Oil pan gasket leaking or...?

[LeakySeals]

An oil leak has appeared on my 02 I4 Camry recently. Looks like the oil pan gasket but googling some say its the timing chain or pump seal up above. Wondering if anyone has experienced this. Looks like replacement will be tough, 2 of the pan screws are hidden behind sub frame.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Try to tighten the screws/bolts a little, some of the screws/bolts may get loose after thousands of miles.

 

[mrcoolguy]

Go under and clean it up. Drive it the next day and try to trace where the oil is coming from. Check the back of valve covers for leaks. The passenger side are very prone to leak ( ask me how I know, I have two cars with this engine and they both leaked out of the valve covers)

 

[spag1]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
An oil leak has appeared on my 02 I4 Camry recently. Looks like the oil pan gasket but googling some say its the timing chain or pump seal up above. Wondering if anyone has experienced this. Looks like replacement will be tough, 2 of the pan screws are hidden behind sub frame.

I work as a mechanic, and here is a suggestion. Go out and buy a fluorescent black light, and some UV dye from the auto parts store. Drive to a car wash that has self serve lanes and spray that crud off. Dump the dye in the crank case. Drive for a bit then check for leaks with black light. This is what I do.

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Try to tighten the screws/bolts a little, some of the screws/bolts may get loose after thousands of miles.


this is true...i looked under my car at about 115k miles and saw that there were 2 missing oil pan bolts and half the remaining ones were loose! quickly bought more nuts and retorqued them back down. Oddly, oil pan was dry as can be.

 

[mechtech2]

Or, clean it off and dust talcum powder, baby powder spray, or even flour at the suspected areas.
Check it often , not after a week.