If everything else on the car is in good shape it’s cheaper to fix it than to take a chance on another used car whose history you don’t know. You said your mechanic looked at it after purchase and that it seemed OK. My experience has been that you always end up putting some money into a used car anyway, and the price quoted seems reasonable for the work involved. Make sure to get the tensioner, idler pulley, seals, etc. done at the same time. 135,000 miles is not a lot for a Camry.
No . . . do NOT let them replace the entire oil pump. That is a lot more work, and it increases the possibility of something going wrong
These are the oil pump seals you need
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=6077499&cc=1375185&jsn=427
You just need to remove the front part of the oil pump. The main assembly stays bolted to the engine block and pan. The weird shaped seal is usually the one that gets hard as a rock and splits, causing a major oil leak. But you should also do the other one pictured, along with the cam- and crank seals, since you’re going to be in there, anyways
And also get the tensioner and idler, as @jdmere said
This car is 16 to 17 years old. A very thorough inspection of the entire vehicle is in order before an intelligent decision can be made. That includes, but is not limited to, inspection for rust, life expectancy of tires, brakes, ball joints, tie-rods, etcetera. Throwing good money after bad is not a good way to go.[quote=“db4690, post:3, topic:104987”]
If this happens to be the 5S-FE engine . . . the more common 4 cylinder . . . I would seriously consider also replacing the oil pump seals at this time. ALL of them. There are a few of them, and one of them requires partial disassembly of the oil pump.
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If this is one of those cars with problems built into it then it’s possibly not a good idea to try and keep it alive.
CSA
Please clarify
The 5S-FE is generally a sturdy engine
As for the car itself, none of us but OP knows what condition it’s in . . .
I feel the car deserves the repair, assuming it’s otherwise solid and well maintained
First, with only a bit over 135,000 miles, the car has become a large paper-weight due to a broken timing belt. I buy used cars with that many miles that run twice that far without breaking down. I can’t think of any manufacturer still putting timing belts in cars.
The car leaks oil and will cost significant money to make it right. I’ve never owned any car that has needed an oil pump or oil pump seals.
Toyota settled a class action lawsuit brought by owners of 1996-2001 vehicles because the engines developed sludge.
It seems these are flaws built into to the vehicle that lead to added expense and inconvenience. Couple that with the fact that the car is 16 to 17 years old and that anasallauddin said, “I intend to keep the car only for the summer so just thinking if it’ll be worth it or not.”
This could be the best time to bail out on this car and put the money into something without inherent flaws. Who knows what will go out on it next week?
CSA
I don’t know if you need an oil pump or not, but one idea, ask if you can defer the oil pump work until you’re sure the new timing belt fixes the engine-won’t-run problem. They can usually fire the engine up without replacing all the covers just as a test. No point in spending money on the oil pump job if there are valve or camshaft problems remaining. I’d probably do a compression check after replacing the timing belt if I had this problem myself.
As far as spending $1400 to get the car back on the road, I don’t think that is an unreasonable thing to do. I usually figure on about $100-$150 per month maintenance and repair will be needed on my older cars, and budget for that. Even at $150 per month, a lot less expensive and less risky than buying another car, especially a new one. However, if you are planning on selling the car in the near future, that could change the math. In that case you might be better off $-wise just to sell it now , even if all you get is a few hundred dollars.
I agree with you, but OP’s car is a 2001 model year
Agree, and the timing belt should have been changed at 100K miles, but lasted until 135K. The defect is not in the vehicle but in lack of prior maintenance. As previously noted, this is a non-interference engine, so any serious damage from the break is unlikely.
The car is still in pretty good shape and maintained well at least since I bought it a month ago. There’s only some rust that needs to be taken care of.
As far as the selling option goes, that is not possible for me since I NEED a car to get to and from work every day for the summer. Selling the car would only increase the number of things on my plate since I would have to go to a bigger city and then search for another used car to buy, which again might have some issues that need work. All in all, selling this car and then buying a new one would be a huge hassle.
I thought it would be better just to get the car fixed. I told the mechanic to work on the timing belt for now and then see how much work the oil pump needs and then we’ll go from there.
Also, do mechanics usually sell parts at a higher price than other places, such as AutoZone,etc.? I found an oil pump that is half the price of the one my mechanic is selling to me.
Just get the belt replaced and the other items suggested here…no oil pump but only seals. tensioner and idler pulley. Enjoy the car for another 135K miles.
Yes, in general auto repair places sell parts they install at a higher price than you can find on the Internet or some parts stores and if you search long enough you probably find used, discarded parts you need lying somewhere on the road for free. But no mechanic will warranty the work when you bring your own parts. If you bring your own part and it doesn’t fit, what do you expect the mechanic to do? He is tying up work space while you attempt to get a new one? Attempting to save a few $$ is not always the right thing.
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Usually mechanics make a little profit on the parts, but not a huge profit, a modest one at best. What, maybe 15 to 20% I’d guess. If you can find the same part at a chain auto parts retail store at a greatly reduced price, it probably isn’t as good of quality as the one the pro mechanic will use. Mechanics generally purchase parts they need from wholesale auto parts stores that sell and deliver only to professional mechanic shops. Those stores would lose their business if they sold low quality parts, b/c if a mechanic installs a part that immediately fails, the mechanic has to replace it without charging for labor. Mechanics can’t make a go of it working for free, so they prefer to install good quality parts. DIY’ers tend to parts shop by price and are willing apparently to take a chance they’ll have to re-peat the job due to getting a faulty part. Same thing goes with plumbing fixtures. DIY’ers will often buy the cheapest fixture on the shelve, but no pro plumber would ever install much of the junk plumbing fixtures that retail home products stores sell, for fear of quick failure or worse, leaks that flood the house.
In any event, the advice above is sound. Highly recommend to never purchase your own parts and then ask the mechanic to install them for you. Many mechanics won’t do this as policy, and those that do usually won’t warrant the work if the part fails.
The average mark-up for parts by a shop is between 25-50%.
https://mechanicadvisor.com/articles/how-much-does-a-mechanic-mark-up-parts
I don’t charge that much tho.
I try to beat the other guy’s prices.
Tester