Oil question

truck is a 2003 prerunner, 3.4 auto, 205,000 miles. Well maintained. And not abused. Most mileage is highway commuting. Truck runs like the day I bought it.


CallS for 5.5 quarts of oil. I run synthetic and usually go anywhere from 6 to 7000 between changes. Truck does not smoke or leak, but when I change the oil right around 5 quarts comes out including the filter.

So, my truck is eating 1/2 quart. Should I be looking for something, or is this normal.

 

Normal

 

I would say normal. Mine does the same.

 

I ask because my 2000 4Runner with the same engine did not loose that much, maybe half as much.

 

Normal. No worries.

That would be due to manufacturing tolerances.

 

Did you actually measure what you drained out? I have a 2004 2.7 and I lose nothing with 8000 mile plus oil and filter changes. My fluid level as far as engine oil is concerned is the same 8500 miles later after an oil and filter change. I have 166,000 miles on my 2.7.

 

All engines consume a little oil. There are places inside the engine where oil can’t drain back into the pan.

 

1/2 a quart after 6-7k miles? I don't think its anything to be alarmed about.

1/2 of the dipstick after 6-7k miles, maybe.

 

Synthetic Oil is slicker than Dinosaur Blood. A healthy engine is always going to consume a little bit of motor oil when it is operating. There is always going to be some motor oil that is going to get by the piston rings and valve seals, and as result, get burned during combustion. The reason why you don't see white smoke is because the amount is too small to produce white smoke, but any healthy engine is going to burn a little motor oil. It is just the nature of the beast.

I would say your engine's oil consumption is completely normal.

Take it easy,
Paul

 

I never owned a vehicle that didn't burn a little oil.

 

I've never bothered to actually measure the fluid coming out.

No drips on the driveway, no blue smoke, dipstick is fine, and no codes: It's fine.

I find I'm never actually able to put in the full 5.5 qts anyway. There's always a little bit that stays in the engine, it never drains out.

 

I never have either. Until I got this Taco with 119,000 miles on it. This 2.7 uses nothing at 167,000. That being said, a 1/2 a quart in 6 or 7000 miles is nothing to worry about. Thanks to the EPA these new engines are using low tension piston rings which allows them to use oil. What a great idea for saving the environment. It's like ethanol. Lowers MPG but is said to "save the planet" while growing non-food corn poisons the water table wherever it is grown due to pesticides and fertilizers that aren't allowed for edible corn.

 

E85 is magic sauce. Don't get on my high boost juice!! At least we dont have to add a quart each month like rotary motors.

 

Not to mention, you'd have to wait for every drop of oil to leave the engine to be accurate

 

Well, the oil in the filter has to go somewhere when you change it. Usually, most of it gets all over my arm, but eventually some of it does make it into my drain pan...

 

Completely normal.

 

I would recommend checking the dipstick level at the beginning and then after 6-7k miles and see if there’s a difference. If you are checking what comes out of the oil pan, well yeah you’re obviously going to lose a half quart because some of it is in your oil filter. The level on my dipstick doesn’t drop at all between 0 and XX miles.

 

For the mileage, that seems pretty good. Mine has 218k and emits no noticeable blue smoke nor has any leaks. Like you, I'm using a full synthetic (Mobil 1) and changing between 6-7k and not overthinking it. If that OCI consists of mostly extended highway miles, I find I'm adding about a 1/2qt over the course of the OCI. My 4runner with the 3.4 was about the same. Nothing to be alarmed about.

 

Yep, it's magic alright. You lose MPG with deathanol. Not to mention all the water it sucks up into the fuel in humid environments which doesn't do a fuel system or anything else on an internal combustion engine any good. Even those designed for it. I talked to a guy at a refinery one time. He said when deathanol first came out they figured out that 55 gallon drums of fuel they had set on the ground were absorbing water right through the sealed containers when it raiined and had to start storing them on pallets off the ground. Deathanol also allows dirt in the gas tank to circulate around in the fuel rather than settle which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. I won't go into what it does to the environment. It should be outlawed worldwide. If you can find deathanol free where you live, give it a try and measure your mileage between real gas and deathanol. Pay attention to how much better your engine runs at the same time.

 

Took me a minute, I was like what is this dude saying "deathanol." Anyways, well said and all good points. Have you ever seen people removing ethanol from fuel? Very interesting, but what I'm worried about on that is how much the refinery and fuel companies rely on it for octane. Wonder what the removal of ethanol from fuel that's been blended does to the RON?