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I bought an old 96 Camry with 2.2 last year as a winter beater. It only had 122K on it and owner had papers for timing belt being replaced at 90K. Too bad they did not change the seals when they changed the belt and water pump, including the oil pump O ring seal. I never would have suspected that would be a common problem with a Camry, but they do leak oil. There are 3 seals to be changed when you do that timing belt.....and it doesn't cost that much more to it while it's apart, so do it then or regret it later.
Not only that, but old Camry's leak power steering fluid too, which is another common problem I have read about the older Camry's. Fortunately I also read about using Lucas power steering stop leak fluid, it's much thicker than regular PS fluid, and seems to have slowed the leak down from a real serious one, to almost nothing. Now for the oil seals, I found a guy that will do it for $300 but I'm going to wait until it needs a new timing belt again at 180K if it will make it that far. It leaks about half a quart every 3000 miles.
Also discovered this past winter that my Camry gets the shivers when it's really cold. You can feel the vibration in the steering wheel when you start the car and put it in gear to back up, the whole car is kinda buzzy with noticeable vibration in the body. But when the temps are above 20 or 30, you don't notice it anymore. I suspect the motor mounts are weak, and the cold makes the rubber less flexible in the old mounts ? I kinda like the car, but I was not expecting all this from a Camry with 122k......it's only 17 years old.....lol.
mfford what did you pay for this? My 96 Corolla with 212k has had less issues than that my 03 Camry too low, only 73k. This thread reminded me I am pretty sure my waterpump or alterntor is gong bad fast high pitched hum and spin both have 90k on them.
The PS Fluid fix is not that hard if you have basic mechanical skills?Mine went bad sounding thumping and swapped it for highest grade synthetic and it sounds normal and turn great.
Colorado, I paid $2200 for it so I can't complain too much. Had to scrub hard to get all the grime off it when I bought it, has a small rust spot above rear wheel. I did not catch the power steering leak until I started it one day and heard a small whining sound as I drove it to the grocery store. Just as I pulled in the lot, I LOST power steering! It was empty so I ran over to a hardware store and bought some fluid to fill it up before driving it, then later sucked all that out and put Lucas in it. From then on, the pump makes a funny little groan noise for a split second when you first start it up, but otherwise steers just fine. Lucky I did not ruin the pump, but I realize it could fail sometime soon for letting it get low like that. The Camry has a nice interior, I enjoy driving it much more than a corolla or prism, and it came with a good radio CD that plays MP3 discs and has detachable face. Sounds nice, but the power antenna won't go up all the way. Previous owner also put in new front struts and new radiator, and new tires.
Everything else still works OK.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
929 posts, read 2,722,039 times
Reputation: 635
leaks
Quote:
Originally Posted by cab591
Older cars are more likely to leak oil, as the rubber gaskets start to decay. Basically, anywhere your engine can come apart, there's going to be a rubber gasket there. If you keep up with the maintenance, and replace the gaskets, there's less of a chance of a car leaking oil.
One of my cars is 21 years old, and doesn't leak a drop. I just did the valve cover gasket (which was starting to seep oil), and the oil pan drain plug O-ring a few weeks ago.
I think most older cars do leak. Just look on the ground in every parking space, any where.
Oil everywhere.
You can often find the source, as above, but in some cases, the repairs could exceed the value of the vehicle. Some Repair Shops will recommend the big leakers, or the one they can access, or want to fix.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
929 posts, read 2,722,039 times
Reputation: 635
Leaking
Quote:
Originally Posted by mofford
I bought an old 96 Camry with 2.2 last year as a winter beater. It only had 122K on it and owner had papers for timing belt being replaced at 90K. Too bad they did not change the seals when they changed the belt and water pump, including the oil pump O ring seal. I never would have suspected that would be a common problem with a Camry, but they do leak oil. There are 3 seals to be changed when you do that timing belt.....and it doesn't cost that much more to it while it's apart, so do it then or regret it later.
Not only that, but old Camry's leak power steering fluid too, which is another common problem I have read about the older Camry's. Fortunately I also read about using Lucas power steering stop leak fluid, it's much thicker than regular PS fluid, and seems to have slowed the leak down from a real serious one, to almost nothing. Now for the oil seals, I found a guy that will do it for $300 but I'm going to wait until it needs a new timing belt again at 180K if it will make it that far. It leaks about half a quart every 3000 miles.
Also discovered this past winter that my Camry gets the shivers when it's really cold. You can feel the vibration in the steering wheel when you start the car and put it in gear to back up, the whole car is kinda buzzy with noticeable vibration in the body. But when the temps are above 20 or 30, you don't notice it anymore. I suspect the motor mounts are weak, and the cold makes the rubber less flexible in the old mounts ? I kinda like the car, but I was not expecting all this from a Camry with 122k......it's only 17 years old.....lol.
Winter 2011-12, I brought my old 1991 Mercury Sable ( my mother in law bought it new) to the great white NE while I worked Temp. on a project. Great Winter Beater, but everything leaked.
Whatever fluid it had, leaked.
I simply topped everything off as needed. No worries. A local repair shop gave me an estimate of 3K to fix them all....no thanks not on this 2K car ( on a good day).
I sold the car and flew home. It was a good car, a good solid Florida Car, well the last time I saw it...
hi i have mitsu, Th Magna 1999, im just wondering why is my car leak a lil bit of oil underneath the engine, i just change my oil just like a month ago and i always do maintenance of my car pretty much every 2 or 3 weeks,but a soon as i change the oil thats when it starts leakin a bit of oil and i always check each one of the oil but it seems like everything is fine always between the min and max >? but why does it still leak tho eventho just a lil? is that normal coz i just change the engine oil or there is something wrong with it:?
My car was about 9 years old when it started to leak all the time. You gotta make sure you clean that stuff up right away or it could stain the whole garage! I go with a natural spill absorbent called SpillFix because I don’t like the way the dust in the clay stuff sticks to everything in my garage.
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leaks
