Expected bearing life in '90 Camry

No offense, but I don't consider a car with only 120k miles that has overheated due to a broken hose, has smoky exhaust, and has already been repainted to be "well cared for."

The hose broke because it wasn't inspected and replaced when it showed signs of aging.

The oily smoke on startup is probably from leaking valve stem seals. The valve stem seals are probably leaking because oil changes were neglected.

You may get all sorts of wild and uninformed responses to your question on the remaining life on the bearings (I'm assuming you are referring to crankshaft and connecting rod bearings). A shop can hook up an oil pressure gauge to get an idea if the bearings are worn, but the only way to tell for sure if the bearings are OK is to remove the oil pan and inspect the bearings. If there is a lot of babbit material (shiny metal particles) in the engine oil, then the bearings are probably shot but the absence of babbit in the oil does not mean they are good.

You mention that the car has a warped head or bad head gasket. Why do you think this? Does the engine oil look like a milk shake? Is there engine oil in the coolant reservoir? Are there leaks coming from the head gasket area?

A professional, trustworthy shop can evaluate the overall condition of the car (besides the cooling system and engine neglect, was the transaxle also neglected?) and determine if the engine is work repairing or if it is better to replace the engine or to look for another car.

Severe over_heat can be a long term 'head' problem ... =cartainly= not solved by a "goop" ?fix?.

*If* you see bubbles in the rad fill spout ... means a gasket blo_by ... wont get any better, will get worse.

'Stumble' mite be due to a leaky head gasket.

- worst case - I'd advise to pop the head, obtain an dealer OEM replacement head ... w/new valves & a 'flat' surface. Not all the bad , from the dealer.

Having local mech do the 'work' can be chancy ... besides, hes gotta 'sub' the head out for mach_shop 'surfacing' .

Most 4_cyl Cams 'smoke' upon start, simply the nature of the aging beast. Monitor the oil consumption for a while. My 94 'smokes' randomly, 200k miles, no intent to part with it, =or= do a valve job. Gets an =honest= 30++ mpg at 70++.

Dealer OEM replacemnt heads aughta be available ... inquire.

Unless she has lo_end bbg problems ...

500 miles per qt of oil ( rings ) ... '1000' isnt all that bad. ?why? a junkyard engine. Nah. A crap shoot.

Start worrying at '300k' miles ... the 90s I_4 was a Japanese built engine ... extra gooder_er.

Me?? I use the Camry for the 'trips' , put the cost_avoidance into a repair kitty.

Ed

Call the wrecking yard and get your highest quote. Youre not really thinking for spending $3000 or more to fix a car is that is not worth $3000 after the repairs are done.

I guess I included too little info in my original messsage: Here's more.

The car came to San Diego after ten years in Texas where it sat outside during her working / shopping hours, it's been garaged most of the time since it got here. It was in a garage or shade when at home in Texas most of the time.

Successful son selected good mechanic for her, who has done the maintenance. He calls when work is due. The only work I have done, due to limits mentioned earlier, has been to change an alternator and similiar simple/clean/quiet tasks. Son recommends that she get a new car; he would probably pay for it and other successful son would chip in, as would I. I have shown her tapes of car crash testing of old vs new cars. That is not so impressive easy from someone who drives a firty year old car. Mechanic has told her to get a new car, but that may have been at the urging of son(s).

Car was repainted due to minor scrapes on fenders. Car is metalic and I didn't trust paint matching in a few years if only RF and RR panels done.

I had a (low mileage from Japanese junkyard) engine & tranny put in my Corolla / Prizm for $2000, with 5k (IIRC) warrantee.

The water hose was a heater hose under / behind engine. Perhaps it wasn't checked.

I was considering Plastigage to check bearings, as I am not familiar with these engines nor do I know anyone here who I would trust.

When I've cheked it, the oil has looked good.

With that added info, any other guidance to offer?

Karl

I would be hesitant to advise anyone to spend more than $1,000 on a 16 year old car unless it is a collector car unless there is not way the owner can afford a replacement vehicle. Since the owner has people who care a lot about her safety and are willing to put their money where their mouths are, I would recommend a newer, safer vehicle.

Plastigage is the correct way to check the bearings but of course, that requires dropping the pan and bearing caps. Assuming that you are not getting lower end knocking, then before dropping the oil pan I would just hook up an oil pressure gauge in the oil sender port and check oil pressure at idle. If oil pressure is sufficient and there is no babbit material in the oil, then the bearings are probably OK.

You didn't mention whether the car is a 4 or 6 cylinder, but if it is a V6, repairing both heads will be expensive.