[ckelly1911]

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a nice 2022.

I have a 1991 Camry that is losing oil. The car has the 2.0L 3S-FE and the 5-speed manual trans. The odometer reads 163,500, and outside of this oil loss problem and a nonworking rear defroster, the car is in survivor condition.

Initially, I thought the car was burning oil because I was losing about 1 quart/100 miles. However, after further inspection, I am unsure if this is the case.

In order to try and slow the loss, I put some Lucas High Mileage Oil Stabilizer in it. This has slowed the loss but has not solved the problem.

I pulled the plugs to check and see if they were fouled, and they were not. I changed them at 159k when I bought the car, and today when I pulled them, they looked perfectly normal.

I also performed a compression test on the engine while it was cold. All four cylinders read 150psi on the nose.

The car does not appear to be leaking oil. There are no visible drips under the car, although I am aware that something could be leaking in an area where I cannot see.

Any ideas on where all my oil is going?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[sdspeed]

Have a leak down compression test done. Odds are it's rings.
Any blow by when the car is running and ya open the oil filler cap?

 

[ckelly1911]

Have a leak down compression test done. Odds are it's rings.
Any blow by when the car is running and ya open the oil filler cap?

I'll have to run a leak down test and next time its running open the filler cap and see.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[sdspeed]

Place to start without throwing parts at it. The Lucas helped a Chrysler I had. Was rather a pleasant surprise.

 

[ckelly1911]

Place to start without throwing parts at it. The Lucas helped a Chrysler I had. Was rather a pleasant surprise.

I agree the additives are a good place to start, I'm going to try everything before surgery lol. I will run a leak down test, too. Can't hurt.

 

[71Corolla]

1 quart/100 miles is a huge amount of oil if that was being burned you'll be pushing clouds of blue smoke. Your engine must be an oily mess! Most common leaks are valve cover gasket, distributor O-ring and Oil pump seals.

 

[ckelly1911]

I agree, if it were burning that much I would see it in the exhaust, or on the plugs. I have replaced the valve cover gasket and while I was doing so noticed my injectors were absoulty coated in oil which leads me to think it had been leaking out pretty bad. I will have to look at the distributor O-ring, haven't heard/read about that one yet. I have an OEM timing belt, water pump, and oil pump on order so hopefully when I replace those things it'll straighten it up.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[ckelly1911]

1 quart/100 miles is a huge amount of oil if that was being burned you'll be pushing clouds of blue smoke. Your engine must be an oily mess! Most common leaks are valve cover gasket, distributor O-ring and Oil pump seals.

I replied on the comment above, forgot to tag you, still new at this form! Whoops!

 

[sdspeed]

Anyone who responds to you or a comment made by anyone else on this thread will know when there's a new post from all parties. No quote or tag needed.
Also you might get a cheap Smart Phone based borescope at see if the cylinder walls look fuel washed.
I.E

USB Snake Inspection Camera, FANTRONICS USB C Borescope, Scope Camera with 8 LED Lights for (16.4ft) OTG Android Phone, Windows PC, MacBook: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

USB Snake Inspection Camera, FANTRONICS USB C Borescope, Scope Camera with 8 LED Lights for (16.4ft) OTG Android Phone, Windows PC, MacBook: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

 

[ckelly1911]

Anyone who responds to you or a comment made by anyone else on this thread will know when there's a new post from all parties. No quote or tag needed.
Also you might get a cheap Smart Phone based borescope at see if the cylinder walls look fuel washed.
I.E

USB Snake Inspection Camera, FANTRONICS USB C Borescope, Scope Camera with 8 LED Lights for (16.4ft) OTG Android Phone, Windows PC, MacBook: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

USB Snake Inspection Camera, FANTRONICS USB C Borescope, Scope Camera with 8 LED Lights for (16.4ft) OTG Android Phone, Windows PC, MacBook: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Good to know! I will definitely invest in a bore scope as well. I've been thinking about grabbing one for a while anyways.

Thank you for the insights!

 

[sdspeed]

Does the oil when it's drained looked diluted? Or is there a fuel smell when you pull the dipstick?

 

[ckelly1911]

Does the oil when it's drained looked diluted? Or is there a fuel smell when you pull the dipstick?

The oil does not appear diluted or smell like fuel. I even held a lighter up to the dipstick to see if it would light.

I was wondering if fuel was leaking into the case and thinning the oil out via the pcv valve, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[sdspeed]

Does the clutch feel okay? Any oil coming off the bottom edge of the bell housing or thru the clutch fork hole?
Just seems like a ton of oil to just vaporize if your not seeing or smelling it come out the exhaust.

 

[ckelly1911]

Does the clutch feel okay? Any oil coming off the bottom edge of the bell housing or thru the clutch fork hole?
Just seems like a ton of oil to just vaporize if your not seeing or smelling it come out the exhaust.

The clutch does feel good for what it is. I don't think it's being contaminated.

I need to get the car in the air again and really look at everything underneath.

 

[66conv6]

Most comon place based on age would be the "bat-wing/spaghetti" o-ring seal for the oil pump. (It's shaped like a bat-wing). Not the oil pump itself. Mine leaked a quart every few hundred miles for a time. I also replaced the crankshaft seal and camshaft seal while I was at it and I think there's an oil pump shaft o-ring. Of course you'll be pulling the timing belt too so might as well do that and a new tensioner and water pump.

 

[ckelly1911]

Most comon place based on age would be the "bat-wing/spaghetti" o-ring seal for the oil pump. (It's shaped like a bat-wing). Not the oil pump itself. Mine leaked a quart every few hundred miles for a time. I also replaced the crankshaft seal and camshaft seal while I was at it and I think there's an oil pump shaft o-ring. Of course you'll be pulling the timing belt too so might as well do that and a new tensioner and water pump.

While I'm in there I'll certainly replace those seals. Bad seals/gaskets seem to make the most sense for the problems I'm having.

 

[white90dx]

You'd definitely see fresh oil on the ground with a leak that big though. Check for a large puff of smoke at startup, which would indicate valve stem seals, which can also cause less-noticeable oil burn.

-Charlie

 

[ckelly1911]

You'd definitely see fresh oil on the ground with a leak that big though. Check for a large puff of smoke at startup, which would indicate valve stem seals, which can also cause less-noticeable oil burn.

-Charlie

I agree, with the loss I'm experiencing it should be visible either on the ground or in the exhaust. The only time the car puffs blue smoke at start up is after many days of sitting. I've been driving it just about daily and haven't seen any smoke on startup or while driving.

Very peculiar situation, isn't it haha.

Thanks for the response!