- 2004 Camry, 4 cyl. 285,000 miles.
- Losing about 1qt of engine oil every 1200 miles, no oil spot on the floor
- Added leak dye to engine oil
- leak dye showing up at power steering pump. The power steering reservoir is above the pump. The large powering hose from the reservoir connects to the pump below. Leak dye show up on the pump where the hose plugs in to the metal tube from the pump. Also see dye forming on the metal tube bend, similar to a water leak drip forms around a U bend.
- verified power steering fluid does not have any leak dye.
any ideas on why the power steering pump in involved with the engine oil loss? if so, what/where is causing the leak?
any ideas on why the power steering pump in involved with the engine oil loss?
It's not. After 18 years and 285K miles the engine is most likely burning oil. The oil you're seeing is probably dripping from the valve cover gasket.
On new cars most manufacturers consider burning up to a quart every 1000 miles to be "normal" for warranty purposes. So you're actually doing OK for an old car with such high mileage.
Here's a diagram of where I found the leak dye
Here's a diagram of where I found the leak dye
Oh man!
Did you take any photos?
Giving its age, oil burning is definitely a possibility. What I don't understand is why leak dye is showing up where it is. I cleaned up the places where the dye was showing up to make sure it's not old dye.
Here's a diagram of where I found the leak dye
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zYSm6OVV8ntgbQstNbw3ZpZNCHAwiNpz/view