massive oil leak

[Icepick]

Well my girlfriends car is a 1996 camry lx and it has a serious oil leak. here goes the story, She said that her oil light just came on so i told her to come over. So She came over yesterday, and the car had no oil in it. Ok, shes an idiot no biggy, so we put 4 quarts in the car and i thought we where good to go. Well 5 min. later i came out to get my laptop and i notice some oil on the ground. Once again no biggie, so we took it to a shop thinkin it might be a oil pan gasket leak. So we left it there to go to dinner, and we got back (1 1/2 hours later) they just got the car into the bay. Well i look at the ground where the car use to be and notice like 2-3 quarts of oil on the ground!!! Im like omfg, Well the guy there said that the oil pump went bad and thats y its leakin. He said it would cost 1,200$!!! Wtf! were in college we cant afford that, Plus the oil pump is internal behind the timin belt, how the hell is it leakin!? Plus theres barley any goo near the timin belt to indicate that the oil pump is leaking. So i decided to look at it myself and not be lazy, and the back side of the motor is caked with oil, so... idk is it the valve gasket? or maybe the oil sensor that is next to the injectors? I dont think it could be the valve gasket cuz i dont think that much oil could come out of it.... idk,
P.S. im purple powering the engine today to see where the leak is coming from. but i would love to hear wat u guys think sense im not too familiar with toyotas

[eurohazard]

I have seen a pretty severe oil leak on a 1992 2.2 (225k+ miles). The cause was a bad crank seal.

[Icepick]

car only has 90,000 miles on it, still young any one know?

[gonesurfing]

I did this job on our 94 4cyl last year. Even thought it is low in miles, o-rings tend to become brittle after 10 years of exposure to heat. The oil pump is mounted to what is called the timing cover on the front of the engine. To replace the o-ring that seals the oil pump cover to the timing cover, you have to remove the timing belt and likely the water pump. To remove the timing cover, you'll do all of the above, plus oil pan and oil pickup. I'd guess it's a 4 hour job if your guy is a Camry guru and a good mechanic. While he's in that far, he might was well change the front main oil seal, the oil pump pulley seal, and the timing cover gasket.

You said the back side of the motor is caked in oil. The back is the transmission side, the front is where the oil pump is located. Make sure what you're seeing jives with what the mechanic is telling you.

$1200 seems a little steep, but he may be quoting you all new oil seals, new oil pump, timing cover, timing belt, and water pump. I think a new oil pump and timing cover will run you at least $150. I don't know why he thinks it needs replacing when a new o-ring and gasket set can be had for $30. Did he check the oil pressure and find it out of spec?