Hey guys,

First post here. I am looking at an inexpensive car to get me through the next year or two. I found a 1988 Camry that supposedly had an engine rebuild 50k miles ago. The rest of the car has 230k. When I checked it out I noticed a lot of oil leakage onto the transmission. We're not talking just dried up oil but liquid oil and a decent amount of it. It was pooled up on the transmission in what was almost a bowl shape. I believe it was motor oil - did not seem to have a red tint. However I checked the transmission fluid level and it was very low - barely registered on the stick. The lady also told me she knows the power steering fluid leaks. I have no idea about these cars and couldn't even find the power steering pump so I guess that could be it, but it seemed thicker more like engine oil.

Im not a mechanic by any means (hell I couldnt even find a power steering pump ) but I'm just worried that it could be the rear main seal or worse.

Also, it seemed that the engine warmed up to half way on the gauge within like 1 minute of test driving it. Is this normal for these cars? She said someone else test drove it today, but the engine was not warm to the touch when I was checking it out. I actually didn't touch the engine after I test drove so I cant say if it was warm by then.

Any help on the problems above and advice on this would be appreciated, including any other problems known to these cars. How long do the automatic transmissions generally last in these cars?

She's asking 1200 "firm"... what do you guys think?

 

Is the engine a 4 cylinder or V6?

If the rear engine main seal oil were leaking engine oil would be dripping out the bottom of the car where the trans and engine bolt up. There is a removable plate here and that's where the oil would be dripping out.

PS recommended fluid type is the same as trans fluid. PS leaks typically occur at the PS pump input shaft driving by the pulley and drive belt and out of the seals on the PS steering rack housing.

If you turn the steering wheel fully in one direction then look into the wheel well on the other side of the car you should see a rod coming out of a what looks like a rubber bellows and going to the knuckle where the lower part of the strut mounts.

The seal is behind the bellows, one on each side of the car. If the seal is leaking the bellows will hide the leak for a time until it fills with fluid. If fluid is coming out of the bellows the fix is expensive, as the steering rack needs to be replaced. The seals cannot be replaced with the rack still on the car.

A leaking pump is easier and cheaper to replace.

If engine oil is ending up on top of the trans areas of engine oil leakage might be from the distributor housing O-ring where distributor installs into the side of the cylinder head. Or the distributor shaft seal can leak resulting in engine oil getting inside the distributor cap.

The year of car may have cable type speedometer. If so look for trans fluid leakage where a cable comes off the top of the differential housing. The diff housing where the two axles install.

If a 4 cylinder engine the trans has a separate housing for the diff fluid (same fluid as trans). Make sure you check this also. There is a fill port on the side of the diff housing facing the firewall. The diff is filled from this port until fluid comes out. Remove the plug, some fluid should come out.

One minute for warm up. What was the air temp? If engine cold should take at least 5 minutes just to get the thermostat to open. If interested in the car bring a temp gauge such as cooking thermometer. Remove the radiator cap (engine cold) and place end of thermometer into coolant. Then start engine a let it warm up.

Normal operating temp is around 190F. If the gauge indicates normal operating temp and the thermometer indicates the coolant is still cold perhaps the temp gauge sender is bad.

Below are a few common issues to check. If your not up to it find a shop that does pre-purchase inspections.

The upper and lower radiator tanks are plastic and can crack causing very slight to major cooling leaks. Check for pinhole leaks on the tanks (typically the upper tank will fail) and look for signs of coolant on top of the plastic apron under the radiator as this is where the coolant will end up.

The plastic radiator overflow tank can start to crack and leak requiring replacement. The hose from the radiator to the tank can break down inside causing a black film to build up in the overflow tank.

Assume the engine had a new timing belt when the engine was replaced. If so the recommended next belt change is at 60K miles or 10K miles from now.

When the water pump bearing starts to go bad it usually starts making a grinding noise and or leaks coolant. The idler bearings seldom fail but tend to get a little louder. Check for these noises on the passenger’s side of the engine.

Check the constant velocity rubber boots on the axles for damage or splitting. There are two on each axle; typically the one nearest the tire is the problem boot. A split boot even if replaced will allow dirt in and the grease to escape. Many times even if the boot is replaced the joint will fail sooner then later. CV joints can also wear out. Take the car for a test drive; make a few 90-degree turns to side streets and a 180 (at low speeds). Listen for any clicking or popping during the turns or when accelerating.

Listen for any popping from the steering console; this may be due to a problem with the U-joint in the steering shaft. Turn the power steering from lock to lock, it should be smooth.

Check all power window and lock controls. The wires going between the driver’s door and body sometimes break due to all the opening and closing of the door.

Make sure the power antenna, moon roof, side mirrors work (if it has these).

Check if the cars suspension makes a rattle or squeak when going over bumps. The front and rear stabilizer bar bushing tend to wear out.

The rubber in the upper strut supports can wear out resulting a knocking noise when going over bumps. Listen for a quiet suspension.

Listen and feel for any clunking when engaging the transmission from Park to Reverse and Drive. Could be sign of bad motor mounts or trans problems.

Check the condition of the rubber in the top engine dog bone mount (looks like a dog bone) as it can break down over time. The result is the engine moves when given the gas.

The transmission should shift smoothly with no harshness, shudder or engine over speed when shifting (engine revs up when shifting), clunking, slipping, slow shifting, etc. Overdrive is locked out until the coolant temp reaches operating temperature.

Check the transmission fluid for color and odor. Ask when it was last changed. It should not smell burnt or be jet black in color. Toyota owners have had their transmissions fail or start acting up because the fluid was never changed. A common connection, lack of fluid change and transmission problems.

The valve cover gaskets can leak.

Look into the spare tire wheel well for the condition of the spare tire and to determine if there was or signs of it.

The valve clearance in these engines seldom (as in almost never) needs adjusting. Listen for any loud clicking from the valve covers.

Check the A/C to make sure it works and the green light in the push button switch is not flashing. If so the A/C has problems.

Look for blue or white smoke on cold engine startup or when accelerating. The valve stem seals can harden with age or if the car sits for a couple of months (white smoke). If the rings have a problem the smoke would be blue.

Check all the controls. If the cruise control has a problem, the cruise control light will flash. If the car has ABS or airbag, make sure these indicator lights are off when driving.

Check that all the dashboard indicators lights illuminate when the car is first started up then go out. There would be check engine, ABS, airbag (if the car has these), etc.

Course check for body and frame rust. Not a problem unless the car was driven in areas where a lot of road salt was used and never washed down.

 

pass on it. craigslist is packed with old cars sold for peanuts, esp in time of depression. anything that has any leaks anywhere, don't even consider them. it's cheap to buy and expensive to maintain headache, and you just bought it. DON'T!!

 

Thanks guys. I ended up finding something I think will work better for me and just bought it today.