1993 Toyota Corolla Oil-Pan Gasket

KGATZ07

MEMBER
1993 TOYOTA COROLLA

Smells problem
1993 Toyota Corolla 4 cyl Automatic 147, 00 miles

Today I drove about 20 miles to get to a store and when I stopped, I noticed that my car smelled and there was smoke coming from the engine. I called my dad and he said to check the oil. I did so; it was extremely low. I added almost a full quart and drove to the nearest oil-change station. They told me that my oil-pan gasket was cracked and that was why I was losing oil.

My question is: The car seems to be getting overheated, there is a smell, and the oil is leaking. Is this all from the oil-pan gasket? And if so, am I okay to drive 200 miles home to have a family friend fix it?

6 Replies

MMPRINCE4000

MECHANIC
8,549 POSTS

Is this the 1.6 or the 1.8 4 cylinder?

The 1.6 uses a sealant to seal the oil pan, the 1.8 uses a gasket.

Driving 200 miles with oil leaking enough to cause smoke is problematical. If enough oil comes in contact with exhaust, you CAN have an oil fire, and they can cause a lot of damage and are difficult to put out.

I would get the leak fixed, you may make it to your mechanic, you may not.

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Thursday, May 7th, 2009 AT 5:43 AM

KGATZ07

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It's the 1.6. And do you have any idea how much this is going to cost me?

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Thursday, May 7th, 2009 AT 8:32 AM

KGATZ07

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Oh, and the smoke we found out is caused by oil leaking onto a hot pipe. As soon as it hits, it's burning. I inserted a picture of the pipe and circled in red the area where it hits. Is there something I can do so that the oil doesn't burn there?

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Thursday, May 7th, 2009 AT 8:34 AM

MMPRINCE4000

MECHANIC
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If there are any threaded bolts holes nearby, get some steel, aluminum sheet (small piece) and use it as a shield to keep oil of exhaust pipe.

The pan will have to be removed, to do this you will have to remove right engine mount, loosen the rest and lift engine about 3-6". The rear pan bolts (next to trans) are hard to get to.

Remove pan, clean all surfaces. Use a sealant called "the right stuff" made by permatex. Apply to pan surface and install pan. This sets quickly so you only have 5-10 minutes to get it on and bolted up.

Also make sure the pan bolts are clean, do not overtorque them as this will distort pan

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Thursday, May 7th, 2009 AT 12:56 PM

KGATZ07

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I will definitely try that trick to get the oil to stop dripping onto the pipe. What is the risk if I drive 200 miles? I would be stopping every 50 or so to check the level of oil. I just want to get there because my dad and I can then (hopefully) do this ourselves and save about 250 in labor costs.

My only worry is that stuff under the hood is kind of corroded and rusty. Is that going to be a problem with changing the oil pan/resealing it? The bolts might not come out nicely.