98 Camry oil pan question

Great car but it leaks around oil pan. Checked for loose pan bolts but all were tight. So I'm thinking, replace the pan gasket. Ten years ago I'd have done it myself, but now I'm happy to support local mechs. Figure 75 bucks or so.

But the mech at the dealership says this won't work; says the Camry has a double-walled pan and that at speed, oil gets sucked or siphoned between these alleged double walls by airflow under the car. So he says a gasket won't fix the leaks, and instead I have to get a *whole new pan*-- at a cost of $400 !!

I'm thinking, That must be the new *computer-controlled oil pan* I've been hearing about. "Double-walled oil pan" ??

I've rebuilt several cars and have run into "windage trays" in several, so I thought maybe that's what the mech was trying to explain. But even if that's what the Camry has, you just end up w/ 2 gaskets instead of one, so I don't understand why this would be particularly odd or expensive--or prone to siphoning oil.

Anybody familiar with Camry pans? Are they unusual? Is the dealership blowing smoke or is there any truth to the mech's explanation? Thanks!

 

98 eh????..............Got a lot of miles????............#1...........never heard of ..........or seen what you just described (A double wall oil pan)........HOWEVER I HAVE seen old Camry's leak from the rear main seal and people THINK it's the oil pan...........Also, the newer 4 cyls have a rubber plug where the distributer used to be ..........They leak oil like a big dog .....Frt of engine????.........Could be timing component seals.......cam, crank, balance shaft, oil pump drive.......

 

Ask the parts guy to bring a pan out front and eyeball it and see if it is double walled.

 

I agree with wrench. Our last Camry was a '95 4-cyl (you didn't say 4 or 6). When it got a lot of miles on it (had 175,000 when we traded it off), we started to get some oil leakage that was tough to track down, but I did NOT have a leaky pan. What DID leak was (a) vehicle speed sensor, (b) front (right side) cam seal, (c) distributor seal, and (d) oil pump (didn't fix; had the seal kit but traded up to a newer Camry first). Any or all of these could be mistaken for a pan leak.

 

Will check the possible leak sites noted. Also liked Mike's idea of taking a look at a pan from the dealer's parts shelf. Though I'm guessing the dealer may not have one in stock for a 9-year-old car, it's certainly worth a try.

Thanks to all.

 

R ya sure the pan ain't porous?
My mech. said his own '94 Camry oil pan became porous and had to be R&R'd.
He told me this after showing me mine during an oil change at 184K.
Pan also has crusty, flaking enamel on it where it's peeling off.
I'm told it's common among older Ford pickups.
The guy is absolutely honest.
A DIY job, if you have drive-ons and a set of sockets

 

Well *that's* one I never heard before! Never heard of steel becoming porous before, but there's a first time for everything. I understand that you've got a good history with your mech, and that he was telling about his own Camry, so that ups the cred, but still, that's...bizarre.

The flaking paint doesn't raise any flags because the pan gets a lot of debris hits, high-speed water jets from the front tires and similar. And as best I can tell even Toyota doesn't prime the pan before painting.

As best I can tell, the oil is coming from the pan gasket or higher--when I wipe the pan down it doesn't weep oil at all. But I'm beginning to think just getting a good used pan and replacing it is worth a shot. Or even just trying a fresh gasket well sealed. In any case, thanks for the suggestion.

 

I don't even think it's possible for steel to BECOME "porous", but it might have piting from oxidation or corossion.