oil leaking on a 90 camry

[argojos1]

A few weeks a go oil started leaking from my Camry like a mother and i thought it was coming from the oil pan so i changed the gasket on the oil pan and now oil is still leaking. So now i think that it is leaking out of the oil sender but i don't know. So if any body knows where else it could be coming from or if it is common for oil to leak out of there or any other common places that an 18 year old car would leak oil from jest get back to me. thanks josh

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Unfortunately, there are a few places the oil could be coming from. If you can at least identify on which side of the engine there is oil leaking, it will help.

1) There could be a leak from the rear main seal (oil would be leaking out through the bottom of the aluminum inspection cover where the engine mates with the transmission).
2) The cam seals/crank seal could be leaking (oil would come out the bottom of the timing belt cover, on the left side of the engine as you face it).
3) The distributor could be leaking (fairly self-explanatory).

Perhaps you should clean the engine off well, then run the car to see where the oil is originating from. Unless the leak is massive, I wouldn't necessarily worry about fixing it. These are old engines, and the cost/time involved in repairs of this nature can be prohibitive.

[89 2wd]

It could be the high pressure power steering hose. Mine used to look like an oil leak, but you could see most of the fluid accumulating near the oil pan.

[fredk]

Its most likely the oil pump and the pump mounting housing and the cam, oil pump and crank outer seals, get with me on this stuff for pointers

[fredk]

ah crap, i see he has the v6

[blu_91_cam]

I have a V6 too! Mine ended up having 2 leaks. One behind the distributor cap and the second one was in the right corner of the valve cover. Had to remove the entire valve cover and use some kind of silicon to patch up the hole.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Silicone is part of the seal on the V6 valve cover gasket, but it should only be used in addition to the rubber gasket designed for these engines...and if you only ended up with two leaks, count your lucky stars. The V6's leak like sieves!

The leaks on the V6 engines are very similar to those I've seen on the I4 Camrys. Everything said above this post is still valid. One addition: the intake plenum obscures the rear cylinder bank, making it very difficult to see whether or not that valve cover gasket is good. If it's shot, oil will leak out between the engine and firewall, where you cannot easily see it.

[argojos1]

i had to replace the valve cover gaskets too when i first got the car

[mudman]

My 92 sv21 is a leaky sod too, despite 3 different grease monkeys saying they fixed it.

[noodlesoup]

Originally Posted by argojos1

i had to replace the valve cover gaskets too when i first got the car

Mine did the same thing. What happens is when the valve covers are replaced it increases oil pressures, which can spring leaks through holes the form from engine wear. Having someone seal up those leaks would help and is fairly inexpensive (~$150-$200)

[TBayToyotaBoy]

You must have had absolutely massive leaks in your valve cover gaskets, if repairing them caused other seals to start leaking. I've had bad gaskets before, but not that bad...

I had to drop the tranny on my V6 to replace the rear main seal this week (friggin three-day horror story), and I think it's official now. Every oil seal that can leak, now leaks. Crank seal, cam seals, oil pan gasket, rear main, valve cover gaskets, spark plug tubes, valve cover hold-downs... thank God I have a spare engine to put in there this spring. No leaks on it!