I just bought a '90 Camry 6cyl. It runs fine but has an oil leak at the crank pulley. I have the seal, and plan to do the repair asap. When I pulled the dipstick, it was DRY. So I added oil until the level was good (about 2 qts). Then I drove it - and checked it again - dipstick was dry again! So the oil is leaking out fast. But the engine sounds and runs fine - and the oil lite is NOT on. Ineed to drive this car for at least a few days before I will be able to fix it, and soI have 2 questions:

1) Is the oil likely leaking down to a level where there is just enough to lube the crank and keep everything happy? In other words, can I drive it carefully?

2)For the repair itself, it looks like there is one large pulley bolt to remove - then the pulley is pulled off - and I assume the seal at that point is simple to remove and press in?

Any advice would be most appreciated. I am a mechanic but I have no experience with these cars.

Thank you!

 

Are you sure it is the crank seal and not the oil pump seal. The oil pump seal if bad can leak a LOT of oil because it is under pressure. Suggest you remove the tire, run the engine and check for leaks. Would assume the engine will continue to leak oil until the engine runs out and is damaged needing replacement. Suggest continuing to add oil even if you need to buy a case of oil and adding some at every stop during the day. The crank pulley needs to be removed but also the belt sprocket behind the crank. This requires removing a lot of parts to get the belt off. Plus once off, the cam/crank pulleys need to be realigned before reinstalling the belt. Suggest picking up a low cost Haynes or Chilton service manual.
The seal itself is pressed into the housing attached to the front of the engine (typically seal installation). You will need to pry it out then drive in the new one.

A few other issues, the pulley is two-piece thus use a bolt on puller or you can damage it. To keep the pulley from turning when you remove the pulley bolt, bolt a piece of wood to the pulley using the two small holes on the pulley face. Drill a hole in the wood for the drive socket and make the piece large enough that it will bind up with the chassis when you go to take off the bolt.
Again check the oil pump seal, a crank seal typically just leaks a little. A cam seal will leak 1/2 quart or more in 25 miles.

 

No I am not certain it is the crank seal. The guy I bought it from said he and an assistant got under the car with the engine running and isolated it to the crank. He even bought the seal (which he gave me). But I have not looked myself.

So the timing belt has to come off then - that makes sense. I've done a timing belt on another vehicle one time so I understand the process.

Do you know what threads are in the crank pulley (for the puller bolts)? I have a Haynes manual for this vehicle..

Where is the oil pump seal located?

 

Your mechanic is right, on this engine the oil pump is located in front of the engine and run directly off the crank. The crank turns the pump rotor. Thus the first crank seal would also be the oil pump seal and would explain why it is leaking so much.

Not sure on pulley bolts, either M6-1.0 or M8-1.25, most likely the larger diameter.

 

Do yourself a favoron a car withunknown service history and already has oil leaks. Do a complete timing belt change and change ALL the seals. Do it once, do it right. You can also changethe valve cover seal while you're at it.

 

I agree with pedro. If you need to take all that off anyways, might as well replace them with new ones while you are at it.