Oil Consumption question

3910 Views 17 Replies 9 Participants Last post by jt14894, Apr 21, 2009

celticlofts

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2009 (Edited)

I have a 93 1.8 which seems to be using an excessive amount of oil. The problem is that it doesn't seem to be burning it and I'm not seeing any oil stains on the floor of the garage.

when I got the car I replaced the IAC, plugs, wires and the usual service stuff like PVC etc. The engine sounds smooth and I'm not hearing any noises like lifters. The car is not smokey.

I drove 278 miles this weekend on 7.3 gallons of gas which I thought was great mileage considering only about 7 miles of the trip was interstate. I'm thinking that If i'm getting such good gas mileage that the car can't be very sick.

Anyway any suggestions?

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

Justin727

· #2 · Apr 13, 2009

are you sure you have no leaks? Front seals, rear main, possibly valve cover leak?

How many miles on the car. It could be a few things such as valve seals, rings, and other things. Have you taken apart your upper plenum and cleaned it yet?

There is no check engine light?

celticlofts

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 13, 2009

Sorry I thought I posted the mileage. It's currently 190,000 miles. We replaced the transmission not long ago so I've been keeping a good eye out for leaks both topside or under the car but there doesn't seem to be any other than a small leak from the drivers side drive axle which is tranny oil. No service lights or anything like that. The car runs like a champ and the gas mileage is great.

I'm just wondering what kind of oil comsumption others are experiencing.

Thanks for the reply.

celticlofts

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 13, 2009

What is the upper plenum? Maybe I know it by another name.. And how does one clean it. If you're talking about the trottle body yes I cleaned that when I replaced the Idle air control a month or so ago.

Justin727

· #5 · Apr 13, 2009 (Edited)

I currently do not have any noticeable oil consumption. I'm @ 132k..

Could be the previous owner did not maintain the car too well and not change the oil regularly. Could cause some parts to wear abnormally fast.. Rings or valve seals...

When I did the pcv on mine I of course did a fuel induction service first since I work at a shop. bought an upper plenum gasket, pcv, grommet, hose.

Did the induction first, took apart the upper plenum, cleaned it up real good, then did another fuel induction service and ran 93 thru the tank..

So far so good. Car runs much smoother now..

Edit: the upper plenum.. If you look at your intake mani.. You'll see at the top some Allen head bolts. Those or 6mm and at the bottom two 12mm bolts holding it on. Unbolt that and disconect your throttle linkages and it comes right off. You'll see all the gunk up I'll try and find a thread real quick brb.

scroll down to post #6
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259958

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kevmac

· #6 · Apr 14, 2009

Maybe degrease the engine at the local car wash and then you will be able to see where new oil is collecting. This will help tell if the valve cover gasket is leaking. That caused my leak that has been since fixed. Did you have timing belt changed? Crankshaft seal or camshaft seal could be leaking. It is always good to change them out at the second timing belt change.

94_Rolla_Guy

· #7 · Apr 14, 2009

Its probably burning it anything under about 1L every 1000km isn't noticeable (blue smoke) they all burn oil and at 190miles i dont doubt for a second that its burning it up, My advice try using Castrol GTX highmileage (green jug) 10w-30 and change it every 3500miles and that will reduce consumption as much as possible. they will run forever burning oil long as you keep it topped up dont let it get more than 1/2 liter low or you will start to cause issues

umterp09

· #8 · Apr 14, 2009

Almost the same issue here.

1995 Corolla DX with 192,000+ miles. My engine takes about 2 quarts every 3 weeks (~1000 miles). Seems excessive, but there are no bad sounds from the engine, I still regularly get 27-30 mpg, and it seems to run fine.

I've been topping it off consistently for almost two years now, and no problems with the engine.

Unrelated, but only had to replace the clutch on the manual transmission. No other major repairs to my car. Here's to hoping it last another 100k.

jt14894

· #9 · Apr 14, 2009 (Edited)

Justin727 said:
I currently do not have any noticeable oil consumption. I'm @ 132k..
.
.
.
.
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Same here. My 1997 is at 121,500+ miles.
I changed the oil 2 1/2 months ago and 2000+ miles since then, the color is still relatively clear, I haven't had to add any oil, or notice much of a decrease in the oil level.
Whoever owned this car before me must've taken good care of it.

JT

trife96

· #10 · Apr 14, 2009

Actually, I've noticed and heard from others the 4AFE and 7AFE tend to burn a little oil.

Greasewrench

· #11 · Apr 16, 2009

I got a 7AFE 95 with 153,938 miles and it burns about 1 quart every 3000 miles. i'm still running 5w-30 though, i never really noticed the oil consumption until after i started putting full synthetic oil in the car at around 100,000 miles. not sure if synthetics tend to burn more oil than conventional oil.

sequoiasoon

· #12 · Apr 21, 2009

My '93 had started burning some around 140k it slowely got worse to 1 qt per/1000 miles. I just kept it topped off at every fill up with about 1/3 of a quart.

I did an Auto RX cleaning http://www.auto-rx.com/ on it and the useage went down to 1 qt every 3,000 miles. I did get one or 2 small leaks from oil pan but they sealed back up after the clean/rinse/new oil.

There are many posts on the internet about oil useage from these motors. The scary ones are with less than 100k and 1-2 qts/500 miles. Since was running perfect and getting great mileag it wasn't worth it to me to rebuild for the cost of 1qt of oil. Some NEW cars state in the manual that up to 1 qt per 1,000 is NORMAL

:disappoin . I would have a REAL hard time with that on a new car.

celticlofts

Discussion Starter · #13 · Apr 21, 2009

Thanks for all the replies guys. It seems that they do tend to use a little more oil than I've normally seen from other vehicles but I'll just keep it topped up for now and wait until I'm doing the timing belt to replace the other seals. Thanks again ..

jt14894

· #14 · Apr 21, 2009

After I bought my 1997 last August, I had the valve cover gasket and the crankshaft seals replaced.
I don't know whether the previous owner had issues with oil leaking or burning, but as I previously mentioned, I haven't noticed much of a decrease in the oil level ever since I changed it 2 1/2 months ago.
I've logged just over 2500 miles since that oil change and when I checked the oil a few days ago it has remained at levels within the normal operating range.

JT

Justin727

· #15 · Apr 21, 2009

I as well. Matter of fact it was time to change the oil and I checked it. Still full hasn't lost any..

It did when I first bought it. The valve cover leak was outrageous. The gasket itself when taken off fell to pieces hard a rock.

I have a slight rear main seal leak I'll have to change out but I'll do that after I decide to do the timing belt. But agian it's not enough to where I read actual noticeable loss of oil.

jt14894

· #16 · Apr 21, 2009 (Edited)

Oh yeah. Sorry. I forgot to mention that I also had the front and rear camshaft seals replaced.

JT

Justin727

· #17 · Apr 21, 2009

must be drinking this morning

jt14894

· #18 · Apr 21, 2009

Oh I definitely need a drink. :spit:

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