24Runna

It burns oil like gas. Received at the end of October, but didn't change the oil till mid December, when I did, it was blacker than night, and not alot came out. The other day I checked the oil, there was nothing on the dipstick. ! I ran to Autozone and bought a quart, filled up, its low, ran back, got another quart, bingo. Its burned 2 quarts of oil in 2,500 miles.

This really concerns me, as I will be embarking on a 6,500 mile trip over the summer. What can I do to fix this? Would it be better to sell it? I want to try all those products first though, as I spent a year searching for a decent 4Runner that was inexpensive.

Currently I'm using Mobil 1 10W-30 EP with a Mobil 1 filter. I filled up the correct amount, but it was obviously somehow burned. On top of that the rust over the rear wheel wells is spreading, and my MPG sucks (bout 12 MPG)

I would consider my driving conditions to be moderatley severe:
Start car and go at 6:10 (winter, cold weather here in Ill.)
Drive .7 miles, idle for 10 minutes whule waiting for light to change 30 miles per hour
drive 3.23 miles to GF's house, stopping 3 times on the way, 25 - 35 MPH
drive 1.61 miles to school, stoping 3 times, 30 MPH
at 10:45 go to GF's house for lunch, then back, 3.22 miles
at 3:00 sit in parking lot for 20 minutes waiting to get out, drop off GF, back home, change go to work, go back home, 7.24 miles

So in a week I do 120 miles not factoring in everything else, not high mileage, but alot of stop and go, plus in order to keep up with traffic I have to rev to 2.75 all the time in the 3.0.

To date I average 1,366 miles a month, not bad considering my mom used to average nearly 2,000 (if she didn't get laid off she would be at 86k in her '04)

Heres what I've done since I got it:
Replaced pass. side CV axle
ran 2-3 cans of seafoam through tank
changed out all fluids
tried using that RESTORE engine stuff
Lucas Oil fuel additive or something like that
replaced air filter

What I plan on doing:
Change spark plugs
Run seafoam through the crankcase
Run Auto-RX through the engine

My sincere apologies for this REALLY long post, I just don't want to make multiple threads, or be a post whore, but now I'm just as bad being a bloated-poster.

ANY input is appreciated.

TIA.

Phil

infiltrator

mmm i dont know if i would have run seafoam through your crankcase. its a dangerous thing. that could be why your oil is black.

good choice of oils, and filter thats a plus.
what i could recommend is using lucas' oil stabalizer.
i know theysay not to use any additives to the oil, but i think that stuff is great.
i usually burn a quart every 800 miles. pretty bad. so bad, like yours that it is off the dipstick entirely! so what i did was i put it in (you use lucas instead of a 5th quart of oil) and have yet to add ANY OIL and im at 2500 miles on my oil change!!!
try it man.

oh yeah, dont worry revving the 3.0 shouldnt hurt it, and to keep up with todays traffic w/ stop and go you need to give it some gas sometimes. understandable. 12 mpg. understandable. thats average for stop and go.

also, wanted to mention you could be burning oil and leaking. i believe oil burns easier when there is less of it you know what i mean? check for leaks. that seafoam could have done some harm in there if you had some good carbon buildup.

24Runna

I haven't ran seafoam through the crankcase yet, only in the tank. I believe I have a small leak somewhere, possible the oil pump seal, seems pretty common in the 3.0's, my only concern is the difficulty of the task.

Oh, I also have a new fuel filter and PVC valve, should I put those in?

Cyberman

Considering that you appear to rely on this vehicle so much, I'd ditch it if I were you. The free truck that I have in my garage right now used oil like you talk about. Now it sits here with 2 blown rods and a big hole out of the inside of the block in the oil channel.

Yodaforce

Do not put Seafoam in the case. If it burns so much oil, I probably would not waste money on more expensive oils unless you just want to. Is it smoking? If so, then it probably needs rings or valve seals. No additive is going to SOLVE the problem, it will just try to cover it up for a while. If you cannot make the neccesary repairs to correct the problem, then maybe you should sell it to someone who can. I hate to say it, but sometimes a motor has built up sludge and gunk inside that tends to accumulate around seals and gaskets, and when you run Engine Restore through it, it tends to remove all of it. Good intentions, BUT some of that stuff was actually helping to seal up the motor. Fix it right or just get rid of it. Buy a Yaris, 36 mpg, you just can't go anywhere that's not paved.

dcg9381

2 quarts in 2500 miles isn't great, but it's not indicative of some tremendous catastrophic failure. You may be needing a rebuild eventually, but if you're not blowing serious smoke under load (impending ring failure) - there's a decent chance that you can get a lot more miles out of it just feeding it oil.

I'd go up to a heavier weight of oil, which should reduce consumption a little bit. It won't hurt anything.

You run a leak down test if you really want to know motor condition, but again, as long as you keep oil in there it could go for a long time..

infiltrator

well, i know no additive will solve the problem, but if it stops it for a certain time, i guess thats better than nothing right? go pickup some lucas' oil stabalizer and let us know the results.

DCS

Unfortunately "magic" rarely enters the mechanical realm.

A healthy engine does not consume oil because the seals are intact and the piston rings and cylinder walls are of the appropriate dimension to prevent oil from getting by that seal and burning with the gas.

In an unhealthy engine...well...not.

If it was your daily commuter and you had no travel plans, I'd just tell you to keep oil in it and drive it until it dies.

6500 mile trip? I guess it depends. Do you want to drive on your trip, or sit outside a shop in a small town somewhere for a week while spending $5000 on emergency repairs?

So you should forget about magic, and address your reality.

Here's a "scenario" for you: an engine that consumes 2 qts of oil in 2 weeks will pretty much stop using oil because the oil pressure is so low or the gallery oil level is so low that the "usage" just sort of stops. If you drive it for another 6 weeks and then realize you are 2 qts low, you've just driven around for 6 weeks at 2 qts low. This could make the oil really dirty and ugly-looking. It will also eventually cause catastrophic problems like the rod issue mentioned above.

There's my .02.

I'm sorry to hear about your "great find" gone south. But on the bright side, at least the guy didn't sell it to you at a full $4000 market price.

Good luck!

stupid_mud_gremlins

I might be hijacking the thread here, but has anyone tried Dura-lube? I work with a guy that got 800,000 KM out of his mid 80's cavalier, using that and Pennzoil. Also a story from a neighbour about a friend losing oil driving from winnipeg to vancouver who's oil light came on in Alberta, and drove it the rest of the way with his oil light on. Would maybe something like that hold off the impending rebuild long enough for him to get back from his trip?

yotaman90

I wouldn't trust Lucas, it actually made my '87 burn MORE oil. Try Bar's Leak Engine Repair, seems to actually somewhat work. Just so you know, this is coming from a guy thats tried just about every "mechanic in a bottle".

Djlarroc

To the OP, why don't you just get it fixed? If it's the truck in your sig, that doesn't sound right at all w/the low miles you have on there. Sounds like a nice truck. If you sell it and buy another Runner who knows what problems you'll inherit w/that.

Belize Off Road Team

Either call a Yota dealer or search for a TOYOTA speacialist that does 4x4's/TOYOTA's only. i to used to burn oil before and then i did two engine flushs and it reduced how much was burnt. then i took it to a Toyota Specialist in Quesnel BC and he fixed that and the idle problem that i had.

24Runna

I will be happy to find a specialist, but heres the problem.

Money is a huge issue, my parents were recently laid off and they are 2 months behind already. I only earn minimum wage and work as much as I can and damn its getting tiring. How much would it cost? I only get ~350 a month plus I get gas and pay for insurance so thats nearly 300 dollars already spend which leaves me almost none. Me and my friend are looking for a higher paying job though.

Thanks for the input so far guys.

dcg9381

Drive it.
Rebuilding it properly (having it done) is going to exceed $3000.
Most of the magic additives are simply designed to decrease the viscosity of your oil.. Thicker oil doesn't travel as easily and there is less available to burn.
Run 20W-50 if you want. Don't expect oil consumption to disappear, but it may get a little better.


Honestly, this isn't the worst news every, if everything else is OK (like the timing belt) - the motor could easily make it another 50k miles.

I knew a guy with a new ford truck, at that time it was a 5.0L V8. Like yours it would eat a bit of oil. Ford refused to warranty it because it's oil consumption was within reasonable specs.

Whitey13

If I were in your position, I'd sell the truck and take the $$ to help out the family. Then I'd bum rides with your buddy until things got straightened out.
Unless you're driving to pick up a pot of gold 3,250 miles away then bringing it home, I wouldn't even dream of such a road trip at this juncture.

24Runna

I already brought up that idea but my parents wouldn't accept it. We do have a boat and a '95 Celica that we will be putting up on eBay soon. Plus a brand new 42" LCD TV with $300 in accessories that we will also put up. The trip is because me and my 2 friends won't be together next summer as we will go our separate ways for college. As of now I will be bring in the 4Runner to our local dealer and have them inspect it and see what they say.

Also I forgot to say that I put half of my paychecks in my parents account

Whitey13

Half of the $350/month?

24Runna

Yea, roughly 175 a month I give them.

idanity

i would not use synthetic oil.

it may be better, but regular oil will *(over time) be more likely to clog up small holes.

i had serious piston slap w/an old datsun wagon, and a mech. told me to use the thickest oil i could find (it was straight 30 weight (castrol) and it worked alot.


after a while i found 50 and 60 (racing ) weights (mobil i think) and it was regular dino oil and that helped even more.


i read somewhere that synthetic oils can also clean away the inside of your engine and if there is any small holes, it will make them seem bigger.


but, all in all, why not sell the rig, and rent a car for the trip. (a girl and i did this when we both had cars (67 mustang fastback, and my the wagon) and it really came in handy.

the rental car got 2 flats, bird crapped coating *x99, rock chipped windsheild, cheapest gas on the market, door dinged at almost every stop (actually only one, but who knows how many untraceable ones).


and thats really my point.
i learned w/any rental, you can focus more on having fun, and just relax about the ride/wear and tear.

Victor

It could be as simple as leaking valve guides that are allowing the oil to get by and burn. You need to get a leak down test done. That will let you know if the rings are shot. If it is the valve seals then one of those high mileage oils would help since they cause the valve seals to swell (as well as other seals in the engine). If its the rings then only a rebuild will fix it.

Keep using the good filter but using synthetic on an engine that burns oil is not good economic sense in my book.