Head gasket on 95 Camry

I have a 1995 Camry (125K in miles) with a 4 cylinder engine. For the past year and half, I have been leaking oil (1 quart every 3000 miles). Last year, my mechanic has put dye in the oil to check for leaks, replaced the valve cover gasket, replaced the distributor O- ring, checked the oil sensor for leaks and tighten up the bolts on the oil pan. At that point, he gave up and said he couldn't find the leak.

Today a year later, he changed the oil and said the head gasket was leaking oil and needs replacing. He did not mention any signs of coolant in the oil or any signs of oil in the coolant.

My questions are:

1) What is the best way to determine that the head gasket is leaking? I believe that my mechanic is honest but the track record on this problem concerns me. I have spent a fair amount of money on the prior fixes with little improvement. I am trying to avoid spending $700 and still have my original problem. I will get a second opinion but would like some guidance on how to trouble shoot this problem.

2) Since this appears to be an external leak, is this something I can live with as long as I monitor the oil light?

Reply to
noname87
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When youre leaking oil like that in something that is 13 years old, its best to just get it all fixed in one swoop. When we had the 93 we found a place that dealt specifically with japanese cars, and they redid everything for a low cost.

Reply to
Mr4701

Why don't you give him a call or stop buy, and ask him why he thinks it's your head gasket.

Yes. Except it is not the engine oil light that you need to monitor (although, you do need to stop the car immediately and find out why it is on when it comes on).

The oil light tells you when the oil pressure is low. However, you may have low oil pressure before it even comes on. If this occurs over a period of time (low oil pressure, but not low enough for the oil light to come one), you may find that you're getting the new head gasket, along with lots of expensive engine work.

You need to keep the oil level in the crankcase up. To determine when to add oil, check the level often with the dipstick.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Duh you have a 13 year old high mileage Camry that the paint is likely starting to peal off, why not spend the money and upgrade to something with less milage? NADA list your 4cy '95 at around 4,200, a simular '98 at around 5,300 and a 2000 at around 6,400. Invest in mileage, not an old car, WBMA

Reply to
Mike hunt

Oil indecater lamp has nothing to do with oil volume. The light is held off by PSI, as low as 8 PSI, and will stay off as long a there is oil at the pickup tube. Low volume will however cause the engine to over heat

Reply to
Mike hunt

Not really. There is no indication that there is a problem with the bottom end of the motor. And we don't know if there is a problem with the head gasket.

However, I wonder if the mechanic said "valve cover gasket" instead of "head gasket" or he meant to.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Maybe at 125,000 miles one of your American made cars is ready for the junkheap, but a Toyota is generally just hitting it's stride.

I bet if the OP tightened up the oil pan, the leak would stop.

Reply to
Hachiroku

Okay, I guess I need to clarify.

The mechanic says that he detects oil with a UV light and no dye by the head gasket. So he believes it is the head gasket (definitely said head gasket. He already replaced the valve cover gasket). However, he also believed it was the valve cover gasket the last time. Before I drop $700+, I was hoping to get a better feel for how to determine that this is my problem.

As for monitoring the oil, I plan on checking the dip stick regularly to see how much oil is leaking and at what rate. Thanks for explaining about the oil light. I would never trust an idiot light.

As for why invest money in an old car? That is the ultimate decision I am trying to make. I do not consider a car to be disposable provided that is safe and reliable. When repair costs go up, I then start to evaluate the cost and hassles of maintaining an older car. This car has had little problems to date. In my case, I have two Camrys and was hoping to keep this one and replace the other when the time comes. I am hesitating on this repair for two reasons, 1) I am not convinced yet that this is the cause and 2) The repair is roughly 30% of the car's value. I am also concern about future costs. I am on the original muffler, the front bearings will need replacing in another

20K according to the mechanic, the struts are original, I have a slight vibration which might be caused by worn engine mounts, all the AC is original, etc.

As for the paint, it is in great shape except where the wife hit the garage. Can't blame Toyota for that.

Reply to
noname87

I don't find any reason to change the head gasket. It sounds like the only thing that is happening that engine is using about 1 qt of oil every 3000 mi. This is within normal limits. It sounds like the mechanic thinks it is a head gasket because he can't find a leak elsewhere.

It sounds to me that oil is leaking past the valve seals and around the piston rings, not past the head gaskets. This is normal and the amount is not a concern at all.

To me, it sounds like you're chasing what is a non-problem. Unless the engine isn't running well, the best thing to do is check your oil often, make sure it doesn't run low on oil, and enjoy the car.

It's your fault, you know. You should not warned her that the garage was close. ;-)

Are you sure that the garage didn't come out and hit her? Many people swear it happens.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Well.. we just assumed we best get it all changed out at once... since it was a 93...

Reply to
Mr4701

That's often true. For example, if you need a valve job on an engine, often, you find that you need new rings and bearings. However, the OP said that the car had only 125k mi., which is still not that many.

In a car with more miles that is going to be kept for the long run, that might be true, but with this car, just putting on a new head gasket (and inspecting the head and probably the cylinders) would be fine, if it needs a new head gasket.

So, yours certainly is a valid consideration, however.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

The car is leaking oil. It will leaves oil spots on the driveway and garage. The oil pan bolts were tighten. Is there a way to verify the head gasket is leaking?

Reply to
noname87

The car runs well. The only other issue is a slight vibration under acceleration below 40 mph. Very noticeable going up steep hills. I have replaced the front engine mount and the top stabilizer.

Reply to
noname87

And what did he mean by the paint peeling? I have an '86 Corolla with paint that looks new, despite all the exposure to Arizona sunlight. OTOH my Ford started peeling around the trunk after just four years.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

I don't understand. If the mechanic added dye and the oil hasn't been changed since then, why wasn't dye seen under UV light? Doesn't that indicate that none of the oil had leaked? Or does UV dye wear out?

Mike doesn't understand good paint because he worked for Frod.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

If there is a leak, there would be a trail of oil starting where the head and the cylinder block meet and leading down. However, this sort of leak is rare. Usually, the leak is into the cylinders, not oil leaking out of the engine.

I would put cardboard underneath the engine, and see if you can figure out where the oil is dripping down. And figure out where that oil is coming from after that.

I would check the color of the oil (if it is red, it is transmission fluid).

I could be wrong, but I am really skeptical that it is a head gasket.

I would also check the level of the brake fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, radiator fluid (if there is a head gasket leak, there could be a loss of radiator fluid) and windshield washer fluid (hey, you're there already, why not?). Any of these could be leaking (although radiator fluid and windshield washer fluid should not drip oil).

And before changing the head gasket, I would definitely get a second opinion. I don't think I would change the head gasket for a leak of 1 qt every 3000 miles.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Mike's a moron. It's quite clear.

Reply to
Gary L. Burnore

Several others have posted good advice about monitoring oil level with the dipstick and not the low oil pressure warning light.

There are several ways to check for a head gasket leak, but most of the time a head gasket leak involves other symptoms, like white steam in the exhaust from coolant getting into the combustion chamber, the oil taking on an milky appearance from coolant getting into the oil passages, or oil in the radiator and coolant overflow reservoir. To check for one of these conditions, a technician can do a compression check or use an exhaust gas sniffer in the radiator.

Head gasket leaks are not very common on 95 Camrys unless the engine has overheated, and since you do not have other leaking head gasket symptoms, I would check other areas first. At 125,000 miles, you should have recently had the timing belt replaced for the second time, or be thinking about getting it replaced. At that mileage, the camshaft seals and front crankshaft seals may be leaking, and they are easier to replace when replacing the timing belt. Remove the bolts at the top of the timing belt cover and see if you can sneak a look underneath at the camshaft seals for signs of leaks. Since your mechanic couldn't find the leak with the dye, the next logical step is to look for leaks where the dye would not be visible, like under the timing belt cover.

Reply to
Ray O

It's also entirely possible that it's just loose or misadjusted screws holding down the valve cover(s). My Cressida's valve cover screws work their way loose after a couple of months.

Reply to
Gary L. Burnore

Cressidas and Supras were notorious for this problem. Have you tried Loc-Tite?

Reply to
Ray O

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