My 1997 Toyota Tercel is leaking oil in 2 places & these leaks are getting worse. The car has 130,500 miles (was purchased new) and has never given a moment’s trouble. I love my mechanic and while he estimates $800-$1,000 for these repairs, he will not advise what I should do - I imagine he doesn’t want to be responsible for other items going wrong if I do shell out for the oil leaks!
Is it wise to repairs these leaks or put the money into a new, used vehicle?
I really am not ready to buy something else just yet (probably would get a 5-yr old car), but also don’t want to be penny-wise, pound-foolish.
Thanks
If your Tercel is not rusted out and is otherwise safe to be on the road, $800-1000 is not a huge outlay of funds. You know what is wrong with your present car, but you don’t know what problems may be lurking in a 5 year old car you might purchase.
How much oil are you adding? I’d have to be losing a lot of oil before I’d spend that kind of money fixing it. Keep it in either case, though. I see a lot of old Toyotas on the road around here in Austin. The car you already own is almost always the best bet if you have maintained it.
Typically I’d expect oil in that engine with that history to be leaking from the front main seal and perhaps from the valve cover gasket. The first is normal wear, the second is normal cylinder wear causing some elevation of the crankcase pressure due to blowby. I’m assuming no operating problems.
Did I guess right?
If I did, the front main seal is replacable and is not an indication of a worn out engine. The valvecover gasket is also replaceable (don;t forget the PCV valve also) and replacement just may stop or reduce that leakage. These gaskets take a “set” over the years and can lose their ability to seal well, especially against elevated pressures.
Personally I think you’d be totally crazy not to repair it. It’s paid for, you apparently like it, it apparently meets your needs, and there is absolutely no way you’d find something that good for $1,000. If you doubt that, test drive some of the junk that’s out there for that price…if you dare when you see the poor shape it’s all in. If my guess was right, that car likely has many, many good miles left in it.
Fix it, drive it, and enjoy it. $1,000 is not too much to spend on a reliable car. You can’t replace this car for the same money. Your Tercel will serve you well for many more miles. Don’t give up on it.
So how many car payments is that? Likely you would have those repairs/maintenance paid off in a few months and from then on the savings are all yours.
If it makes you feel any better, around the late 1990s there was a public argument in Germany as to what were the most reliable cars on the highways there. The ADAC (German Auto Club) and the Consumer Association did some research and found that 2 Japanese econo-boxes, the Mazda 323 and the Toyota Tercel had the least problems, and were deemed to be the most reliable!!!
This caused genuine public anxiety (angst) among Germans, who had always brainwashed themselves into believing that German products, especially cars, were the best!
So your little Tercel is more reliable and cheaper to keep going than a Mercedes.
The first thing that should be checked when oil leaks exist is the PCV valve; which is a crankcase breather.
If the PCV sticks the crankcase will pressure up and oil will be forced out past seals, etc.
The PCV is both dirt simple to inspect and dirt cheap (see below) to replace if needed.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/partlist_PCV-Valve_5_R|GRPFILTAMS___
You won’t be able to fix those leaks for long. A few months and they will be dripping again. Worn out seals won’t fix worn out parts. Those engines are created equal but some don’t end that way. The only thing to do is to see if the oil pan bolts are really loose. That’s about the only leak that is fixable.