Oil leak from hell - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Rogue10186 · 07-01-2006, 09:45 PM

Hi all,

I recently replaced my valve cover gasket, and oil pan gasket this weekend trying to fix a nasty oil leak that's been plagueing my '91 Camry LE 3s-fe since I bought the car. Unfortunately it's still leaking, and im almost positive it's not from those gaskets.

The oil is mainly showing up under the rear passenger side of the engine. It seems to leak down to the oil pan then to the ground, and onto the passenger side cv joint then to ther ground. However, there seems to be a small amount pooling on the top of the transmission under the throtle body could this be from the distributor O-ring?

After looking through my haynes manual I think the main leak could be comming from either the oil seal on the camshaft or crankshaft for the timming belt. However, are there any other places it could come from?

How difficult would it be for me to replace the timming belt, whatever seals are messed up, and the water pump (might as well while im down there) myself? I am fairly mechanically inclined, as I have done all the work on my car so far, however this was mainly just changing out gaskets. Also how long would it take to do?

Finally, I can get a warranty for the car, but I'm fairly skeptical about that because I dont trust the shop that would be doing the work. But how much would this cost for a shop job when the average rate/hour in my area is $65/hr

thanks!

Rogue10186 · 07-02-2006, 12:35 AM

Oh, I almost forgot, I just noticed that when I decelerate with the breaks from the 35-40mph range to around 20-25mph the tachometer seems to feather as almost as if it didnt know what gear it should be in. It still decelerates, but it just feels wierd.

Could this be because my automatic transmission is getting worn out, or could it be from the throttle cable/cruise control cable sticking, or could it be because I didnt reset the idle properly after reconection the battery earlier today?

Speaking of which, what do I need to do to reset the idle program of the car?

/Sorry if these seem like newbie questions, but I've tried searching, and what I've found doesnt really answer my questions all the way.

Tom 2000 · 07-02-2006, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue10186

Hi all,

The oil is mainly showing up under the rear passenger side of the engine. It seems to leak down to the oil pan then to the ground, and onto the passenger side cv joint then to ther ground. However, there seems to be a small amount pooling on the top of the transmission under the throtle body could this be from the distributor O-ring?

How difficult would it be for me to replace the timming belt, whatever seals are messed up, and the water pump (might as well while im down there) myself? I am fairly mechanically inclined, as I have done all the work on my car so far, however this was mainly just changing out gaskets. Also how long would it take to do?

thanks!

I had a gen2 with the 3S-FE engine and had oil leaks also.

I had an oil leak around the distributor O-ring. Changed that, but still kept leaking. I changed it again and still leaked. Then I realized that the oil was leaking through the distributor as it was so worn. I bought a used distributor in good condition and that took care of it.

However, one oil leak remained. The engine was leaking oil from the head gasket on the backside of the engine. I knew that was going to be expensive. Since the car still ran fine, I just kept adding oil as needed and eventually sold the car.

The front end of the motor isn't that hard to work on (timing belt, water pump, cam/crank seals). If you are fairly mechanically inclined, go for it.

fredk · 07-02-2006, 01:02 PM

its the oil pump gasket ring, both mine leak from there, get the oil pump ring and cover gasket from yota and gitterdone

Tommy · 07-02-2006, 01:35 PM

3SFE is infamous for oil leaks. Front passanger side of the engine is the crack seal.

Timing belt on a 3SFE is a pain in the ass, but not terrible. youll have to remove all that crap to get to the crank seal so you might as well change the belt, pulley, water pump and the seals over there. DIY and its not too bad, just time consuming and frustrating cause its cramped over there. Not an expensive fix either.

Rogue10186 · 07-02-2006, 11:57 PM

Ah it makes sense now, yea, it seems like the oil pump is the thing thats leaking. Well I'll look into either fixing that myself, or possibly getting the warranty my dealer is offering me and getting a shop to do it. However, I'd need to find a shop that the warranty would cover

. I'm going to have to look into all of that in the morning.

Any ideas on what I should replace while I'm down there working on the oil pump? I figure timming belt, camshaft oil seal, crankshaft oil seal, and water pump should be right? What would the part numbers be for those parts that I need?

Thanks all!

Rogue10186 · 07-03-2006, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgmomni

you should do the 2 pulleys that are under the time belt cover also.

pete

hmm, according to the haynes manual I need to remove the oil pan to take the oil pump out... will I have to do this since I just need to replace the seal on it?

kbox · 07-03-2006, 01:48 PM

We just introduced a kit last week which will repair the internal oil seal on the 3SFE distributors.

http://www.kbox.ca/catalog/product_i...products_id=71

88camrykid · 07-03-2006, 05:32 PM

i had a oil leak that was really bad. all leaked out to the back of the engine and caused the motor to mess up the internals. so i ended up finding a used engine to replace that one.

Rogue10186 · 07-03-2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbox

We just introduced a kit last week which will repair the internal oil seal on the 3SFE distributors.

http://www.kbox.ca/catalog/product_i...products_id=71

Is that the same stuff that comes from toyota? I ordered the gaskets for the distributor from toyota just earlier today.

However, Any advise on getting the crankshaft bolt off? I've read that I can either jam the flywheel or jam my socket wrench against the floor or something and crank it; which one is better?

Also, any clues on changing out the oil pump gaskets with out removing the oil pan? It was a bit of a pain to do it last time, I hope I dont have to do it again...

***toyomoho*** · 07-03-2006, 10:05 PM

An impact wrench will do the job. Or screw in a couple of bolts into the pulley (where the puller goes). Then wedge a bar between the bolts and the floor or frame.

Rogue10186 · 07-03-2006, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyomoho

An impact wrench will do the job. Or screw in a couple of bolts into the pulley (where the puller goes). Then wedge a bar between the bolts and the floor or frame.

Ahh, the screws and wedge idea sounds good, now to find a bar lol... Off to home depot.

So no one knows if I can fix the oil pump gaskets and seals without dropping the pan?

Rogue10186 · 07-04-2006, 11:50 PM

Bumb....

Nobody knows if I can fix the oil pump gaskets without removing the oil pan?

Well looks like i'll have to dinf out myself

Looks like im going to fix the leak comming from the distributor thrusday, and start the timming belt stuff friday.... work permitting... oh dear god...

Wish me luck

Tom 2000 · 07-05-2006, 07:05 AM

I wish you guys were around 4 years ago when I changed out my distributor!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbox

We just introduced a kit last week which will repair the internal oil seal on the 3SFE distributors.

http://www.kbox.ca/catalog/product_i...products_id=71

Doctor J · 07-05-2006, 10:07 AM

If you are only need to change the oil pump rubber gasket between the halfs, the pump hub can be removed without dropping the pan, but offset 10 mm box wrench is needed. Distributor kit is cool, but the pin in the shaft is really next to impossible to be pressed out.