1994 Camry 4Cyl Oil Leak

[Dutchovens]

My 1994 2.2L Camry has leaked around 1 quart of oil per month for many years, but recently it has turned into 1 quart per day. I took it to Goodyear to find out where it was leaking and they said it was at a fish shaped gasket on right front of the engine but didn't know the specific name of the gasket, and to change it they need to remove the timing belt cover.

I want to buy all of the parts and get my uncle to replace the gasket along with the timing belt and water pump, but I don't know which gasket to buy. Does anyone know what the fish shaped gasket they are talking about is called?

Thanks!

[Mister_Perkins]

? No idea in the front of the motor

While your changing the timing belt, make sure to get a Camshaft Seal and Crankshaft seal and maybe some new idler pulleys

[Dutchovens]

He may have noted the location wrong. Do you know of any fish shaped gaskets that require the timing belt cover to be removed to replace?

[zythr]

Originally Posted by Dutchovens

He may have noted the location wrong. Do you know of any fish shaped gaskets that require the timing belt cover to be removed to replace?

No. I thought that the gaskets behind the Timing belt were mostly cylindrical.

[deadrx7conv]

If you search ebay for 5sfe or camry 2.2L timing belt kit, there are plenty of choices(sellers). Most list all that is needed that you can buy at your dealer or local auto part store.

[Mister_Perkins]

the only gasket that may have a shape such as a fish on the timing side would be the timing cover itself? And thats two pieces

[JohnGD]

Is the oil dripping onto the ground (external leak)? If so you can use a flashlight and mirror to help identify the location of the leak.

A common area for leaks is the valve cover gasket on the back side of the engine (facing the firewall). It may come to the front and look like it's coming from under the timing cover. So I'd check this first. It's a $20 set of gasket (with spark plug tube seals) from rockauto.com.

Now if they haven't taken apart the timing cover, how do they know it's a fish shaped gasket? What kind of fish were they thinking?

If oil is coming from behind the timing cover, then one of the shaft seals (cam, crank or oil pump) needs to be changed. It can also be the oil pump seal or pump-to-engine block seals, but less likely.

Here is an example of a camshaft oil seal, $3.70:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=261061

A crank/pump seal set, $5.59:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=128254

Timing cover seal, usually not needed, $23.79:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=477265

Originally Posted by Dutchovens

My 1994 2.2L Camry has leaked around 1 quart of oil per month for many years, but recently it has turned into 1 quart per day. I took it to Goodyear to find out where it was leaking and they said it was at a fish shaped gasket on right front of the engine but didn't know the specific name of the gasket, and to change it they need to remove the timing belt cover.

I want to buy all of the parts and get my uncle to replace the gasket along with the timing belt and water pump, but I don't know which gasket to buy. Does anyone know what the fish shaped gasket they are talking about is called?

Thanks!

[deadrx7conv]

The valve cover will sometimes loosen up with time. It takes a couple minutes to snug up the valve cover bolts for free. Then, if that didn't help, reread the previous post as you have some work to do.

[TOYOPARTSMAN]

I am betting the fish shaped gasket he is referring to is the oil pump O ring. I have also heard it called the UFO or Star wars/trek gasket, etc. Camry's are notorious for leaking there, the oil pump seal, the cam seal, crank seal, and the VC gaskets.

[SexieWASD]

^ forgot the distributer o-ring.

The Toyota dealer near me calls it the spaghetti gasket, but they knew what I meant when I called it "the really weird looking o-ring sorta thing".