Mechanic tells me I have major oil leak Options

[ritch1]

Hi, new to the forum, only just got a celica, its a 1994 GT, has done 88K miles

I took it to my garage for a service + check over this week and my mechanic informed me i have a major oil leek, said they they didnt have time to find out where it was coming from so i need to book it back in. he did say that it could be either coming from the gear box or engine as that whole area had oil around it.

im a bit worried to be honest, if it can be fixed i dont mind paying for it, but will it end there, and will they even find the leak. funny thing is i havent noticed any leaking on the ground but i smelled burning oil though.

the engine sounds fine and the car feels fine as well, really pleased with it appart from this leak, i had a feeling the seller was hiding something but i chose to trust on this occassion, probably could have knocked the price off a bit!

is a leak like that a bad sign that engine is on its way out, or would you say its a pretty standard thing with a celica of that age?

sorry if this is a well discussed topic, just looked for some advice on my specific situation

thanks for any pointers

[bindertch]

Most engines leak oil when they are up there in age. The easy way to help in finding the oil leak is to take your car down and pressure wash the engine bay making sure to get the under side and the bottom covers. Then check it regularly for telltell signs of where the leak is at. If it looks to be coming from the area of the rear of the engine near the transmission it will most likely be the rear main seal. It could also be the oil pan gasket which would be the easier fix. Good luck.

[jason]

my car has got 240k+ miles on it now, i had a few leaks here n there, ended up replacing the oil pressure sensor because that was leaking, axle seals were leaking as well, not very hard to do on these cars and diy not very expensive, dunno what a shop would charge, follow bindertch adv with washing it down if you can, otherwise just look for seemingly wet spots. as long as your car is not burning oil (bad valve seals - piston rings) it shouldnt be too much trouble to fix

[jdg371]

Tidy up the engine bay some.. Add a dye to your oil and wait a week. use a UV light to trace the dye. A leak can come from many different places.. oil pan, front or rear main seal, valve cover, dizzy, etc.

[ritch1]

thanks for the advice, ill try cleaning it and see what i can find. more worried that its a sign of a bigger problem

[56willysnut]

How big of puddle is under car after driving it? Put a clean large piece of cardboard under car see how much is dripping. A rear main seal leak requires at least trans removal for access. Most other seals are less problem to replace. Are you having to add oil between oil changes due to leak? How much? With 88K external leaks can happen, just be glad it's not burning oil and not dripping like mine was!