Help!! Oil Puddle Under Engine

[Structureboy]

After coming back from christmas vacation found that while I was gone my camry had oozed out quite a bit of engine oil (to the right of the passenger's side wheel). Went ahead anyway and drove to school with the car and found that the car is continuing to leak oil beneath the car, regardless if the engine is on or not.
I checked the hayne's manual for troubleshooting on the subject of oil puddles and it says:
1) oil pan gasket and/or oil pan drain bolt washer is leaking
2) oil pressure sending unit leaking
3) cyliinder head covers leaking
4) engine oil seals leakiing
5) oil pump housing leaking

I really have no idea what the heck these above-mentioned parts are.
Never encountered this kind of problem before, and am not sure what to do. I had my last oil change during the first week of novemeber, so I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with that. Oil is leaking out, no metal bits or anything in it- just smooth oil. Checked to see how much engine oil was left- and the marker still shows a good middle-line between E and F points.And the engine runs just as fine as it used to before this problem.

I hope it's not an expensive problem to solve, but the way the manual states it espeically #3 and #4 sound kinda scary scenarios. Anyone who may have had experience with this kinda problem or know what might be a probable cause- I'm willing to look over anything before going to the dealers. Any help is definitely appreciated.
Thanks.

[Ken4]

Are you quite sure it's engine oil & not ATF?

You really need to get under your car to see where the leak is coming from. Once you've found where it's leaking, your Haynes Manual should help you identify the part.

And remember, you need proper jackstands or ramps before your crawl under your car.

[Structureboy]

Hmm...I'm pretty positive that its engile oil that's coming from my engine. I checked my automatic transaxle fluid just in case for color- it's red as it should be. And the puddle is brown, like oil.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to get under my car- no jackstands. So, I was kinda hoping that there was a sure-shot way of knowing right away what the problem was.

Appreciate the help.

[Phi]

You mentioned you recently did an oil change. Check to make sure the drain plug is tight and the threads aren't crossed/stripped also check to see if the washer is still good. Secondly, make sure the filter is on tight. Check this when the engine is cold.

If it's not any of the above, you're gonna have to look under the car and try and trace the source of the leak. Look for wet, oil saturated areas where the oil might be coming from.

[Nick]

flashlight. check for the highest point where there's oil, that's your seal that's leaking, might be as easy as a drain plug, might be something much more expensive..

if your engine is too dirty then get a couple cans of degreaser and go to town, wait a few days/weeks depending on the severity of the problem. then try again

welcome to the crew that carries a 4L of oil in the trunk for filling between oil changes

[Structureboy]

Thanks Phi and Oldman for the prompt responses.

Checked the car this morning, on the hunch that the last time I had my oil change the serviceman at the toyota dealer may have stripped the threads on the drain plug or the drain plug washer is getting a lil' loose. I tightened the oil filter- it was tight as could be. The car is continuing to leak mad oil drops- yet, my level of engine oil still doesn't show the effects of it. I tried to get under the car and examine just exactly where, pinpoint, the problem. it looks like it's related to the drain plug problem. All the oil was coming out of one specific point, and it was located around the area of the oil tank. I wasn't able to fully get a good look at it, but I'm pretty sure it looks like its either the washer that's hte problem or there's some stripped threads on the plug area.

It looks like the worst case scenario is the drain plug threads are stripped- but maybe I can go to the dealer and tell them that they're responsible for this b/c their mechanic was the last one to work with the drain plug.<-- don't think they'll buy it though. Still, I find it kinda strange that it hasn't started leaking till now (and my oil change was like...november).


There's also something else. This morning while inspecting this fishy oil problem, I also went ahead and examined all my other fluids and components. it seems there's something wrong with my coolant. As I had just filled the coolant up full before driving back to school, and now the damn thing is dry. It's 100 miles back, and even though its cold weather the coolant should still be there. I checked all evident hoses I could get my hands on, radiator cap- see no external problems. Was wondering, if there's anything else it might be. anything else I should check?

Appreciate the help.

[Silver Streak]

Originally Posted by Structureboy

There's also something else. This morning while inspecting this fishy oil problem, I also went ahead and examined all my other fluids and components. it seems there's something wrong with my coolant. As I had just filled the coolant up full before driving back to school, and now the damn thing is dry. It's 100 miles back, and even though its cold weather the coolant should still be there. I checked all evident hoses I could get my hands on, radiator cap- see no external problems. Was wondering, if there's anything else it might be. anything else I should check?
Appreciate the help.

How do you know it's low? Just from the resevoir or from popping the rad cap? Does the temp gauge show a different reading than normal?

[Ken4]

If there's no sign of coolant leak on the ground, your engine could have the proverbial 'Blown Gasket'. Check for white smoke coming out of the exhaust, have an assistant rev the engine. Check your dipstick oil to see if it's contaminated with coolant (milky).

[Structureboy]

Again, really appreciate the help and suggestions guys.

Silver Streak- I checked the coolant reservoir, and what puzzled me about it was that it was bone dry. I know that sometimes the level of coolant sometimes can fluctuate depending on whether the engine is on or not, but I thought this was kinda riduculous- cuz it was showing nothing was in there. And I had added a fair amount of coolant before I left. I checked the radiator cap in addition as well, and I guess what I tried looking for was signs of rusty color in the coolant. But the coolant mixture looked fine.
Can't comment about the temperature gauge- but it seems normal when I'm driving the car.

Ken4- I'll check the white smoke outta the exhaust in the morning.
The oil dipstick doesn't have the milky color, it's just plain ol' brown color.
As for coolant leak- haven't seen anything of the sort. I'm wondering though, could the coolant have evaporated. And is there a way of telling just by driving the car if coolant is getting to the engine or not? Just b/c engine temperature when I drive the car seems normal.

I'm thinking it might be a hose that's causing the coolant problem, but I couldn't find any warped, cracked, etc. problems to any hoses I could see.
Is there any kind of test I can do to find out what is causing this coolant problem?

Again, appreciate the help.

[Ken4]

Suggest you do an oil analysis to see if there's really coolant in the oil.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/terry.html

[Phi]

Originally Posted by Structureboy

It looks like the worst case scenario is the drain plug threads are stripped- but maybe I can go to the dealer and tell them that they're responsible for this b/c their mechanic was the last one to work with the drain plug.<-- don't think they'll buy it though. Still, I find it kinda strange that it hasn't started leaking till now (and my oil change was like...november).

If this turns out to be the problem and the dealer gives you some BS and tells you that you need a new oil pan...tell the to eat poo. They tried to pull this on my dad once. All he did was take it to our regular mechanic and have a new hole tapped for $20.

[Structureboy]

[update]
turns out the coolant problem was because of a bad water pump. something like the internals were messed up- so, a costly repair...
and that's why none of my coolant was getting to the radiator. and the coolant was leaking out, cuz of a bad water pump.

[Silver Streak]

Originally Posted by Structureboy

[update]
turns out the coolant problem was because of a bad water pump. something like the internals were messed up- so, a costly repair...
and that's why none of my coolant was getting to the radiator. and the coolant was leaking out, cuz of a bad water pump.

That sucks...get your timing belt changed as well, if you haven't already in the recent years.