Oil leak problem with 1996 toyota camry

Lots of Camrys do this.

The oil will typically leak from the rear main bearing seal between engine and transmission, but that will appear at the bottom of the joint line, and will not reach the exhaust. This leak is expensive to fix and is usually left as is.

A leak from the cam cover gasket can drip into the exhaust.

The other typical leak is from the distributor shaft o-ring seal. This appears at the top of the join line between engine and trans, and can blow back onto the exhaust.

You don't say what engine it has. The 4-cyl was a better than the V6 for oil leaks.

The V6 had oil leaks from

-rear bank cam cover gasket

-distributor o-ring seal

-oil filter bracket o-ring seal

-crankshaft nose oil seal (less common)

-rear main bearing oil seal (expensive, just leave it)

The 4 cyl leaked oil from

-distributor o-ring seal

-camshaft cover gasket

-rear main bearing seal (expensive, leave it)

There are two seals, the crankshaft seal and the camshaft seal. I would change both while i had it tore down that far.

The timing cover itself does not seal any oil from leaking. It is just a cover to prevent debris from getting into the timing belt and ruining it.

To find the oil leak you will need to remove the timing cover and inspect the seals behind the cam gear, crank gear, and oil pump drive gear, and the oil pump to block seal. The most common leaks on these are the cam gear.

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

Sounds like a slight leak on the cylinder head gasket or timing gear seals. Remove the timing cover plate to give you a better view of the problem. If its something like the heads, then get a professional to do it. If its in the timing section, you can do it yourself with the help of a Hanes or Chiltons manual for your car. Check the oil pan. That one is common on camrys.

Ok you have to disassemble the front of the engine, remove time belt, remove crankshaft sprocket, I warn you in these engines often is the oil leak by the seal of the oil pump, so I recommend you change the seal the pump and the camshaft and thus warrant you. Thanks good luck comments

Hi,

That engine will leak oil from

- cam cover gaskets (rear one drips on the exhaust)
- camshaft end seals
- distributor shaft o-ring (appears on top of transaxle housing)
- oil filter bracket to block o-ring seal (drips on front bank exhaust)
- crankshaft nose oil seal (have done with timing belt change)
- rear main seal (expensive, leave it be)

Do you have any evidence of oil leaks?

These engines are notorious for leaking oil, both the V6 and the 4 cylinder.

On the V6 the rear valve cover gasket and cam seals are both regular leaks, and typically last about 60k miles each before leaking again.

On 4 cylinders the distributor o-ring or distributor plug for DIS models is a heavy leaker as well.

I understand you have a lot of new parts, but some of these things are known to fail on installation when done by someone not extensively familiar with the product. If you need further assistance, please ask and I will do by best to assist you.

Thanks for using Fixya

More than likely it would be the front seals, oil pump front shaft seal and gasket ( "o" ring), Cam seal, crank seal one of those. Have to remove timing belt in order to change these seals. I would change out all the seals and put a new timing belt on it. Depending on how many miles you have on your car I would consider a water pump as well because the timing belt also needs to be removed to replace this part. In other words... Costly repair, but instead of replacing the seals and solving the leak and then 2 weeks later the timing belt snaps, then you just paid twice for the labor. Check oil pan gasket first b4 you spend money on seals.

i would first check the timing and if that does not fit i would take the cover back off and look at the belt for a bad or missing tooth