rear engine wet

[bronzemaxell]

i was doing CV axle work over the weekend, and when i look up from under the car, i saw the passenger side of my 93 camry 4cyl, then engine where the intake manifold pipes meet the engine (cylinder head??), only at the corner of the engine is a little wet, and i found the power steering pump area wet, and rear of the oil pan wet, i have not determine if the leak is all the way from the top yet.

the vehicle is almost 270,000 miles, does lose about 1 qt of engine oil every 3000 miles, and loose coolant from high to low in reservior every 2 or 3 months. i found power steering fluid is always full, so i don't think i am leaking fuild at power steering pump.
if indeed it is leaking from top, how difficult to fix the leak

[Sniperdude]

Possibly the rear main seal, I remember looking back there and seeing the same thing.

[Venom_5]

rear main seal is a common area for leaking ... check that out

[bronzemaxell]

i checked with my mechanic friend he said possible head gasket need changed, i was looking on ebay and saw some non-oem brand head gasket kit goes as low as $42 shipped, and i checked online toyota dealer for geninue oem head gasket kit for $144 shipped, anyone aware of the difference besides the price?

[Eye8Pussies]

yes, the oem ones are better

when it comes to something as important as a HG, don't go cheap and buy a non-oem one

[bigbird]

2nd that, ive had problems with non oem parts, gaskets especially. go for the good stuff

[blackedcoupeLE]

it does have 270,000 miles tho....

if it was me...I'd get the cheaper ones...

[Sniperdude]

If anything, higher mileage is an even better reason to buy OEM.

[kamrhee]

Before you rule out anything, check if its just the valve cover gasket. This is a cheaper part if it is the culprit. If the area just below the gasket is wet then you have your problem. Ours started leaking at about 100k.

kamrhee

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by kamrhee

Before you rule out anything, check if its just the valve cover gasket. This is a cheaper part if it is the culprit. If the area just below the gasket is wet then you have your problem. Ours started leaking at about 100k.

kamrhee

i replaced valve cover gaskets and four round robber boots (groumet??) for spark plug tube on the valve cover around 30k miles ago, all OEM geniune toyota parts from dealer dept, cost me around $30 after tax, and the area around where the valve cover gaskets is, still dry, it is the lower down gasket on the engine has some oil sipping out.

[bronzemaxell]

here is a few picture







any advice on what is this leak will be appreciated.
thanks