I have a 1993 Camry that has engine oil leak problem. My friend, who is a mechanic, has told me that to fix the problem will be time-consuming and labour intensive - that will cost about $700. So I just leave it alone. Recently, the problem has become a bit serious. The floor has more oil spots. …

With the age of this car give it a shot. I never tried them. It just doesn’t make sense to put a lot of money into a car that’s 16+ years old. I guess it can’t hurt.

Just Once and only once ! If one application doesn’t stop the leak…fix it. Too much stop leak stops the oil flow in the passageways where it’s supposed to go, then you’re buying an engine.

Leak is from “the head cover”?. If by this you mean the valve cover, replacing the valve cover gasket is usually not a high triple digit job. Suggest you obtain a second opinion before using the stop leak stuff.

Do you feel any sort of responsibilty towards leaving oil on the ground? It is not pleasant to get the oil on your shoes and track it everywhere you walk.

Would switching to a slightly thicker oil help slow the leaking?

That kind of leak could be fixed by changing a leaking gasket or camshaft seals or wherever the oil is leaking from. You don’t want to put anything in that engine that will plug up the oil system.

I think that there is some misunderstanding here as to how oil stop leak products work. They are not like radiator stop-leak products, and they won’t interfere with oil flow through the engine. Oil stop leak products work by softening and swelling the oil seals, like the cam seal and the front and…

from were you say its leaking from all it needs is a valve cover gasket and its not expensive or hard to do.

Get a 2nd opinion on the repair. If it is still expensive dump that stuff in and buy a case of cheapo oil and get some cardboard for your garage. I would not bother personally with a $700+ repair on a car that has outlived its design life.

Does stop oil leak chemical work?

Maintenance/Repairs

texases November 11, 2008, 3:44pm 3

This is a common problem with those engines. Besides the mess, is it leaking much? How many miles between quarts? You can pay for a lot of oil with $700! I don’t have a good feel for oil stop leaks, I’m leery of adding something that might interfere with the oil’s main job, lubrication.

Topic		Replies	Views
Oil Leak Maintenance/Repairs oil	8	1000	January 4, 2009
Engine oil leak Maintenance/Repairs	9	1104	November 15, 2011
Several oil leaks on a car with 170k : is repair worth it? Maintenance/Repairs toyota , camry	20	25219	July 9, 2018
Internal combustion leak/bad raditor leakage too Maintenance/Repairs volvo , v70	12	1996	January 6, 2018
Oil leak(s) Maintenance/Repairs	4	519	June 26, 2008

Does stop oil leak chemical work?

Related topics