Rear Crankshaft Seal On T-Sport

[Numeryk]

Hi,

I started a topic a couple of weeks ago about a possible gearbox leak. Well, I took the car to a garage and it is in fact rear crankshaft seal. The mechanic said that 9 times out of 10, replacing this does cure the problem but sometimes it is the crankshaft problem and then it is a major overhaul. I was also informed that the clutch will most likely need replacing as well? All in all I was quoted around 600 pounds for everything.

Dose it all in general sound ok? They also siad the gearbox has been taken out before.

[mr-p]

sounds about right, if the rear seal has gone then its more than likely that some oil has contaminated the clutch plate. does the clutch smell or slip? and yes 9 times out of ten it will cure it and its not that hard a job just really labour intensive as its FWD but if its something like play in the crank bearings/journals or the the crank runout is out of tolerance or its just worn then oil may get past the seal it may end up needing a new crank and bearings etc hope its just the seal though

[Numeryk]

sounds about right, if the rear seal has gone then its more than likely that some oil has contaminated the clutch plate. does the clutch smell or slip? and yes 9 times out of ten it will cure it and its not that hard a job just really labour intensive as its FWD but if its something like play in the crank bearings/journals or the the crank runout is out of tolerance or its just worn then oil may get past the seal it may end up needing a new crank and bearings etc hope its just the seal though

Thanks for the reply. Is it likely in reality that something has gone wrong with the crankshaft? I've been googling for a while now and can't seem to find a similar problem on any Corolla, let alone T-sport. Clutch seem to be fine btw.

[mr-p]

???? doubt it from what ive read of the bottom end on the 2zzge is that its really well put together and can take up to 300bhp easy so id like to think there is nothing wrong with the crank. has it ever run low on oil or sat for some time? could be a simple case of the seal is old and has dried out and perished which id say is the most common failure, does it drive ok? no vibrations from the engine or anything if the crank was out badly you might feel it?

[Numeryk]

I never ran the engine low on oil, but I am not the first owner. However the car has FSH from Toyota and generally looks ot be well cared after. There was no leak when I bought it. From the mileage and service it looks like it sat for about two months.

The car drives ok, I have not driven any other T-sport but for me it seems to pull really nicely up to the redline. In general before noticing the leak I would have said that the engine is in perfect condition with nice idle and smooth across the rev range.

[mr-p]

then id agree with your mechanic and hopefully just the seal will do the job have you been underneath the car and had a good look? just seems so unlucky if it is the rear seal

[Numeryk]

then id agree with your mechanic and hopefully just the seal will do the job have you been underneath the car and had a good look? just seems so unlucky if it is the rear seal

Can't look at this myself. The leak is shown here:

Link

It has gotten slightly worse as I mentioned before, drops appearing in multiple spots underneath the car.

[mr-p]

hmmm hard to tell from the pics but if its engine oil and its coming out between the bell housing and engine and there is no obvious leaks from anywhere else its what id go for, just strange as thats quite a lot of oil, have you had to top up the engine oil at all?maybe it was overfilled?or topped up the gearbox oil recently?

[johnnyboy_no.5]

im a tech at a toyota dealer and have never seen a rear main seal go on a 2zz engine, 9 times out of 10 its either spilt oil from topping up or a driveshaft oil seal, i would suggest you clean it all off and take it for a drive to get a better idea. i very much doubt its the rear main seal

[Numeryk]

hmmm hard to tell from the pics but if its engine oil and its coming out between the bell housing and engine and there is no obvious leaks from anywhere else its what id go for, just strange as thats quite a lot of oil, have you had to top up the engine oil at all?maybe it was overfilled?or topped up the gearbox oil recently?

I don't think it was overfilled and I did not touch the gearbox. I suppose the oil is splashed all over the place while the car is on motorway. Could that be possible?

I topped about 200ml of oil for roughly 300 miles.

[Numeryk]

im a tech at a toyota dealer and have never seen a rear main seal go on a 2zz engine, 9 times out of 10 its either spilt oil from topping up or a driveshaft oil seal, i would suggest you clean it all off and take it for a drive to get a better idea. i very much doubt its the rear main seal

The mechanic said it's definitely an engine oil. It's also not from topping up. Maybe worth getting a second opinion on this one?

They had the car almost all day and cleaned everything and ran it until leak appeared so I am guessing they found the leak correctly?

[mr-p]

wont do any harm getting another opinion as said above its very uncommon if at all especially on a modern car and seeing as yours has been looked after and has a full service history its so unlikely and with that much oil id expect the clutch to slip if it was the rear seal, you can smell the difference between gearbox and engine oil lol gearbox oil smells kinda sweet i reckon its something far more simple

im a tech at a toyota dealer and have never seen a rear main seal go on a 2zz engine, 9 times out of 10 its either spilt oil from topping up or a driveshaft oil seal, i would suggest you clean it all off and take it for a drive to get a better idea. i very much doubt its the rear main seal

+1 give it a clean and maybe check the gearbox oil level as well

[Numeryk]

Thanks for your opinions. Makes sense, especially with the amount of leak and clutch being perfectly fine.

I will try get an opinion tomorrow and give you an update!

[Numeryk]

An update on this.

I was just called by the other garage, and the problem is indeed the rear engine main seal. The reason it splashes the oil has something to do with the freewheel (I was on the phone and had some trouble understanding). The gearbox oil is fine, although there was some pressure that should not be there. Overall looks like an expensive job and first main seal to go on a 2ZZ:(

The guy actually told me to try to go to the dealer I got the car from and get them to do it since I got the car only two months ago. If not, try Trading Standards. Anyone have any advice is there any chance they will do it? I was quoted between 600 - 900 for the work:(

[mr-p]

im sure i read that all second hand cars from a dealer must come with at least a 3 month warrenty?? Cant believe its the rear seal!

[oldcodger]

An update on this.

I was just called by the other garage, and the problem is indeed the rear engine main seal. The reason it splashes the oil has something to do with the freewheel (I was on the phone and had some trouble understanding).

The guy actually told me to try to go to the dealer I got the car from and get them to do it since I got the car only two months ago. If not, try Trading Standards. Anyone have any advice is there any chance they will do it? I was quoted between 600 - 900 for the work:(

Hi,

When you bought the car you should have a receipt which outlines the guarantee provided with the car, or perhaps its plastered on their web site.

If not, was someone else with you and can witness that they verbally stated 3 months warranty ?

In the first instant you must go and take the car back to allow them to do their own inspection and provide you with their conclusions.

If then they do not agree to repair it under their stated guarantee terms, then that is the time to leave and get further advice.

[Numeryk]

THanks for your feedback.

I spoke with the dealer and they do give 3 month warranty from an external company "Customer Protect". I actually extended this to one year.

The problem is this, everything is listed in the "Gold Protection" except the rear main seal:) I was on the phone with them and they said they need a garage to disassemble required parts, look at the seal and give a cause for failure. Based on this they will make the decision.

The dealer said that the 3 month warranty they give is all that can be done and all they could do is get their own garage to do it. They came back to me with an estimate of 300 pounds apx which I would need to cover. My concern is that suppose they replace it for around 300-400 GBP without looking for anythign else, the seal might go again.

I have been to a local garage with a very good opinion and although the esitmate is much higher they will actually look for a cause (restricted breather being one of them?)

So I need to make a decision on which way to go. Either my local garage at a premium but pretty much sure done properly or their garage which I am concerned might be a quick temporary fix.

[mr-p]

if it was me id like to know why it went in the first place. yeah it may just be the seal but it could be a whole lot more and if there is an under lying fault it will just go again. would like to think that any garage will have a look for the cause, it will be obvious if the seal is all cracked up but if they just literally change the seal

[oldcodger]

THanks for your feedback.

everything is listed in the "Gold Protection" except the rear main seal:)

Hi,

How on earth can any Warranty specifically exclude an engines Rear Main Seal ? - that sounds plain daft and think any small claims court would agree.

Assume you did not agree to that specific exclusion when purchasing ?

Think you have two simple choices of action.

1. Write down all details of your converstions with the Car Dealer and the warranty company and take those notes along with any other documents they provided you with, like an insurance policy booklet, to either the CAB or Trading Standards and ask for their help.

Even with them helping you it may be a long and protracted affair and might still cost you some money to repair it.

Sounds bad, but afraid thats the way some places are as you have found out the hard way, but it is worth a try as they might comply as soon as they know you have CAB or TS behind you.

2. Cut your losses and get it properly repaired at your own cost in the near future.

However before doing that I would suggest doing a couple of things -

Get an MOT inpsection done on it which should highlight any outstanding safety issues etc and /or something like an AA /RAC inspection.

Did you do an HPI check before buying to ensure it was clean ?

Most importantly, get a diagnosis and quotation for repair from your local Toyota main dealer - don't go in saying you want a new rear oil seal or that you are in dispute with any car dealer / warranty company - just say you have an oil leak, and see what they come up with.

Let us know how you go on.

[Numeryk]

Hi,

How on earth can any Warranty specifically exclude an engines Rear Main Seal ? - that sounds plain daft and think any small claims court would agree.

Assume you did not agree to that specific exclusion when purchasing ?

Think you have two simple choices of action.

1. Write down all details of your converstions with the Car Dealer and the warranty company and take those notes along with any other documents they provided you with, like an insurance policy booklet, to either the CAB or Trading Standards and ask for their help.

Even with them helping you it may be a long and protracted affair and might still cost you some money to repair it.

Sounds bad, but afraid thats the way some places are as you have found out the hard way, but it is worth a try as they might comply as soon as they know you have CAB or TS behind you.

2. Cut your losses and get it properly repaired at your own cost in the near future.

However before doing that I would suggest doing a couple of things -

Get an MOT inpsection done on it which should highlight any outstanding safety issues etc and /or something like an AA /RAC inspection.

Did you do an HPI check before buying to ensure it was clean ?

Most importantly, get a diagnosis and quotation for repair from your local Toyota main dealer - don't go in saying you want a new rear oil seal or that you are in dispute with any car dealer / warranty company - just say you have an oil leak, and see what they come up with.

Let us know how you go on.

Thanks for this.

I will probably go down the second route as I do need a car and do not have a second drive.

The car had an MOT done on a day of purchase and a full service from Toyota some 100 miles earlier.

I did not do an HPI check (actually I only just googled what it is - never bought a car in the UK before).

I had opinion of two garages saying the same thing, but going to Toyota is probably a smart idea. I would like to make sure that the cause of the failure is understood as clearly I would not want this to be repeated.

Regarding the warranty, it mentions front seal and not the rear one so it might be tricky getting money back and going into disputes.