GregStevens

I posted in another thread about the smoking that my '92 3VZE is doing now. I checked the oil a couple of weeks ago and it was fine. The other day, I checked it again and there is so much oil in the crankcase that it passes the 'full' mark by several INCHES! I haven't added any...unless I did it while sleepwalking!
I can't for the life of me figure this one out. I'm going to change the oil tomorrow, but any ideas as to how the hell this happened?? And if the dipstick reading is correct, could this be the cause of the smoke? It's REALLY bad, especially when I take off after sitting at a red light or when I start it for the first time.

Anyone have any ideas?? I'm totally baffled.

Flash319

Is the smoke black? If so that may not be oil but fuel in you crank case. Does it smell like gas? If so be very careful as that fuel in there can explode. You may have a bad injector.

suprathepeg

I'll bet a head gasket. How is your coolant level? Only 4 things could get into the oil: more oil, gas, exhaust or coolant. I'm betting on coolant.

95RunnerSR5

if the smoke is white then it is def. oil burning, gas will burn black.

CJM

Look clser, its a hand and a computer mouse.

If the oil is that high I can bet its the head gasket, does it have a milkshake consistency? If it does you need a HG job.

GregStevens

Thanks for the responses, guys. The oil seems like just plain old oil. There's nothing weird about it, as far as I can see. The smoke is white and I can't really make out if it smells like gas or not, but it is white. And I see no evidence of there being anything but oil in the crankcase.

This may be a bit of a stretch, but I thought I'd ask anyhow. There is a rattling sound coming from the cat that started about the same time the smoke started...just a couple weeks ago. If a cat fails, can the stuff inside it produce smoke? I kinda doubt it, but I thought I'd ask.

Also, I haven't noticed any loss in power. Feels like it always has...slow!

The idea that it's fuel freaks me out...like I'm driving a bomb around! How would I check the injectors?

Thanks in advance guys...YT rocks!

suprathepeg

Could be a plugged cat causing excessive back pressure and some blowby that is getting into the oil?

Deffinately drop the oil and smell it. If the oil level is normal when you drop it then you could have exhaust gasses getting in and causing high oil pressure forcing oil up the dip stick tube causing an abnormal reading. If this is the case then you need to do a comression test. If when you drop the oil it smells like gas then you have gas in there. If it looks milky then you have coolant.

trythis

Your catalytic converter material can melt, I had one do that, and metal (platinum) can burn, Magnesium somkes like crazy, but when metal burns it usually doesnt go out on its own and needs lots of oxygen to start. If your are pushing a bunch of oil through it, it is probably going to be burnt up, casuing you maniflods to get very, very hot.
I would dump that oil fast and not drive it until its changed. It might be worth sending it for analysis, unless you find a bunch of water comes out of the pan first, then it is obvious.

GregStevens

More thanks!

The idiot oil pressure gauge has been where it needs to be. Where would I get the oil tested for coolant or fuel?

And since the smoke is white and if the reading is correct, could this cause it to smoke like this? The reason I ask is because I'd like to know if I'm looking at perhaps a valve stem seal replacement or ring replacement. Hopefully neither, but something is going on. But what I don't get is why the oil looks normal!

I'll be sure to check the coolant level tomorrow, too. It hasn't been running hot, though, at least not according to the idiot gauge.

Man, I'm just baffled over this one...please keep posting your ideas, it's really helping!

Bumpin' Yota

definately have a looksie at your radiator when cool. All cooling fins should be under 1 or 2" of coolant. To get the idiot gauge to display anything the coolant has to be below about 3/4 full in the radiator! Another vote for coolant in oil...

CyMoN

well oil will sit on top so if there is water in there you would only see oil on the dipstick if it where me i would do a oil change right away.

TC22RE

All I can think of is that you have a bad head gasket, water will get into your crank case and cause your oil level to rise, if you drive around like this it will cause some serious wear on your engine. Oil may appear to be milky, but it may not. Also, if you are smoking WHITE smoke, it is usually burning coolant (meaning a bad HG), if you are burning BLUE smoke, its usually oil (which can be a number of things). Either way, with the rise in oil level and the smoking my money is on the HG.


EDIT... thinking about the coolant in the oil mystery, I have seen it happen where it didn't really change the oils apperance, at most it may have turned it a little "brown/blackish" resembling normal oil after about 2k miles.

ovrrdrive

Another vote for coolant leaking into the oil...



If oil and coolant are fine, I'd do a compression check to see what shape the rings and head gasket is in.

MonsterMaxx

Another vote for head gasket failure.

Easiest way to check oil for coolent contamination is to pull the oil fill cap off and look under it. If it looks like someone spooged in there you have coolent in the oil.

Also you can pull the radiator cap (when it's COLD) and the oil will have risen to the top.

You'd have to be getting tremendous fuel contamination for the oil level to rise. A stuck injector for example. Possible, but rare.

Betting on head gasket failure which is very common on the 3VZE.

Joyota

Sometimes you'll also see oil in the coolant overflow reservoir, which you can check whether it's hot or cold.

GregStevens

OK, changed the oil yesterday. We estimated there to be about 8 quarts of oil in the crankcase! No idea how that got in there, but it was straight up oil. No evidence of anything contamination, water or otherwise.

The smoking has gotten better, but it's not totally gone. I'm gonna take it later this week and get the power steering pump looked at. But I have no idea why the oil was like that. Can it damage to the engine if there's hat much oil in it? What's weird is the oil pressure gauge didn't indicate anything that was off. Thanks for your helps guys, I really do appreciate it!

trythis

Oil pressure hasnt got much to do with volume. I doubt it would hurt much except the emissions equipment. Maybe you want to see if your vacuum system is full of oil, since you were burning so much. to me that means it was running throught the intake, and maybe go into your EGR.

here is a little story that might explain how much you had.
My wife didnt know how much oil went in a car, but she checked the oil and assumed that when there was none on the dipstick, that there was none at all, so she added 5 quarts, cause that is what the manual says it holds.

GregStevens

OK, good to know that I probably didn't hurt anything. How would I go about checking the vacuum system, just start unplugging hoses and then what? Use canned air to blow them out? There is some funny noises coming from the cat. I think it's got issues and will replace it soon. How do I know if it has gone south?

Funny story about your wife...

Tim_Snapple76

How much would somebody expect to pay to get a compression test done?Tim

ovrrdrive

Well, for less than $20 you can get a really nice compression tester and do it yourself.

I bet at a dealer they would probably get you for an hour of labor. So going at that if you pay someone to do it you can pay up to about $75 or even more.