I am not good with cars at all....

Anyhow, here is my situation. I have a 91 Toy Camry
4 cyl, 250K miles. Recently it has been driving very
jerky, as you drive along it will cut out on you and sputter
along, and jerk, jerk, jerk...

After checking under the hood, I had oil everywhere, all over the engine
on the underside of the hood, etc.. I also noticed that the dip stick was partially out of it's holder..

After watching this behavior over the next few days, it is continuing to happen, oil everywhere, dip stick displaced....etc...jerky driving...

Any ideas what is causing this?

Thanks.

New Member - very car illiterate!

First, is the oil filler cap still on? If it is, then look to see if there's another place around the valve cover that's causing the leak. How about the PCV valve and hoses? Are they firmly attached to the valve cover and the throttle body? A plugged PCV valve can be "blown" out of the valve cover and cause this on and older engine.

Look for the source of the leak in these areas.

After checking under the hood, I had oil everywhere, all over the engine
on the underside of the hood, etc.. I also noticed that the dip stick was partially out of it's holder..

After watching this behavior over the next few days, it is continuing to happen, oil everywhere, dip stick displaced....etc...jerky driving...

Any ideas what is causing this?



Your crankcase is getting pressurized rather drastically.

Check your pcv valve, but sounds like a head or ring job may be in your near future. Check your oil level, carefully try loosening your oil cap while your engine is running.

For a car illiterate driver, this case is a job for professional diagnose. If this condition happened suddenly, then there apparently is a blockage somewhere, with resulting pressurizing of the crankcase - you may be experiencing oil starvation for critical parts, like the piston rings.

Don't waste your time looking for a pcv valve on a 91 Camry 4 cyl. There is no pcv valve on this car - I know because I own one.

If the car is jerky now, consider having it towed to the dealer or garage.

Your crankcase is getting pressurized rather drastically.

Check your pcv valve, but sounds like a head or ring job may be in your near future. Check your oil level, carefully try loosening your oil cap while your engine is running.


Thanks ..Can you give me an idea where this PCV valve
is located , furthermore, is this a difficult and/or expensive
to replace this PCV valve.

Thanks for you advice!

Hey Babby,
my bad..
like tvictor pointed out, 91 4 cylinder does not have a PCV valve.
How is the oil level? Is it too high? That is one major cause of oil back pressure.
Whichever way it would be a good thing to get your car fixed quick before it really gets nasty and you have to tow it to a shop.