Camry Vienta V6 3.0l ,engine Malfunction Indicator

[ragav]

Hi guys I own a 95 toyota camry vienta v6,3.0l manual , i am back to my home country for my vacation and it was reported by my cousin that engine malfunction indicator is on when driven previously it had minor gasket leaks , i 've plans to get back only in feb and my cousin hardly uses for 13 km a day, is it ok to leave it untouched for a couple of months and rectify it or does it needs immediate attention, please advise-ragav,(perth,australia)

[Martin_W]

Hi guys I own a 95 toyota camry vienta v6,3.0l manual , i am back to my home country for my vacation and it was reported by my cousin that engine malfunction indicator is on when driven previously it had minor gasket leaks , i 've plans to get back only in feb and my cousin hardly uses for 13 km a day, is it ok to leave it untouched for a couple of months and rectify it or does it needs immediate attention, please advise-ragav,(perth,australia)

Hi,

I guess it depends on the gasket thats leaking, and to what extent.

I assume being a V6 vienta 95 it has the 3VZ-FE series engine.

Head gasket oil/water leaks may be interpreted as "Drive me under EXTREME emergencies only, but fix me as soon as you can". The obvious side effects being the engine over heating resulting in further damage through loss of coolant, or worst yet, shearing of metal parts due to water entering the oil system as water is abrasive to tight tollerance machined parts. Water leaks from a head gasket are not good signs and in short the vehicle should not be driven unless to deliver it to a mechanic.

If its the rocker cover gaskets and the "minor leaks" are oil, then there isn't much to worry about IF the oil reservoir is topped up consistently.

Same story if it's your camshaft seals, or oil sump seals. Similarly for transmission seals.

Again, it depends on WHAT is leaking and which gasket it's leaking form.

On further consideration of this, my '97 camry vienta (3VZ-FE) over heated and blew a gasket a year ago. Even with a blown gasket and loosing water, there was no malfunction indication at all, in fact there were NO indications other than boiling over into the overflow canister. The fact the Engine Management System is detecting a malfunction would indicate that there is something other than a leaky gasket to worry about. The computer should be able to report the status of the malfunction if interrogated through the diagnostics port. Unfortunately, this would ordinarily necessitate inspection by a mechanic unless you have access to the diagnostics equipment with which to do this.

My personal opinion, I wouldn't drive it until its investigated.

Martin

[ragav]

Hi guys I own a 95 toyota camry vienta v6,3.0l manual , i am back to my home country for my vacation and it was reported by my cousin that engine malfunction indicator is on when driven previously it had minor gasket leaks , i 've plans to get back only in feb and my cousin hardly uses for 13 km a day, is it ok to leave it untouched for a couple of months and rectify it or does it needs immediate attention, please advise-ragav,(perth,australia)

Hi,

I guess it depends on the gasket thats leaking, and to what extent.

I assume being a V6 vienta 95 it has the 3VZ-FE series engine.

Head gasket oil/water leaks may be interpreted as "Drive me under EXTREME emergencies only, but fix me as soon as you can". The obvious side effects being the engine over heating resulting in further damage through loss of coolant, or worst yet, shearing of metal parts due to water entering the oil system as water is abrasive to tight tollerance machined parts. Water leaks from a head gasket are not good signs and in short the vehicle should not be driven unless to deliver it to a mechanic.

If its the rocker cover gaskets and the "minor leaks" are oil, then there isn't much to worry about IF the oil reservoir is topped up consistently.

Same story if it's your camshaft seals, or oil sump seals. Similarly for transmission seals.

Again, it depends on WHAT is leaking and which gasket it's leaking form.

On further consideration of this, my '97 camry vienta (3VZ-FE) over heated and blew a gasket a year ago. Even with a blown gasket and loosing water, there was no malfunction indication at all, in fact there were NO indications other than boiling over into the overflow canister. The fact the Engine Management System is detecting a malfunction would indicate that there is something other than a leaky gasket to worry about. The computer should be able to report the status of the malfunction if interrogated through the diagnostics port. Unfortunately, this would ordinarily necessitate inspection by a mechanic unless you have access to the diagnostics equipment with which to do this.

My personal opinion, I wouldn't drive it until its investigated.

Martin

Hey Martin ,

Thank u very much for ya detailed advise.It was really helpful.

Wud attend to the same at the immediate.

Regards,

Ragav