2006 Camry 4Cyl CRACKED BLOCK 20k Mi

[amit]

Guys I am new to this. Looking for some help/advise.

Just purchased a 2006 Camry LE used 20k Mi, It had been in a minor front end accident, previous owner replaced front bumper cover, radiator, condensor and hood.

Found out that there is a small crack on the block right above the oil pan, on the rear of the motor. Leaking oil fast.

I have some JB weld on it for now. Holding oil in.

Questions?

Do I have any warranty on this?

If I have warranty, How do I present this to the dealer?

Should I even take it in, or live with the JB weld?

Can this be because of the accident? (car was hit in the front, block is cracked in the rear)

Factory defect?

HELP!!

[nervousmini]

Sorry to hear that, hopefully you knew about the leak when you bought it and aren't just finding about it after the fact.

The only way to know if you will get it covered under warranty is to take it to a Toyota dealer and have the service department inspect it and make the determination. You haven't got anything to lose.

Be sure to be upfront about the WHOLE story, you will get allot further with a service manager or factory representative that knows the facts then having little omitted details be discovered along the way.

[msirach]

How long have you had it and what state did you buy it in?

Most used cars have a warranty for at least 30 days after purchase. Your state may have some sort of law about this also.

There is a VERY good chance that the damage did occur during the previous accident.

[phoebeisis]

Is the crack close to any fastener-motor mount, bolt, stud, nut etc? Is there a dent/ding near the crack/
Is it a salvage title,rebuilt title or whatever,

No point in trying to not tell the dealer etc-they will be able to tell it was in a wreck-all the parts probably have bar codes on them, and if the work wasn't perfect, it will be obvious to the body man.

When was the wreck?

Charlie

[amit]

The front end damage was 1yr ago reported in carfax.

We knew about the damage before buying, but discovered the leak afterward. It was a private party sale. As is!

The crack is not near anything really. Just on wall of the block. About 1 inch above the oil pan. Remind you, its on the back side of the block, the side that faces the the cab of the car.

Looks like the engine or the tranny did not get touched by the accident, it was just front end. It did not even affect the catalytic converter/exhaust manifold.

[phoebeisis]

Get it to a dealer very quickly. Toyotas have 3 years/36000 on "everything", so you might be inside 3 years-depending when it was bought.

How soon after you bought it was the leak discovered?
Was the price "very good"?I would call very good anything around $10000. It should have sold for maybe $12000-$15000 with so few miles.
If the price was "very good" then the PO almost certainly sold because he discovered the leak.

See if Toyota will cover it.

Do you have a welder buddy? Sometimes business welders are reluctant to weld on a motor in place.I guess they are scared they might be blamed for cooking expensive electronics or engine internals.

If you can't get Toyota to repair it-JB weld sometimes lasts a long long time.Check your oil frequently.The PO is a thief.
Luck
Charlie

PS I asked about the location because things tend to crack near fasteners-especially if the wreck caused it.

[amit]

Yeah, the price was very good $9500. It is not within 36k/36mo window. Now I have to see if its covered under the 60k/60Mo powertrain warranty.

There is another thread on these forums where a 07 Corolla head cracked and in that same thread someone mentioned that the dealers know about some 07-09 Camry heads cracking with low miles.

[npauli]

I don't know a thing about your engine, so I might ask some ignorant questions. The "cracked block" in the title got my attention.

I've heard of block repairs being made with various types of kits made for the purpose. I think I've seen epoxy-like kits that are just for fixing non-structural cracks or porosity problems, and more structural repairs that involve some drilling and extra hardware. I'd be scared to death of trying a weld repair in an engine block, but I'm not at all an expert in such things.

What's the block made of? Have a pic of the crack? It might not be close to anything special on the outside, but might be part of a significant internal load path, like near a main cap.

[phoebeisis]

amit,

The PO is a sneaky thief. I would bring it to Toyota-see what they say.Might as well disclose the fender bender-as much as you know about it.

I wonder why the PO didn't bring it to Toyota? I would guess there is a fair chance that a bad block gets thru quality control once in a while.The fact that the PO didn't get it repaired kinda worries me. Makes me think that maybe he knew it was his fault-the wreck-and maybe he already tried to get Toyota to repair it on their nickle. A chiseler like him would sure try to get Toyota to do the work free.

Bring it to Toyota, and search the internet for Camry cracked block.If a bad batch got thru then there will be other folks bitchin' on the internet. A crack block is extremely uncommon now. Heck, they were never common.

Do lots of searching and try Toyota-nothing to lose.
Worse case just keep JB welding it.It might seep oil , but oil is cheap.
Plan B could be to keep your eyes pealed for a low mile used motor-kinda expensive of course-maybe $2000 for the motor and that much again for labor. Keep your eyes open for the oil pressure idiot light and check your oil level daily.

Charlie

If you have a buddy who welds-get him to take a try at welding it up. I might D/C-pull the plugs- the ECM and other delicate electronic stuff first. Darn oil is flammable of course-so is gas, and every other fluid but coolant. I would think this might be my plan if Toyota won't fix it. Toyota might do it for a discounted price-worth considering if it is reasonable-$2000 or so.

[aca2983]

caveat emptor