Oil Leak, Possible Head Gasket Problem Options

[bobh]

Hi Folks, Hello to Everyone on the forum,
I,m A newcomer,and last week bought a 1993 Celica 2.0l GT,which by the way is superb in Black,A few jobs need doing but my main concern is,there is a oil leak on the front right of the engine,it starts lower down from the rocker cover gasket,looks like from the head gasket I,ve been told,there is no water in the oil and no oil in the water and yet the oil leak was put on the advisory note on its last MOT which was last September 5000 miles ago,the engine otherwise is running quiet ,no rattles or knocks ,it has done 123.000 and the cambelt was changed at 116.000,Can anybody tell me if this is a head gasket replacement and can anybody tell me what the average cost of doing it would be,I,m not a mechanic
Best Regards to you all
bobh

This post has been edited by bobh: Jun 11, 2011 - 4:56 AM

[CoreyST]

If you could get pictures it helps us figure it out.

[RabidTRD]

Most cases on older Celica's - they leak out of the front end. All the seals; camshaft, crankshaft, oil pump, water pump, start leaking. The distributor seal leaks, the valve cover leaks, the oil pan leaks. Welcome to owning an old toyota. Once you replace all of those though, you will probably never have a leak again.

My '94 leaked from all of these. I've got the front end done, valve cover done and now I'm working on the distributor seal and oil pan gasket/new oil pan.

[bobh]

If you could get pictures it helps us figure it out.

Hi,Thanks for that,I,ll try with my phone thats all I,ve got at the moment
Regards
bobh

[m4dm4n]

Put your car up on ramps front first, engage the handbrake and stick a brick under the rear wheels (or up on a mate's car hoist if you know someone with one of these). Best to start with a cool engine (i'll explain soon). Get underneath the front of the car and remove the plastic tray if you still have one of these bolted underneath. Wear eye protection. Clean as much oil and oily sludge from your engine bay as you can, start from the top, finish from the underside.

The engine should be cool before proceeding. Once it's clean, try to dab away as much cleaning fluids as you can then take it off the hoist or back it off the ramps and switch off the engine. If possible (and if your garage floor is anything like my last one was) slide a sheet or cardboard or lay a reasonably clean towel sized rag underneath the front end, flat. Wait 10-15 mins. Pull out your cardboard sheet/ old towel and look for any fresh oil, taking note of where it would have fallen from in relation to your engine. If there's oil, hoist it up again (or drive it back onto the ramps)... you should be able to find your leak(s).

If there was no oil, start the engine and let the engine idle for 10 mins or if you want take it for a drive... some leaks might not show themselves for hours or days. If you see oil after it had been cool then idling for a few minutes, it could well be the oil pump gasket. You should be able to hoist it up and find it if there was oil at this point, otherwise check again in a day or two for fresh oil deposits in the engine bay.

I had a leak I just couldn't find that was bothering me for weeks. Had the car up on a hoist cleaning it, then it sat with the engine off while we talked crap in the shop. Started the engine, talked more crap then noticed the puddle of oil as I backed out of the garage. Turned out to be oil pump and valve cover gaskets, and a loose valve cover (didn't know they become loose after a while???). Needless to say, we replaced the oil pump/gasket, water pump/gasket, valve cover gasket and timing belt while we were at it.

[bobh]

Put your car up on ramps front first, engage the handbrake and stick a brick under the rear wheels (or up on a mate's car hoist if you know someone with one of these). Best to start with a cool engine (i'll explain soon). Get underneath the front of the car and remove the plastic tray if you still have one of these bolted underneath. Wear eye protection. Clean as much oil and oily sludge from your engine bay as you can, start from the top, finish from the underside.

The engine should be cool before proceeding. Once it's clean, try to dab away as much cleaning fluids as you can then take it off the hoist or back it off the ramps and switch off the engine. If possible (and if your garage floor is anything like my last one was) slide a sheet or cardboard or lay a reasonably clean towel sized rag underneath the front end, flat. Wait 10-15 mins. Pull out your cardboard sheet/ old towel and look for any fresh oil, taking note of where it would have fallen from in relation to your engine. If there's oil, hoist it up again (or drive it back onto the ramps)... you should be able to find your leak(s).

If there was no oil, start the engine and let the engine idle for 10 mins or if you want take it for a drive... some leaks might not show themselves for hours or days. If you see oil after it had been cool then idling for a few minutes, it could well be the oil pump gasket. You should be able to hoist it up and find it if there was oil at this point, otherwise check again in a day or two for fresh oil deposits in the engine bay.

I had a leak I just couldn't find that was bothering me for weeks. Had the car up on a hoist cleaning it, then it sat with the engine off while we talked crap in the shop. Started the engine, talked more crap then noticed the puddle of oil as I backed out of the garage. Turned out to be oil pump and valve cover gaskets, and a loose valve cover (didn't know they become loose after a while???). Needless to say, we replaced the oil pump/gasket, water pump/gasket, valve cover gasket and timing belt while we were at it.
Hi, Thanks for the reply,the oil appears to be running down the front right of the engine,starting by the head gasket,not above it,as I had hoped,being the rocker cover gasket.but I have never known a head gasket just lek oil externally
Regards
bobh

[m4dm4n]

If your engine bay/engine isn't clean externally then cleaning it and removing all the oily sludge would very likely help you locate where the leak is coming from... You could always just go ahead and start replacing seals/gaskets but this could get expensive

[bobh]

If your engine bay/engine isn't clean externally then cleaning it and removing all the oily sludge would very likely help you locate where the leak is coming from... You could always just go ahead and start replacing seals/gaskets but this could get expensive

Hi,I ,ve been quoted £500 to replace the head gasket is this about right you think
Regards
bobh

[m4dm4n]

I'd find out first how they are quoting you... ie parts and labour; how much for the part and what the per hour charge is for labour. Sounds steep to me, just going off what others have paid for the same job locally and doing the currency conversion. It's a pretty big job tho and I don't know what mechanics typically charge in the UK...

[bobh]

I'd find out first how they are quoting you... ie parts and labour; how much for the part and what the per hour charge is for labour. Sounds steep to me, just going off what others have paid for the same job locally and doing the currency conversion. It's a pretty big job tho and I don't know what mechanics typically charge in the UK...
Hi, I think parts are around £120 + labour charge.
Regards
bobh

[m4dm4n]

Sounds pretty close to what the going rate is here - wouldn't hurt to shop around. If the mechanic has a good reputation and you're happy to pay that, then go ahead. There's no point going to a place that will do it for say £400 in total if they aren't great - personally I'd rather pay more for a mechanic with a good reputation than pay less for a crappy job, only to have to do it all again in 3 months time.

[bobh]

Sounds pretty close to what the going rate is here - wouldn't hurt to shop around. If the mechanic has a good reputation and you're happy to pay that, then go ahead. There's no point going to a place that will do it for say £400 in total if they aren't great - personally I'd rather pay more for a mechanic with a good reputation than pay less for a crappy job, only to have to do it all again in 3 months time.
Hi,What you say is very true! My nephew had this chap do his Celica and he was very pleased,Thanks for your reply it makes a lot of sense what you say
Regards
bobh