Can the Camry Be Saved?

[nismoman88]

Basically i just bought this camry 204,100 miles, and it is a 4cyl. 5spd. i posted a thread early about maybe the transmission going out. Well now i have even bigger issues, i am leaking LARGE amounts of oil from the motor, i have to carry a 5qt. jug of castrol around with me just to top off from the leak over night. The main problem is i dont want to take it to a shop. I am trying to save what little money i have. i am planning on basically taking apart and replacing every gasket i can with the motor still in the car and this would be my first tear down. Again i think the leak is coming from the timing cover but i am not sure until i tear it down, but am i wasting my time with this car? Is it just too much work for a dying car? If you want to read about my transmissions troubles it is Newbie with Grindin' Issues

[zythr]

Look at it this way. If you decide to fix it, you'll need the appropriate seals, and defintely a new timing belt, if the leak is from the cover. It depends on how long you want to keep the car and how much work you want to put into it. Since it is leaking so much, I would not drive it until you decide what to do.

[PaulPR]

Here's a link to a good post on repairing oil leaks.

87 Camry oil leak?

Paul

[mattjm]

If your transmission only has worn synchros (and from the other thread, I'm not sure...it might be a bigger problem), it might be worth saving. Partly depends on how much time you have and how much it's worth. If it was me and the transmission was nearly gone, I would probably cut my losses unless I could get a killer deal on a replacement.

Definitely replace the timing belt if it has oil on it. You also need to do the crank pulley and oil pump seals (a far more likely culprit for large leaks than any gaskets). Hopefully you can get away without doing the crank output seal (but if that was leaking badly you would notice the clutch slipping). Do you have experience pulling seals? It's critical not to to nick or scratch the sealing surfaces.

Also, sometimes the oil pump cover gasket will leak (I had a steady drip from here when the car was running--just a small crack in the corner of the o-ring--fixed with the toyota FIPG goop).

Good luck with it!

[nismoman88]

defintly looks like i have some of the same oil leaks that guy had in the link. We have nearly identical oil leaking areas, except mine are a bit more. I suspect some of the work he did is abit out of my league, but i can do what i can. Yea this car lasting 4 more years of college even if i was the perfect double clutcher and refilled with oil regular, it would take divine toyota power to last me. Mr. Aikido Toyoda please let my camry be in the recall!!!!