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Foreign Service Owners are hanging onto their vehicles longer than ever. For many, it’s a decision dictated by simple economics. Keeping these geriatric vehicles leak-free requires patience and some detective work. inding and fixing some oil leaks replace the valve cover gasket. (Don’t be sur- can be frustrating. Crowded en- prised if the “leaker” rolling into your bay al- gine compartments make it ready has a fairly new valve cover gasket on it.) tougher than ever to pinpoint However, Schilder urged readers to check the leaks quickly. Then, after you fi- following areas of the 2.2L powerplant when Dan nally find the source of the leak, tracing upper-engine leaks. Marinucci fixing it may mean pulling half the car apart just First, don’t overlook a distributor O-ring if the Fto replace a 10-buck seal or gasket. It’s no sur- engine is equipped with a distributor. Although [email protected] prise, then, that some technicians would rather checking the distributor O-ring may sound obvi- crawl over hot coals than pursue elusive oil leaks. ous to some technicians, it’s a simple item that These emotions came to mind recently when still gets overlooked. several MOTOR readers asked about persistent Second, an engine without a distributor may valve cover leaks on Toyota’s super-popular 2.2L leak oil from a black plug in the driver’s side of the (5SFE) engine. This powerplant is best known as cylinder head. This plug, which resembles a rub- the sturdy four-banger in the equally sturdy Cam- ber-coated core plug, literally fills the hole where ry. Here we’ll discuss the sources of these leaks as the 2.2’s distributor was located. Techs may over- well as practical ways to fix them. I sought the look this plug because the ignition coils and coil help of Tom Schilder, the Toyota ace at Motorcar mounting bracket obscure most of it from sight. Makeovers in Blue Bell, PA. Schilder has fixed his Third, a set of half-moon-shaped inserts in the share of oil leaks on 2.2 engines. head may leak oil. Toyota shop manuals identify These leaks, which usually occur on higher- these small metal inserts as “semicircular plugs,” mileage engines, seem to originate at the valve and there’s one on each end of the cylinder cover or somewhere near it on top of the engine. head. The factory seals each one to the head In fact, some techs jump to the conclusion that with an RTV-like sealer. Schilder explained that the valve cover is the source of the leak and then after years of service, these half-moon inserts may leak oil. If they do, the only fix is to remove them, patiently clean them and reseal them to the cylinder head. Fourth, Schilder advised that you sell a com- plete job, one that covers all these common leak points in one visit. That means pricing the job to include replacing the valve cover gasket and round black plug (where applicable), then re- moving and resealing the half-moon inserts. You can bet that the area you ignore is the one where the engine will leak again or leak next time. Resealing the 2.2 You have to remove four large (30mm) nuts from the spark plug tubes in order to pull the valve cover. As soon as you remove these, also remove Photo: Dan Marinucci Photo: I removed the ignition coils and coil bracket from the driver’s side of and carefully inspect the conical rubber seal be- this 2.2L engine. Now you can clearly see the half-moon insert on the low each valve cover nut. Schilder stressed that left and the black rubber-coated sealing plug on the right. These are he rarely has to replace these seals. However, you commonly overlooked leak points on high-mileage engines. should replace them if they’re cracked, worn or continued on page 12 10 January 2011 Foreign Service deformed. He also emphasized that he Finish the cleanup with a solvent or de- never uses any kind of sealer when rein- greaser that leaves no residue. Next, re- stalling these conical seals. seal each insert to the head again with a Part of the 2.2’s crankcase ventilation thin but consistent layer of high-quality system goes through passages inside RTV sealer. Some Toyota specialists the valve cover. Sludge buildup inside (Schilder among them) swear by Toy- these passages is a potential problem— ota’s own RTV sealer, Part No. 00295- especially on poorly maintained, high- 00103. (Toyota calls this stuff FIPG or er-mileage engines. Remember that if “formed-in-place gasket” sealer.) Don’t sludge clogs a passage or the PCV valve shortcut quality here because you don’t itself, the engine pressurizes the entire want to have to repeat this repair. crankcase. When that happens, the en- Then install a new black plug in the gine tends to leak oil at multiple loca- left end of the head. Schilder said he’s tions instead of just from the top end. had good results coating the plug with a On the one hand, it’s fairly easy to re- bit of gasket cement that becomes tacky move the sheet metal pieces covering within a few minutes prior to installa- these passages. On the other hand, tion. Other techs apply just a very thin there’s no fast, effective way to securely film of RTV to this black plug. Next, put reattach the pieces to the valve cover. another thin film of RTV sealer on the Schilder observed that most techni- retaining cap-to-cylinder head surface. cians would wash this valve cover in a When you torque down the cap’s bolts common solvent-style parts washer. again, this seals the cap to the head. They use the parts washer nozzle to Usually, some sealer also oozes out of flow solvent through the valve cover the joint. If it does, that’s fine; experi- passages. Usually, a robust flow of sol- ence shows that the only place you vent through the passages means they need any RTV sealer on this valve cover aren’t restricted, he said. gasket is where the gasket meets this re- Okay, suppose the engine you’re taining cap at the cylinder head. A little working on has the black rubber plug in dab of sealer suffices at the junction of place of the distributor on the left side of this retaining cap and the cylinder head the head. An aluminum cap that resem- surface. Reinstall the valve cover and bles the cam bearing caps holds this tighten those 30mm nuts before any of black plug in place. There are two ways this RTV sealer sets up. to loosen it after you’ve removed its Finally, remember that the spark bolts: You can dislodge the cap by gently plug tubes on the 2.2 engine thread tapping on the side of it with a plastic into the head. Occasionally, you may mallet. Or you can slide a punch into one find engine oil inside these tubes and of the cap’s bolt holes and gently wiggle on the spark plug boots. If so, side to side until the cap breaks loose Schilder said, the overwhelming odds from the cylinder head. Just go easy here are that oil is leaking through the so you don’t crack that retaining cap. Re- threads at the bottom of the spark move and discard the old black plug. plug tubes. Remove the tubes and Likewise, there are two ways to re- patiently clean the threads on them move the little half-moon inserts on each as well as those inside the cylinder end of the cylinder head. One way is to head. Then reseal the tubes to the slide a screwdriver or small pry bar be- head with a good thread sealer. hind the insert and then gently pry it out- Note that the fastest, neatest way to ward until it comes loose. The other way R&R the spark plug tubes on a 2.2 en- is to place a blunt punch or chisel on the gine may be with a specialty tool such insert’s valve cover gasket surface, then as Assenmacher Tools’ TOY150. Look gently tap on it. This should dislodge the it up at www.asttool.com. insert by “walking” it out—rotating it out Last but not least, don’t underestimate of the recess in the cylinder head. the value of leak-detection dye on these Now, carefully but thoroughly clean challenging leak diagnoses. I’ve found any remaining sealer out of the cylinder that at the very least, dye helps prove head recesses where the half-moon in- where the leak sources are not located. serts and the black plug normally sit. That in itself is valuable information! Circle #7 12 January 2011.

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