91 Camry with massive oil leak :(

[KellyGirlKY]

Hi guys! You were a great help last time,hoping for more great advice!

When leaving work Sunday I noticed a serious amount of oil running under my car (like at least a quart). Unsure if it was actually from my car, I drove home. Upon arriving home, I checked my oil and it measured below low. I ended up adding two quarts and checked the driveway for a leak over the next hour or so (just a couple of drops). Although my dipstick measured low. This morning I checked and it measured full. Go figure. When backing out, checked driveway and didn't see massive spot like on Sunday. I went to have my oil changed and asked them to look for a leak. They said it looks like there is some leaking around back side valve cover and that I probably need to have that gasket replaced. But they didnt act like it was a ton of oil leaking. So I drove to a friends where I stayed for about 3.5 hours and checked my parking spot when leaving - no noticeable oil. Drove to work, to dinner tonight then home. Checked oil at home and it looks like it's measuring below low again! Granted it was dark and I was using a flashlight and garage lights to get a measurement. So I'm going to check again in the morning.

If I did leak out 3.5 quarts of oil in a 6 hour period, any clue where it could be coming from or what's wrong??? I'm taking it in tomorrow to a mechanic but I always have a fear of taking a car in with out any idea of whats wrong! I do plan to tell them about the valve cover, but surely that wouldn't cause such a leak! Praying it's not a serious fix. Although it's a good car with only 171,000 miles on it, I'm not wanting to put a ton of money into it right now.
Any thoughts or ideas on the potential problem is greatly appreciated!

[Kingdom934]

You need to wait at lease half hour (30 minutes) to get a pretty accurate level...of course an over night sitting would give you the most accurate. It is normal for it to be show something else (such as low or medium) if the car was just running as all the oil is throughout the engine and not all on the bottom of the pan.

The most common issue is leaking on the valve cover gasket...but it shouldn't be leaking that much (quarts) unless one of your lower seals have gone out.

Is this the I4 or V6 model Camry?

[dem2757]

the valve cover wouldnt do a leak that size unless it is really busted, but youd have a leak consistently. my car leaks with a handful of drips every night so i have to monitor it, but nothing sporadic and large like what you are describing.

The huge amounts of oil leaking randomly is confusing. were you doing any high revving (3k plus on these 20 year old cars haha) ? id lean more towards a main seal cracking with temperature and flexing. its a stretch but the huge amounts of oil would come from those moreso than the valve cover gasket. do you smell any oil burning after a drive? cause thats a sure sign of a bad valve cover gasket.

[KellyGirlKY]

V4 I believe!

[KellyGirlKY]

No burning smell. And no difference in performance. It truly is puzzling! The car sat for about 6 or 7 days while I was waiting on a failure sensor to come in (to fix tail lights). I started driving the car again on Friday. And noticed the oil on Sunday. Just in town driving. Didn't run over anything that I could see or feel. I figured they would have seen more oil during the oil change this morning!

[dem2757]

are you sure it was the oil and not the transmission fluid? i would check all fluids just to be sure. make sure when you sheck the tranny fluid that the car is idling/

i dont mean to not trust your eyes, just mine recently decided to somehow lose a quart of tranny fluid

[KellyGirlKY]

Will do! I thought they checked that stuff during your oil change but I'll have to look at the print out to see

[KellyGirlKY]

Had to go have oil drained out this morning because adding 1.5 quarts yesterday made it too full. I have no idea what's going on!!

[Eugee]

Check your oil filter and drain plug ! More than likely they screwed up when they changed your oil. Whenever I have my oil changed I look underneath to make sure nothing is pouring out. Would be a simple fix if it is. Eugee-86 Liftback

[KellyGirlKY]

Thanks for the info but I had the oil changed after I noticed the huge leak. Prior to yesterday, it had not been changed since Oct 15

[dem2757]

just make sure that the engine sits for at least an hour after being driven to get a somewhat accurate reading on the dipstick.