I have a 94 ext cab pickup with the 3.0. I know it has an oil leak on the passenger side somewhere so that attributes to some oil loss. but it is also using oil, there is some definate valve noise on the drivers side. would a valve job solve the oil consumtion? it has 125k on it so im assuming rings wouldnt wear out that quickly. any input on how to fix my oil conumption problem would be great because its aroung a quart every 500 miles

 

a bad head gasket can also cause oil consumption as well as a bad PCV valve. Any answer given will be guess work without having a true compression and leak down check done.

 

ok so i need to get a compression test done on it then?

 

also this is a symptom that could point to pcv valve, at idle it misses a little and kind of runs a little bit rough. once you touch the gas though it cleans right up

 

compression test and leakdown test.

 

How much oil is it consuming?

 

 

A look at the plugs will tell you if the motor is burning oil, and if so, whether all cyls are burning oil, or just a few. Make sure to track which plug from which cylinder. A compression test will only let you know what cyls are low (if any), not why. It's a logical first step. Then if some cyls are low, a leakdown test, which takes a special two dial pressure gauge and a source of compressed air, will tell you where the compression is going (if the test is performed by someone who knows what he is doing).

If you can tell from the plugs that you're burning oil, but compression is okay, then you do probably have worn valve stem seals, which allow oil to drip down the stem of the valves, and be drawn into the cylinder on the intake stroke. Since the seal is behind the valve, you won't see a compression loss from a leaking valve seal. To fix the situation, the valve seal needs to be replaced, but this won't require a "valve job" (ie, regrinding valves and seats) unless the valves are leaking compression. It will require pulling the heads, tho.

The leak on the passenger side is probably from the valve cover and/or camshaft plug. A common oil leak spot on the 3vze. Suggest replacing the valve cover gasket and using a thin coat of black rtv on both the gasket and the camshaft plugs.

But before doing any of that, I'd suggest trying a good high mileage oil that has extra seal-swelling esters. Valvoline MaxLife is the best on the market. Try the 10W-40 (with oil consumption it helps to try a thicker oil). Give it a few weeks, and see if oil consumption slows. The stuff did wonders with a front main seal leak on my veezy last year (but then I replaced the seal anyway when I changed the belt this past fall).

 

good point sb5walker, fix the oil leak first then determine if your oil consumption is out of line.

 

Oops, missed that part.

 

ok thanks for the help guys i will get try all that to see if it helps. I love this truck besides that problem so ill get her back in order.

 

Thats alot of oil, if you were leaking even a 1/2 of that you would have oil all over the engine or a huge puddle where you park, so you are probably burning most of it. Even if you have good compression you can still burn that much oil past the rings ( the compression rings can be fine , but the oil rings wont seal). 130000 miles is low milage for these engines if taken care of, if not ( long time between oil changes) you can have stuck oil rings. Its probably a combination of both rings and valve stem seals though, even on low mile engines valve stem seals will dry out/shrink/crack just from age.

 

I'd bet good money the "valve noise" you hear on the driver's side is actually the fuel damper. They click like a mother****** at idle. Put your finger on it and see....

 

well what if i just decided to pull it and rebuild the motor. Ive been thinking of doing a low budget restore, new bed, rebuild motor, repaint. just seeing my options i have a friend that could help me pull it, just wondering if anyone knows how much a basic rebuild would be.

 

Full rebuild on a 125k mile motor? In most cases, that's barely broken in. My 89 has almost 290k miles and it still doesn't burn oil (replaced the valve seals 70k miles ago when I changed the head gaskets). So, I'm willing to bet the bottom end is fine on yours. Probably no need to touch it. Anyway, you will get a good idea of the shape of the cyls when you pull the heads. Mine had the original cross-hatching still visible, nice and even, at 218k miles.

But your motor, your call.

 

ya im going to get the compression and leakdown test done, if it needs it ill just go ahead and do the headgaskets and valves. as preventative maintenence if nothing else. ive also been looking into swaps to hmmm what to do

 

Do you have any smoke from the exhaust when it idles more than 5 minutes when hot? A 22r that I owned would go thru a qt in a 175 miles ,replaced the valve seals and got it up to 300 miles a qt. The truck ran great and had good compression and only had to clean the plugs once when first bought with 3000 miles of use. I found out later it was probably bad valve guides.
You can make a cheap tester from a old spark plug that fits your motor ,break every thing off untill all that is left is the part that screws into the plug hole. Then weld a air fitting to it. Screw the tester into the block hook a air hose to it and remove the oil filler cap and listen for a air sound.This could indicate air passing the rings. Air out the exhaust pipe is a burned exhaust valve and air out the intake is a bad intake valve.
Just check each cyl for the crank case air sound which might be your problem. This with other tests might help narrow the problem down.
The leak down and compression test would tell you more but this might help also.

 

once warm absolutely no smoke out exhaust....im really thinking it has to be a valve problem...wont know for sure till i get it to my mechanic monday. any idea on the cost of a full valve job?