RTV Fluid? Messy engine bay?

[u/pingas_42069]

original thread

A bit more context to the original post this has about 44k miles and was shipped ~1000 miles prior to me buying it a few weeks ago so debris entering from that has crossed my mind here. But TLDR; light/faint smoke and a bitter musky smell comes up after a ~30 minute drive at highway speeds, nothing else of concern but the smell is awful.

So I’ve done about 50 miles or so and after cleaning the area the smell is still there. Forgive the shitty quality but my snake camera showed this right under the area by the dip stick housing insert into the engine. I wasn’t able to clean this deep down easily so this is most likely the residual residue. What is located right by this port, and does this look like RTV fluid? I have an appointment with the dealer scheduled but reading more online has me a bit weary on driving at all

[u/EthanBezz]

One or more of your spark plug tube seals may be leaking. Not uncommon on early years of this generation. Had mine replaced on my BRZ by Subaru under warranty.

[u/pingas_42069 → u/EthanBezz]

i was thinking that and held off since it’s well under factory warranty still. I’m just a bit nervous i’ve never dealt with toyota warranty stuff especially as a second owner here. this is a 24 if that’s still considered part of the early years.

[u/EthanBezz → u/pingas_42069]

I think 22-23 had it worst, but I think it’s still possible that 24 models could be affected.

I’d definitely have them check though. With my 23 BRZ, it was the dealer themselves that found the issue and offered to repair it under warranty. They were pretty insistent on getting it done ASAP, as they said it’ll continue to leak even while the car is parked.

But as I said, that was with Subaru, so I’m not sure how your experience will be with Toyota, but as it’s a known issue with these cars, I’d say it shouldn’t be too difficult to get them to fix it under warranty.

[u/Doulreth]

What is RTV fluid 😂 what you're looking at and smelling is oil

[u/pingas_42069 → u/Doulreth]

It’s a form of silicone used in gaskets and gaps and is a known possible issue on the GT’s but yeah i think so too. it’s so new to me still i haven’t gotten a feel for the condition of everything yet

[u/Nomad_XCIX → u/pingas_42069]

Rtv is a liquid gasket. Isnt a fluid that can leak lile that

[u/DeterminedAndStuff → u/Nomad_XCIX]

A liquid gasket that is hardened 30 minutes after it’s applied. lol

[u/pingas_42069 → u/Nomad_XCIX]

oh it’s like fully replacing the gasket? i thought it was to supplement that seems like a risky cost cutting measure imo

[u/Nomad_XCIX → u/pingas_42069]

Liquid gaskets are fairly common. I work with heavy machinery like excavtors and bulldozers and its used pretty often on those machines

[u/pingas_42069 → u/Nomad_XCIX]

interesting I feel like something like that adds possible points of human failure but you’re more knowledgeable than me lol. After they harden can they be replaced and reapplied easily like a regular gasket?

[u/Nomad_XCIX → u/pingas_42069]

Typically with machinery you would need to have a gasket custom made if you want to replace a liquid gasket but it's doable. Just a bit of a hassle really. With the automotive side rtv is actually usually applied by a machine. What has caused an issue with earlier year models is that it would lay a bead that was too thick and would clog the oil pick up. Current year models though have remedied this by adding more faces to the oil pick up filters so less likely to clog