oil leak from somewhere right above alternator

[cressidaqueen]

I have a slow oil leak which seems to be coming from somewhere up in the engine and leaking on everything below it including the alternator and parts of the frame. I am obviously aware this is not a good thing so please dont post here just to say BAD BAD BAD. =) Any ideas where the leak is coming from? Would be good to have some sort of starting point in such a delicate area.

[maxomilll]

valve cover gasket

[cressidaqueen]

sorry, i know this is a broad question. was crossing my fingers that there were some common places or that this had happened to someone else before. car is an 87 cressida btw.

[tomt64]

Clean off all the oil/dirt and monitor it every few days to round down where its coming from.
Like everyone else said most likely vc gaskets.

[cressidaqueen]

thanks! heading to pick n pull later today to get my hands on a vc gasket

[ShadowDragonx]

get new ones,
old ones won't do you any good

[cressidaqueen]

are they model-specific? saw a bunch at part source today but was hesitant to buy.... guessing i can just get a general one for vline 6 ?

[cressidaqueen]

(my apologies for silly questions... never worked on my own car before but am now faced with either selling my cressida or using it as a learner project as keeping up with maintenance and repairs costs a fortune sans the DIY approach.)

[ShadowDragonx]

valve cover gaskets are car and engine specific

but if i were u, i would give that motor a good engine shampoo first before i start replacing things to see where the oil is coming from

are u sure it's coming from the valve cover gasket?
maybe from the distributor o-ring seal,
or even the head gasket?

is the oil leaking from the top, bottom middle of the motor?
from the front or back of the motor?


it could be something very simple or something very challenging to replace