Smell of rubber on 1996 Camry

[bigmoe52]

I have a 1996 Camry LE 4 cyl. that is running rough. And it is missing. I have a leak in the oil pan. After driving it and shutting it off, I get the faint smell of rubber. What could be causing that? Could a bad plug cause that smell?
Or could it be the oil leak? I got an estimate of $387.00 to fix the oil leak but I am not able to do that right now. There are 225,000 miles on it. It has been a great car and would like to get some more miles out of it. Thank you for any answers or advice.

[Mike Gerber]

It is more likely the oil leak that is causing the smell. It may be leaking on a hot exhaust component and burning. Where is the oil leak coming from? Exactly what component was the $387 estimate going to fix/replace? I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money and then find out the missfire is from a bad valve, so I would deal with the missfire problem first. Most missfires are the result of bad ignition system components (but not always). How old are the spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, distributor rotor, and especially the coil inside the distributor? The coils on these cars can cause problems as they rack up lot's of miles on them. Is this the original coil? I would replace the ignition system components first. Once the missfire is corected, then move on to the oil leak.

Mike

[bigmoe52]

Thanks, Mike. I got the missing problem fixed with new plugs and plug wires.
The oil leak is coming from the oil pan. That $387.00 estimate was for fixing the oil leak on the oil pan. I have had my car in a number of times to fix oil leaks and it never seems to stop them. It is frustrating...and expensive. So oil may be leaking from another area also.
But it is possible the rubbery odor could be the oil leaking on a hot surface, like you said? That would be somewhat of a relief in that nothing else was wrong with it.
This may be a silly question but would a worn or aged timing belt cause the rubber smell?


Thanks.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by bigmoe52

Thanks, Mike. I got the missing problem fixed with new plugs and plug wires.
The oil leak is coming from the oil pan. That $387.00 estimate was for fixing the oil leak on the oil pan. I have had my car in a number of times to fix oil leaks and it never seems to stop them. It is frustrating...and expensive. So oil may be leaking from another area also.
But it is possible the rubbery odor could be the oil leaking on a hot surface, like you said? That would be somewhat of a relief in that nothing else was wrong with it.
This may be a silly question but would a worn or aged timing belt cause the rubber smell?


Thanks.

Glad the plugs and plug wires fixed the missfiring. That was a cheap fix, especially if you were able to do it yourself.

As for your question about the timing belt, no, a worn belt could lose a few cogs and jump timing, but then you would notice a huge loss of power from the engine, if it ran at all. The 2 other accessory belts could cause a burning rubber smell if they were quite loose and slipping a bit, or if one of the pulleys on the devices they turn were to lock up. You could just stick your head under there with the engine on (don't stick your hands in anything) and you would probably notice the source of something like that, if one of those belts were actually slipping. Another test you can do yourself with the engine off is to just press on each accessory belt at the center of it's furthest span. You should be able to deflect the belt about 1/2 inch, if it's tightened to the proper tension. More than 1/2 inch deflection means it's too loose.

Mike