perfect to do when I am getting to the port for oil pressure any, as it appears I need to remove several items off that side fo the motor to get to it... when @ operating temp I am running 4 or 5 at idle 18-20 @ 2.5 to 3k and it might go up to 25 @ 3.5 or 4k....

Any thoughts would be appreciated - Thanks Charles

oh yeah, not positive, odometer reads 124k, but speedo cable is broken, not sure how long somewhere drove without it, I have a new one to install.

[tsupranami]

Hey Charles,

Yeah, I should have thought of it before. The oil pressure sending unit has failed on a couple of Supras that I work on. It could very well be a big part of the leak. When it leaks, pressure readings drop...two bird with one stone, perhaps??

Oil pump failure is rare under 200k mi. Mine was working fine when I pulled it at well over 200k. The gauge is still typical OEM though- slow and lazy so as not to frighten average owners with rapid fluctuations.

One of my Supra buddies here in the TC made his own aluminum intake. I'm gonna give him a call and see what he'd charge me to fab up a few more.

The shop that built my motor is gonna do the FMIC and hardpipe fab next week, so I'll ask them as well. I'll keep you posted.

I hardly ever get out anymore, but if you ever get out this way, by all means let me know when and we can get together and trade war stories.

VW TDI's have 'adjustable' software onboard?!? Cool! Here we go again...my car is smarter than your car...hahhahaha. Soon it's gonna be Mhz and gigabits, not HP and TQ we start bragging about! lol!

Rob