Bought an old Camry, has an oil leak that's a good amount. After I park it there's a palm size puddle on the ground within a minute. It slows after turning the car off and there's dried/burned oil on the bottom of the engine and other places under the hood. The engine light is on. There is no overheating or any visual signs of distress or noises, just a tiny bit of steam coming off the engine from this leak. I have yet to find exactly where it's coming from though. There is no oil in the coolant and there's no coolant in the oil. I was wondering, if this were a head gasket what other signs would I look for? Could it be something as simple as a hose broken or a clamp somewhere? Brand new to this stuff so explain it like you would be speaking with an 8 year old. Thanks!!

 

Oil or coolant leaking?

Put some cardboard under the engine to locate the area of the leak.

 

It's definitely oil, brown. And I have located a crack. The oil has been leaking so much that pretty much the whole underside of the engine is covered so im not sure if this is the only crack.

It is near a bolt on the passenger side of the engine. In between the timing belt and the engine block. It seems to be the plastic cover that holds the rest of the timing belt OR im guessing the oil pump is inside? I could upload a picture tomorrow.
Would the leak be from the plastic cover not being held on correctly by the bolt? Or could it be something inside the cover THATS leaking and needs to be looked at?

 

I would try cleaning the suspected area with brake cleaner as best you can and then see what you have there.
The next step would be to get an engine cleaner and go that route.

 

There is something leaking behind the cover. The most likely areas are crank,camshaft or oil pump seal. The oil pump seal is the only one that retains pressurized oil.

Position the car so you can watch the firewall side of the cover. Then start engine and determine if oil coming now leaking out of the cover.

 

From the very little useful information of where the oil leak is coming from, let me make a guess due to the amount mentioned.
Due to the age of your Camry, my guess is that its the Crankshaft SEAL on the Right side of the engine. (The right side of your engine is the engine side while your setting in your Camry).
eBay has timing belt/water pump kits, that include gasket, camshaft & crankshaft seals, pulley gear and spring. Refresh your engine security and replace them all at the same time. The kits are less than $100.
If someone said they already replaced the timing belt, they probably didn't do the seals because of the extra 15-minutes to replace. Seals get old, dry, brittle and leak. A $2.00 seal that is a behind the timing belt that is a pain to replace and adds another 15-minutes to the job, can save you a oil puddle under the car. Fix it and put another 100k on the car.


I have value shims available if you need them. Adjust your valves back to within spec. A stupid Toyota Dealer Service once told me why would you adjust the valves if their not making a noise. Yes, there are bad service writers as there are mechanics.