Anything interesting under the oil pan?

[Bekaykay]

I'm going to get around to removing my oil pan to redo the sealant. It's got a slow seeping leak around a lot of it.

While I've got it off, is there anything I should inspect/replace/address that becomes accessible?

[man_btc]

I can't address what to do about cleaning or examining anything once you've removed the oil pan - because in my case, every leak that looked like it was coming from the oil pan, wasn't. Instead, after a thorough cleaning and re-examination, the leaks were found to originate elsewhere. Here's a typical comment from one of the Yahoo Group senseis in response to a question like yours:

...are you SURE the oil leak is coming from the oil pan? I've never really heard of the oil pan leaking on the Prevs....Much more likely causes would be the valve cover gasket/distributor O-ring, especially if it looks like its coming from the right-hand (passenger) side of the engine. These will drip down onto the exhaust heat shield and/or the exhaust and burn off causing bad oil-burning smells. You should be able to see some oil residue on the top of the exhaust heat shield above the manifold if the leak is from the valve cover gasket. The valve cover gasket is about $20* and very easy to replace. Otherwise, it could be the crankshaft pulley seal behind where the SADS bolts up, and I've heard of at least one oil leak from behind the oil filter bracket caused by a failed "figure-8" o-ring.

I suggest you clean off the engine well and verify the source of the leak for certain before proceeding.

- Eric Collins (*11/2012)

[Previologist]

This is similar to the experiences of many people with 3rd gen 4runners of the same era, including me. Obviously very different engines but similar in that oil leaks creep to the oil pan from various locations.

[Bekaykay]

I understand the skepticism for sure. The previous owner did the valve cover seal, distributor is fine, and I've checked everywhere else. I did a very thorough cleaning when I got it, and the oil is definitely coming from the pan seam.