Oil leaking through distributor

[marlinh]

Has anyone fixed this problem? I have a working distributor that was leaking engine oil into the cap area. The side play on the bearings/bushings is less than other distributors that I have that do not leak oil. Is there a seal somewhere?

[Petros]

there is a standard o-ring in the mount, easy to replace. Most auto parts stores have them. there is also an internal seal on the shaft. I am not familar with that one since I have never torn a distributor down that far (I would just replace it with another used one). if the intenal seal is bad it might be that the bearings are sloppy, causing a wobbly shaft that took out the seal.

there is a thread with detailed instructions on how to rebuild the distributor. Not difficult and bearings and seals are standard items that can be ordered from most auto parts stores. good luck.

[rer233]

My brother had the same problem with his '96 Camry (5s-fe) last year. Seal not available from Toyota- dizzy only. He found a seal kit from an outfit called KBOX Engineering for $30. I pulled the dizzy, installed the kit, and problem solved! Just checked their website and couldn't find a kit for our cars. Maybe call 'em? Otherwise, I'm with Petros- just swap in a used one.

[dlb]

i had the same problem with jenn's civic. had to pull it apart to replace the seal. it can be done and is inexpensive but if you have a good spare dizzy (which i'm sure you do, marlene) then that's way easier to swap.

[marlinh]

The parts breakdown in the repair manual doesn't show an internal seal.