Is it that bad, or is it not that bad? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

jnb0111 · 07-08-2011, 10:05 AM

Good morning guys.
I got my car fixed this morning, and it's running good again. However, when I was at the dealer, the tech took me back to the shop and wanted to talk to me.
The oil light has been coming on in my car when i'm off the gas and the idle is down. When I give it gas, the light goes off. He said that it only needs 7 lbs of oil pressure to keep the light off, so if it's coming on, i've got basically no oil pressure, and that the bottom end is going out on the car.
The light has been doing that for a while, and I just figured it's something screwy with the light, so I ignored it. I had an old Tercel back in college that did the same thing, and I beat the snot out of that thing. The Camry isn't beaten on, but it's driven a lot.
Anyway, the tech said something about the bearings are going bad, and eventually, that will kill the motor. Of course, he coudln't give me ANY clue on how much time is left before this failure.
It's a '94 Camry, I've got almost 260,000 miles on it, and I JUST replaced the water pump and timing belt, which is not an inexpensive repair.
Anyone else ever have an issue like this that could give me an idea on what to do? Part of me says drive it til it dies, which may be today, or maybe much longer. Part of me says to just throw it on Craigslist as a running, driving "needs work" car, and still get probably $1500 out of it, and part of me says to trade it in on a new Camry. Downside there is that I have horrible credit, and this trade in is all I have for a down payment, plus maybe another grand.

EEngineer · 07-08-2011, 10:12 AM

top up the oil

more oil = more oil pressure

jnb0111 · 07-08-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EEngineer

top up the oil

more oil = more oil pressure

They did an oil change while it was getting the timing belt and water pump done, so it's already topped off...

EEngineer · 07-08-2011, 10:26 AM

did you check with dipstick?
add more and see if it helps. oil is cheap, rebuilds are not

jnb0111 · 07-08-2011, 10:40 AM

Just checked. It's full. My whole thing is, if the motor is going on it, shouldn't it be knocking or doing something that screams "$$$$$"? It sounds good, that's the thing that confuses me. Sure, it doesn't sound like a 2011, but nothing sounds WRONG. I've worked at dealers before, and when an engine comes in that is oil starved, it's obvious as soon as you turn the key, you know?

EEngineer · 07-08-2011, 10:43 AM

probably just the sensor being flaky.
as always, the dealership wants to f you over with some crazy bs

jnb0111 · 07-08-2011, 10:48 AM

That's always my first thought, too. (The dealer trying to f me over, not the sensor being flaky, although that crossed my mind, too... They didn't try to sell me anything, though. Just told me and said that with the age and the mileage, he would just drive it. I guess I could add another 1/2 quart or so, and maybe OVERfill it, but I don't want to break any seals or gaskets, either.

***N/A Camry Sleeper*** · 07-08-2011, 10:50 AM

A few ideas here...

Your oil pump could be internally leaking - Doesn't happen that often but it COULD...

The oil pressure sender could be caked up which would result in an erroneous reading - again, doesn't happen that often but the potential is there.

ALso, your pickup screen may have debris in it preventing some of the oil from getting into the pump - thus lowering the pressure.

What I would do is:

1. Remove oil pan and inspect pickup screen - clean if needed
2. While the oil pan is off; remove balancer shafts and throw them away. Plug the oil feed hole (This will raise your oil pressure at ALL RPMs and will lube your engine a lot better) Check the forums on the procedure. The dealer won't do this for you BTW. BE SURE YOU PLUG THE OIL FEED HOLE OR YOU WILL HAVE LOWER RESULTANT OIL PRESSURE!
3. Check all the gaskets for any leakage. This can also reduce oil pressure
4. Remove and inspect the oil pressure sending unit - look for signs of blockage
5. Theoretically you could replace the main and rod bearings while the pan is off but if your engine sounds good then there's really no need. All depends on how deep you want to dive with it!

Good luck!

nitronate33 · 07-08-2011, 11:04 AM

could be your oil pump, could be your sender that feeds the gauge inside the car. to find the truth, you need to check your oil pressure properly with a gauge to find out if the sensor is the problem or the actual oil pump.

a shop should be able to check the oil pressure properly to find out if it is low. this is the first thing they should do to diagnose the problem. if it is just the sender (in many cases it is), it's a cheap fix.

hill8570 · 07-08-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitronate33

could be your oil pump, could be your sender that feeds the gauge inside the car. to find the truth, you need to check your oil pressure properly with a gauge to find out if the sensor is the problem or the actual oil pump.

a shop should be able to check the oil pressure properly to find out if it is low. this is the first thing they should do to diagnose the problem. if it is just the sender (in many cases it is), it's a cheap fix.

^+1...first see if there is something to worry about....oil sender to right up on top front of the engine near the coolant outlet. If you want to check it yourself, Harbor Freight sells a decent oil pressure gauge, but you should be able to just rent / borrow one from a parts store. Oh, and the sender requires a special socket to remove / replace -- strangely enough they're called "oil pressure sender sockets"

And don't overtorque the sender when replacing -- the threading on that thing is weird, and I've actually heard of people cracking the head overtorqueing it.

BTW, I like to call the oil pressure light the "you're screwed" light, because by the time oil pressure is low enough to trigger the light...

jnb0111 · 07-08-2011, 11:26 AM

i'll check on borrowing a pressure tester from autozone or advance today. Will post back results.

JimBowNut · 07-08-2011, 11:42 AM

Are those balancer shafts just a waste of energy ? I was told that they take out the fine vibrations from the motor ? (Toyota Master Tech). Is it just a waste for what they do ?

agni · 07-08-2011, 12:51 PM

From what I understand, the balance shafts are there solely to reduce the vibration felt by the passengers, and do not affect the internal balance of the engine components.

curry.style · 07-08-2011, 01:48 PM

Balance shafts balance the motor...plain and simple. Inline four cylinder engines by design are horribly balanced and require some sort of additional balancing. I've seen people remove the balance shafts for horsepower gains on various applications with few ill effects as far as wear and tear. However, the car will have vibrations at idle in the passenger compartment without it.
As far as your oil problem, check for signs of leakage on the bottom backside of the timing cover. It is fairly common in my experience for the oil pump to block gaskets to leak. Out of 4 5SFE motors that I've seen they all needed it.
Hope this helps, good luck.

jnb0111 · 07-08-2011, 02:19 PM

ok, I checked. The back side of the valve cover gasket is kinda leaky. I didn't see anything anywhere else, at least from the topside of the engine. Since I just got the timing belt replaced, is it possible (probable)) that they would have cleaned any oil from the timing belt cover, or is that just not very likely?
i'm not very mechanical right now, although I AM going to school to be a mechanic, so this time next year I'd be confident in my abilities, but right now, dropping the oil pan kinda worries me. Mainly because this is my only car. If I had to, I could drive my gf's Cobalt, but... I'd rather not.
The autozone here doesnt' have a tool to check the oil pressure, so it's at an independent shop right now. The guy there said he'd check it over and let me know.