What the hell!! Where is this leak coming from??? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

PoR2GeEzCamry · 04-13-2005, 05:25 PM

My 89 camry 3sfe has 218,000 miles, and about a month ago its been leaking oil at a good rate. Theres a nice little puddle under the left side of the engine after a couple hours. I just had it checked out and they said they put it on the lift for 2 hours to see where its coming from, but they said it didnt leak!! then they parked it and when i got there, a nice little pudle had formed under the car as usual. They were surprised. Where can this be coming from? It leaks out under the left part of the engine near the oil pan. Anyone know what is causing this? Hopefully you guys can help. thanks

***Tercel GTS*** · 04-13-2005, 05:41 PM

At 218k it may be a rear main.

PoR2GeEzCamry · 04-13-2005, 07:38 PM

yea i thought so at first, but im not sure. Anyone got any ideas of what it could be? It seems to leak around the tranny area, and the oil pan area! Also, when they had it on the lift, the car was supossedly running, would this affect the oil leak? Would it only leak if the car is off?

***Tercel GTS*** · 04-13-2005, 08:17 PM

That's hard to say, watch for yourself and see if it leaks right after shutting off.

tightcamry129 · 04-13-2005, 08:35 PM

Maybe the "o" ring?

Loan Wolf Cam87 · 04-13-2005, 08:42 PM

Dude Im almost sure its the O-ring, I got a 87 cam and I have the same issue, maybe check the front tranny pump or it may be the upper seal of the oil pan

Tommy · 04-13-2005, 10:25 PM

I had the same problem, here's where it was leaking:

Rear Mail Seal
Head Gasket
Oil Pan
Intake Manifold
Valve Cover

At that rate, i was loosing .5qt a week, but the valve seals were shot too, so figure maybe half that was being burned off. And the car only had 140k.

Loan Wolf Cam87 · 04-14-2005, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevethecleric

I had the same problem, here's where it was leaking:

Rear Mail Seal
Head Gasket
Oil Pan
Intake Manifold
Valve Cover

At that rate, i was loosing .5qt a week, but the valve seals were shot too, so figure maybe half that was being burned off. And the car only had 140k.

if you dont mind me asking how much did that dent your pocket and what Gen was it??

TheMajesticking · 04-14-2005, 08:43 AM

My car has a oil leak too. I am too scared to see what the exact problem is so I just ignore it and add oil as needed. I think I will find out next week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loan Wolf Cam87

if you dont mind me asking how much did that dent your pocket and what Gen was it??

Good question.

88 LE · 04-14-2005, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoR2GeEzCamry

Theres a nice little puddle under the left side of the engine after a couple hours.

It seems to leak around the tranny area, and the oil pan area!

Left side of the engine meaning the side by the belts? Just wanted to make sure, cos some noob on here was refering to his engine when sitting in the drivers seat.

Front main seal: Lower left side (the side with belts) of the engine.

Rear main seal: Right side of the engine. Area between the block and tranny.

Oil pan gasket

Cam seal

Oil pump

boken · 04-14-2005, 09:28 AM

Lol ive got the same problem. I have no clue where the leak is coming from....i know when it started.I changed my oil and my washer fell off the nut when i was putting it back on to the oil pan, thats when the leak started and the next time I changed it i put the washer back on but to no avail....the leak still lives........... GRR

Pineapple · 04-14-2005, 10:37 AM

See if you got oil in disturbutor cap.

Tommy · 04-14-2005, 12:08 PM

oh yea, forgot about the cam seal...lol

As for the price to fix all this? I said screw it and bought a new engine. lol

To get everything fixed, the guy said a rough estimate would be thousands. I bought a JDM 3SFE and replaced it for about $600 total once it was all said and done, but i did the work myself.

PoR2GeEzCamry · 04-14-2005, 01:27 PM

yea this is the side with the belts lol. So 88le, it could be any one of those parts you suggested? How can u tell for sure? Is there anything i can check to verify where its coming from?

Pineapple, i will check the distributor cap to see if there oil in there. I think once a while ago this mechanic mentioned something about my distributor cap. If there is oil in there, what could be causing this? thanks guys

PoR2GeEzCamry · 04-14-2005, 05:15 PM

alright guys, i did a test to see if the car leaked oil when the car was on and off. I left the car off for an hour with cardboard under it, and a good sized area leaked from the oil pan area as usual. I turned the car on with the cardboard under again, but the car did not leak any oil when it was turned on. I took some pictures of the areas its leaking from:

As you can see, the bottom of the oil pan is drenched in oil. But upon investigation, its also leaking from an area behind the oil pan too. Its a piece connected to the suspension:

I popped the hood to see if i could see any areas that looked wet from oil, and i found that the black plastic cover on the side of the engine near the belts had some oil on it too:

Also, on the intake manifold, on the pipes that connect to the#1 #2 cylinders, theres is oil that looks to have leaked on it. I thought i would post these pics and see what you guys thought about what needs to be fixed. thanks guys