Hello there!
So I followed Scottys advise and just bought a 1997 Celica that has 174k km on the clock. Pretty much rust free and in good condition minus a ding or two. Old lady drove it previously. It has the 1.8 liter 16v motor in it. Now I got a good deal on it because it has a massive oil leak under the distributor. Soiled the transmission and seeped around pretty much every side of the motor block. Hard to pinpoint the exact source but looks to be either valve cover seal or distributor related. Anything else to watch out for?
The car is still on the sellers lot and I will have to drive it 200km next week. Am I fine to drive it like this or should I try and fix it on the lot? I am afraid I will be stuck there if I start taking stuff apart.
Thanks for your ideas!
The valve cover gasket is easy enough to replace in about an hour or so if you are experienced with working on cars. Its a decent place to start to eliminate all the oil leaking from the top. Make sure you clean the engine up good after you are done so you can actually see where there is fresh oil coming from.
Toyotas are famous for leaking at their distributor base. There is a large O ring where the distributor fits into the block which is probably shot. Also, the distributor hold down bolt ( where you adjust the timing) must have thread sealant on it or it will leak.
