Oil Leakage From rear main seal

[JB_camry97]

I have Camry 1997 with 135K on it. My engine oil is leaking through rear mail seal. which connects transmission to engine.

around 2000 miles my engine oil get fully drawn no oil is left in the engine

My mechanic gave $400 quote to change it. I am not planning to spend that much for now.

I was wondering as oil leaking can I keep adding regulary in my engine just to save some money... Is it safe as far as I make sure there is sufficiant oil in my engine? I can add a quart after every 500 miles on it?

Please advice me...

[Mike Gerber]

Yes it is safe as long as you keep topping off the oil. I wouldn't let the engine get more than 1 quart low before adding another quart. Be aware the leaking will get worse. You will have to change that seal sooner or later. Incidently, $400 is a good price for replacing a rear main seal, as the engine and transmission have to be removed from the car to do this.

MIke

[JB_camry97]

Thanks Mike

[AlmightyCamry777]

mikes right either the engine or transmission got to come out. 135000 miles is not a lot of miles, if the car is otherwise sound $400 is reasonable to fix this.
Pulling the trans is sometimes the easier of the two because you do not have to haul the trans all the way out of the car in many instances, People often use a steel bar and chain braced across the engine compartment to support it after they have unbolted it (and there are posts from people who have done that, on this forum.) And just push the engine and trans apart to give yourself enough room to change the seal, you only need about a foot or less clearance to pry it out and change it.

Complications are that the cv drive axles must come out to take the trans out. (I'd change the driveaxles while they were out if they've never been done, that would be less then $200 more - but of course you don't have to change them if they don't need it.)

Like i said if the car is otherwise sound, you can go ahead and just keep driving it and hope the seal doesn't give up totally, until you can fix it or get rid of the car. Summertime is coming so i'd use 30w oil or 20w50 to slow the leak a little bit possibly. I have driven several cars that needed a quart of oil at every tank of gas and often drove them for years like that. This oil leak is really no big deal at the moment, except if you are hardcore green environmental advocate or one of those type of global warming people with more money and time on their hands then me.

[JB_camry97]

Thanks For such a nice explanation !! Just to update my knowledge, I have some more questions as now I have decided to look for my Camry on my own .. Simply I do not want to trust my mechanic 100%


1) I have right now 5W30 engine oil in my Camry. Which is recommended my Toyota. My engine oil is leaking and as summer is coming what if I am start adding 10W30 or 15W40 Engine oil?

Basically i want to know if I can mix two types of engine oil or not?

2) I saw today in Costco Delo brand SAE 15W40 engine oil but nobody over there was auto specialist, Can you suggest weather that brand is good for Camry or not? It was writter gasoline or diesel engine use on that box. I found Mobil 10W30 quite expensive

Does anyone of you geeks have idea about this and can give suggestions?

[Mike Gerber]

Yes you can go to a thicker oil in the warmer weather. I would try a 10W-40 oil. Whatever oil you choose, just make sure it is designed for gasoline engines, not exclusively for diesel engines. You can also try one of the engine oil stop leaks on the market, but I am not sure what results you will get with a leaky rear main seal. Like I said in my original post, eventually it will have to be replaced. How much extra money you spend on extra oil in the mean time just adds to the overall cost of eventually replacing the rear main seal, IMHO.

Good luck.

Mike

[JB_camry97]

Mike, Thanks Again !!

[AlmightyCamry777]

Originally Posted by JB_camry97

Thanks For such a nice explanation !! Just to update my knowledge, I have some more questions as now I have decided to look for my Camry on my own .. Simply I do not want to trust my mechanic 100%


1) I have right now 5W30 engine oil in my Camry. Which is recommended my Toyota. My engine oil is leaking and as summer is coming what if I am start adding 10W30 or 15W40 Engine oil?

Basically i want to know if I can mix two types of engine oil or not?

2) I saw today in Costco Delo brand SAE 15W40 engine oil but nobody over there was auto specialist, Can you suggest weather that brand is good for Camry or not? It was writter gasoline or diesel engine use on that box. I found Mobil 10W30 quite expensive

Does anyone of you geeks have idea about this and can give suggestions?

Mike is right, you can mix both types. They are almost always compatibile (thank the US military for that - they have to be compatibile to meet milspec - imagine some US soldiers in the middle of a fire fight and have the engine conk out on his hummvee, because mobil oil gells up when mixed with chevron-)

Question 2, the answer to that is read the API/SAE rating on the bottle or the case box. Costco does not make oil, of course, they buy it from someone who does. So how do you know the oil will work, you look for the API/SAE rating letters in the circle- Your owners manual will tell you the MINIMUM rating, using a newer or higher rating will not hurt the engine but an older one MIGHT (i have seen cheap, off brand motor oil for sale in the grocery store with an API rating so low, it was fit for a lawnmower or a door hinge but nothing else!)

The current ratings are SM, SL, and SJ, your owners manual tells you the minimum rating you can use.

[JB_camry97]

Thanks to both of you guys... I am looking forward to change rear main seal ASAP, May be in next couple of weeks.