oil leek behind T-belt

[ToyCam192]

recently ive noticed oil on my driveway so i went to toyota and they told me i have a oil leek somewhere behind the T-belt....
to fix it they want $856.00........is this the going rate or can i find a cheeper price...
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also they pointed out other things that must be fixed....
- valve cover gasket-$148.00
- DIST. O-ring- $132.00
- Trans pan gasket- $160.00
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could these problems be causing this leek????
-are these projects easy to do by myself or should i bring it to a shop?

[Stillrunning]

When was the last time your timing belt was replaced?

[dz63]

The distributor is on the opposite of the engine to the timing belt - so it is very unlikely that replacing the distributor oring will fix this problem. A leak from the transmission pan gasket also would not contribute to oil dripping from under the timing belt cover. The valve cover gasket is a possibility, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

If you have oil leaking from behind the timing belt cover, IMO, it is probably your oil pump gasket or your cranshaft oil seal in that order. It seems that the oil pump gasket leak is a common problem on the GEN3 Camry. Normally the oil pump gasket and sometimes the crankshaft seal is changed at the same time as the timing belt. That is why Stillrunning asked the question about when you last changed the timing belt.

On my '96 Camry, I had 2-3 oil drops per day leaking onto the driveway when I changed my timing belt and oil pump gasket. The area behind the timing belt was an oily mess. Click on this link

DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 1

and scroll down to Step 25 to see what the area behind the timing vover looked like on my car. Then scroll down to step 39 to see what the oil pump gasket looks like. Teh gasket is only $19, but it is a pain to get at it.


If you click on this link

DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 2

and scroll down to step 43, you will see what the crankshaft oil seal looks like. Only a $10 part, but also a pain to get at.

My guess is that it is one of these two seals.

[flyeri]

The $856 is probably the cam shaft seal and that is pretty steep in my opinion. In fact all prices may be normal of Toyota shop but you can get them done at an independent shop for less and still getr expert work. Ask around, you will probably find a good reliable shop that is not trying to rely on you for retirement. Look in the yellow pages for import repair shops. Dealership shops generally have much higher overhead that the smaller shops do not have. Also the dealership shop is a MAJOR profit center for the dealership.

[toyomoho]

The areas you stated on your list are typical oil leak locations. If the leakage is minor you can put off the work for a long, long time.

The only location of major concern would be the oil pump drive shaft seal. In this case oil leaks out under pressure when the engine is running. The engine can lose a lot of oil because of the steady drip.

The cam and crank seals can also leak but typically do at lower rate although not always.

To check start engine and watch for a slow steady drip from below the timing belt cover. If you have this problem suggest you check the oil level every day and think about getting the problem fixed.

As posted by other members find out when the engine last had a timing belt change. Then when next needed have the shop change out the seals at the same time as they change the belt.

And also as posted get quotes from other shops.

[wald0]

i have oil leaking from the valve cover gasket in the on the inside wher eyou cant see it. they told me all i need is a valve cover gasket which is like $50 or a seal which is less for $20 .

[bornkingnyc]

Toycam do u have a 2.2??? I do and I had a bad leak from the oil pump gasket, front seals, valve cover and the distributor. I would strongly recommend that you buy a gasket kit that includes the timing belt, water pump and valve cover seals. There are kits out there that also have the tensioner spring. The first shop I went to in Queens wanted to charge 900 for the job. I got it done in College Point for 450.00 for parts and labor and the mechanic was done in 5 hrs. including washing my whole engine from all the oil leaks. I also changed the pcv valve which releases the gases that build up inside the engine. If it goes bad after a while the pressure could make ur seals leak.

[my name is joe]

i had the same repairs yesterday because my timing belt snapped after going through that for a year. it costed me 450-500 including tow.. >_>. i did it outside of toyota repair center.