ET

i need some help. i just made a 2 hour trip driving at 70 mph engine runs about 3k rpm at that speed. its a 1995 3vz 4runner and as soon as i was about to finish my trip i pushed the clutch to make a turn and the engine opened up all the way. i shut off the ignition right away and the oil pressure was at 0 at that time. checked the oil after i stopped and there was nothing. the night before it was full. i tried starting it back up and as soon as i did the engine started revving wide open again.

does anybody have any idea as to what the problem could be with the low oil pressure and the engine revving?

Thanks for any and all help.

rworegon

Are you saying you had no oil on the dipstick? Did you add oil before restarting? Sounds like you have an oil leak someplace. No or very low oil level = no pressure.

ET

sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this. turns out the engine was idling wide open was because the throttle was stuck. i just wiggled it a bit and it snapped back to its normal idling position. as for the oil i'm still having issues. the dipstick didn't show anything but when i checked it the next morning it was full. i'm assuming that the oil didn't show on the dipstick because the viscosity was so low from being so hot that it didn't have the surface tension to stay on the dipstick or that it hadn't settled back into the pan from the long trip at the time. oil pressure was still at the very end of the low side though and now it seems to get there faster. been driving on it like this for a month and still haven't lost any oil as it shows on the dipstick.. any ideas people?

Thanks.

ET

and there is no oil leak. i couldn't smell any and i made the 2 hour trip back home without changing anything and there are no new spots on the floor and the oil pan is still full.

yotaman85

maybe you are having a problem with drain back. try running a engine restore and clean like seafoam in the oil then change it and see what you get. also try running a heavy synthetic.

ksti

Is your motor a 3.0 or a 3.4 ?

ET

motor is a 3vze. (3.0 v6) and i run seafoam through it every other time i change the oil. and i've heard going back and forth between synthetic and regular can hurt your engine. not sure if i can afford to spend $50 every oil change as dirty as this engine is..

peow130

Going back and forth between synthetic and conventional shouldn't do anything in a motor.

It's the quality of the oil that makes a bigger difference, if that makes any sense at all.

Try running a little thicker oil, see if that helps your oil pressure problem.
If not, maybe time to do an oil pump?

ET

i thought about using the thicker oil and also the oil pump too. i'll run it by the family mechanic sometime and see what he thinks. thanks all!