Lost 3.5 quarts of oil, and don't know where!
 

Hey guys, I have a '91 4Runner, 3VZE, auto. Anyway, the motor was rebuilt by Toyoyta 9K miles ago, I bought it 700 miles ago.

When I first got it home I checked the oil and it was full on the dipstick and clean, like brand new clean.

Checked it today for the hell of it and saw nothing on the dipstick, dumped a quart in....nothing, another quart.....nothing. Anyway it took 3.5 quarts, which means it's been running around on 1.5 quarts and it's been hot here, like 100 hot, and I've had the A/C running.

I really hope I didn't hurt anything, but what bugs me out more is where the hell did 3.5 quarts of oil go in 700 miles?????

If it was burning that much I would be driving around putting out a smoke screen and if it was leaking that much, I would have a lake under it in my driveway, and the bottom of the engine is bone dry.

I am blown away by this....and pissed. I hate that a brand new rebuild got treated like this...and hate that I was the idiot who let it happen. It just never gave me any sign that I needed to monitor the oil so closely.

What is the deal???

Thanks,

Mike

Man thats messed up. Hopefully it wont drop down like that again.
But couldent you hear it was low on oil, and what about the oil pressure guage.

ok, first off, the engine was rebuilt 9000 ago and you've put 700 on it since you bought it. that means there's 8300 miles unaccounted for... many of which, if not all, were the responsibility of the person who had the engine rebuilt. Whomever that was most likely filled the oil up before you bought it. Therefore the oil loss problem is not your fault....
Say it with me: the oil loss problem is not my fault. repeat... again... good.

Now, if you're really worried, get at least a compression test done on the engine so you can learn if the rings are bad or not. Also, check the radiator and see if you have oil floating in it.

If the dealer isn't going to honor any sort of warrantee, prolly not since you're not the owner that had it rebuilt... but maybe give them a call anyways... keep a close eye on the oil level- check it daily, and see if it gets any better over the next 1000-2000 miles. Try to use 10w-30 or 15w-30 non-synthetic oil for the time being.

The engine was probably not broken in properly. But you still have some time. It's not going to grenade on you unless there's something seriously wrong and you happen to let it go so long again without checking the oil

Thanks for the responses guys.

Toyotam93.....The oil pressure gauge sucks, and doesn't register a real pressure reading whether it's full or only has 1.5 qts in it.....as I found out. The gauge has read low since I bought it, and it didn't read any lower when there was no oil in it....but these gauges are known to suck, and when I first bought it I pulled the oil cap off and can see plenty of oil shooting around in the head, so I know there's good pressure.

There was no noise at all, it doesn't sound any different after I filled it up as it did with 1.5qts in it, which is weird, but hopefully good, meaning I didn't hurt anything.


abecedarian..........I will be checking the oil daily for a while and probably at least weekly forever. I checked the coolant already and there was no oil in it, luckily. That was the first thing I checked, to see if it was a head gasket issue.

I have a compression gauge, what reading should I be seeing on it when I check compression?

I am doing a complete oil/filter change today with good 10w-30 and a good WIX filter. I had to fill it up with 7-11 crap oil yesterday because I was too paranoid to drive it a foot further with no oil in it.

If the engine wasn't broken in properly, what can I do to help this, anything?

Thanks,

Mike

Now why in the world would you recommend that he use a 10W-xx or 15W-xx ?




Fred

they're usually among the cheapest on the shelf and unless it's below freezing no need for a 5w- considering the rate of oil loss.
and if I thought it could be found, I'd recommend an API SF/CD rated oil as well for the next 2/3 oil changes due to lower detergent levels and a few other reasons.
what would you recommend?

Any more input on this? Or any solutions? Has anyone ever seen this before?

I drove about 65 miles yesterday and was down about a 1/2qt. I don't get it.

I thought I may have seen a puff of smoke come out of the tailpipe after sitting at a light for a couple of minute, it was long light, and when I took off I thought I saw a puff of smoke come out. But if it was burning this much oil I would think it would be a constant plume of smoke all the time. Like you see old Mitsubishi engines do, especially the ones that Chrysler used on the Dodge and Plymouth minivans, those things all smoke after 80K, and smoke bad.

I may have to go back to the dealer that did the "rebuild" and just do my best to see if they honor anything, even if I am not the owner that had the rebuild done. I am starting to not trust that Toyota even did an actual rebuild. I had an '88 Pickup with the 3VZE and I cracked the block due to the headgasket issues, they replaced my whole short block so I knew that was new, but I don't trust that they actually did a rebuild. Most dealerships are parts changers, I can't see them tearing a block down, boring and fitting overiszed pistons. Do they actually do them at the dealer or do they send them out to a rebuild shop or back to Toyota??? Never found out the answer to that question.

Thanks.

Check your compression! I had a significant loss of oil when I had broken rings in my cylinder. For some reason it would go somewhere. Didn't know where either...lol.

Broken Rings!! Wow man, I really hope it's not that, becasue I am pretty sure Toyota is gonna give me a problem with this and fixing a broken ring or rings is gonna be $$.

I would assume Toyota would use brand new rings on a rebuild, how could I have a broken ring after 9K miles?

I have no clue. You probably didn't. I just wanted to warn you about it. I had no burning oil, no drips under my truck, and I was loosing oil. No where to be found.

This probably isn't the same in your case...I would just make sure.

OK, I'm gonna check compression anyway. Is there any ballpark compression to look for, or just make sure they are all even?

Does anybody know how Toyota rebuilds these? Does the dealer send them back to Toyota or do it in house or send them out to a local rebuild shop? I should have asked the Advisor at the dealer when I talked to him, but it didn't occur to me. I am just curious as to who actually did the rebuild.

Thanks.

i had this sorta problem with my 90 camry. turns out i had a cracked ring and some blowby. i'd recommend checkin the crankshaft seals too. hell if the rear main is busted then you prolly got oil all in your bellhousing or somethin. it should be leaking out somewhere man have you looked it over really good? get on the highway and floor the snot out of it and see if its burnin off behind ya

and to break it in get the LUCAS OIL STABILIZER and KEEP puttin it in every oil change. best of all you can put their stabilizer in both diffs, your tcase, and manual tranny. they even have a synthetic oil stabilizer too.

to finish up the camry story, we had to get another motor and rebuild it. it costed a ton of $$$ but that dang car is worth it. the guy replaced all the seals at first cuz he thot that was the problem. after he did that he cranked it up and oil shot out of the dipstick tube!!! so yeah that kinda problem definitely isn't good man.

get your honest dependable hometown mechanic to fix it. thats what i'd do anyways. screw the dealership. they'll charge you out the @$$

Don't put ANY additives in your oil. Run straight dino 10w30, it is entirely possible that the PO used synthetic and your rings simply have not seated yet.

If your rear main was leaking, the oil would not collect in your bell housing. It would collect on your driveway and all over your undercarriage, if it was bad.

I suggest you consult with a lawyer to find out whether you have any avenue to see whether Toyota should/ must goodwill warrantee your engine. A rebuilt engine should not fail in 7K.

It does not sound like it is leaking unless you have the rear seal was left out and there are 3.5 qts. sloshing around the bell housing (but the bell housing has a drain hole right??), though my guess is that they only did the head gasket. You should see smoke at startup.

Depends on the dealership. Some disassemble the motor and send it out to a local machine shop, some swap short blocks and send out the heads if necessary.

BTW, many of the cost complaints about dealerships is based on them "charging book". That means, however many hours the job is rated to take, is what they charge you. Even if it takes less (which is how a good mechanic can make a decent living). Even if it takes more - you are not on the hook for more cost. The mechanic eats it.

Many small shops simply charge by the hour. If it takes longer, you pay more. Less predictable for you, safer for the mechanic, though these shops have to keep overhead down to be competitive. Many are good, many are not. Just like everything else in life.

Something like, Rotella T dino? Good break in oil. Good all around oil for that matter.

180psi iirc for each cyl.

I would check the rad, oil could have gone there.. then you have a failure of the HG iirc.

It doesn't sound like it has 'failed' quite exactly.

Pretty common for rebuilt Toy motors to consume lots of oil if for some reason the rings were not seated - such as using synth too soon. 3.5 qts. sounds like a lot, but I'd be willing to bet oil consumption goes down dramatically as the rings seat. Just my hunch, been wrong before, but...

Drive it and keep an eye on the oil. Hopefully you didn't starve the top end, but I rather think you'd know it if you did.