lol, seem to be too late of us, and yeah take note of those advices it might help you out some other time.

 

Fyi, our '97 Camry that just got totaled a couple weeks ago had almost 440k miles on it-- original engine with no major work done on the engine, was still running well, and was still getting 29 mpg.

 

That's great for OE engine. Thanks for posting.

 

I hope to get that out of mine!

 

I have the same question, except for an 89 Camry 2.0L 4 cyl, manual transmission-- what is involved with taking the oil pan off? My son's car has the threads on the drain plug stripped, so we probably need to replace the pan. I've heard there are oversized drain plugs that cut new threads, but that they sometimes don't work too well-- has anybody tried those?

 

The oil pan comes off easy enough although you might have to work at getting to a few bolts/nuts. Get a Haynes manual at around $20. You will need a new pan gasket plus use some gasket sealant for leak insurance. Don't over tighten the bolts/nuts or the gasket may squeeze out.

For the drain plug issue. First try re-threading the pan hole threads with a re-threading die. This die cleans up the old threads rather then cut new ones. Then install a new plug and gasket. This may result in being able to torque the plug tight.

The article at the link below has some other steps:

How to deal with Stripped Oil Drain Plugs | Car Repair Information From MasterTechMark

One key to preventing oil plug leaks is to often change the oil plug gasket.

 

Okay, I just got my first toyota, a 1999 Camry LE with a 5sfe engine that has about 260,000 miles on it. after I got it home, I discovered the previous owner forgot to tell me a couple things, like, it leaks about 1 qt of oil in just under 100 miles, and then the oil level appears to stay put at 1qt low.

I saw oil dripping onto the exhaust from the area between the engine block and the transmission, and light smoke coming up from the same area on top of the engine as this oil bled out, all of which stopped when the 1st quart disappeared.

I saw what looked like a sloppy sealing job with clear silicone along one side of the oil pan, so I assumed it needs a new oil pan gasket.

So I bought the Fel-Pro gasket, some of the Permatex black RTV silicone, put the car on the ramps, drained the oil, and got ready to remove all the bolts around the pan to drop it & clean it up

Then I encountered - ALIEN TECHNOLOGY . . .

(I'm used to working on 70's & 80's GM, & Dodge vehicles, and an occasional Datsun or Subaru for family members. My newest vehicle I've worked on or under was a '97 Chevy Lumina, until it's transmission wore out and I got this Camry.)

ALIEN TECHNOLOGY: Why is there some sort of a custom molded, foam rubber SPONGE molded into the (external) gap between the bell housing and the oil pan, below the rear main seal?

Is this something Toyota invented? or a previous owner's idea?

This rubber sponge thing (and the metal behind it) was saturated with oil, and it crumbled to little black pieces when I touched it.

The tin cover over the lower bell housing had a pair of pins, or tubes, less than 2 inches long each, that almost bridged the gap between the tin Bell housing cover and the oil pan, this foam sponge thing completely enveloped these protrusions, and was held in place by them (until I crumbled it up).

My question is this, I need background on this mystery part!
was this sponge thing Toyota's idea or not?
(I have my suspicions, but ... )What was it there for?
must I replace it? Is there something better to use now? (nobody I spoke to about maintaining this Camry ever mentioned such a part before, & I haven't seen such a thing at rock auto or autozone)

(So much for a simple R&R of the oil pan gasket!)

Understanding my car as thoroughly as I can is important to me, so any info is appreciated.