[Mohit]

Had my RAV in for the 140,000 km service today. Everything's great apart from the brakes needing new pads and shoes (which i already knew) and a new problem that i've never heard of on the forums. The O ring seal in the dissy is leaking oil. It's a slow leak so it's not an urgent repair but i will get it done soon. My mechanic showed me the oil stains on the part of the engine just below the dissy. This, coupled with the blue puff of smoke on start up would explain where my oil is going in between services.

Total damage should be about $100 just to get the leak fixed. Might as well get the dissy rotor and cap replaced and toss out the OEM 5mm spark plug leads for a set of Bosch 7mm ones while we're at it. Anyone had this dissy oil leak before?

 

[Chucks97]

I guess you don't want to tackle this one yourself and save $100. Pulling and re-stabbing the distributor is fairly easy. The gasket for it shouldn't cost more than $1.

Having said that I would conduct a visual test with the motor running and watch for where the oil is coming from...I just don't trust many mechanics. My oil pressure switch ended up leaking which is in the vacinity of the dist.

 

[Mohit]

Nowadays i dont have as much time to work on my car as i used to. I'll let my mechanic do it as i completely trust him. My mehanic cleaned the oil stain below the dist, ran the engine until he spotted the oil leak. Been going to the same mechanic for the last 90,000km (9 services) without any probs.

 

[t0ked1]

This is an inevitable problem on any car with a distributor and will eventually have to be dealt with. I agree, this is 30 minute job tops as long as you have a good permanent marker and make reference marks as to not dusturb the timing. Cap, rotor, and o-ring shouldn't cost more than $20 tops.