4.0L V6 1GR FE burning oil

Burning half a quart of oil between ~5K oil changes doesn't seem normal "since stock," if by "since stock" you mean "since it was purchased new off the dealer lot."

My 2014 V6 1GR-FE, bought used at 62K miles from the 1st owner, now at 77K miles burns no appreciable amt of oil at all between ~3.5K mile oil changes.

(I like to nerd out about this stuff & have a controlled, repeatable oil-change protocol (same engine temperature, same dwell/drain time, same garage parking position & floor angle) and use a scale accurate to +/- 2 grams to weigh how much oil comes out of the engine during an oil change, and how much I put back into it.)

 

It is very normal even by manufacturer standards.

No two vehicles are alike and there’s many variables to oil consumption.

 

Hahaha another 10 years

 

I’m new to Tacoma ownership, do you recommend 3.5k miles OCIs?

 

Great insight! I’m going to do shorter intervals instead of 5k miles. Engine is loud but no weird noises. I did replace the radiator cap because the old one was shot

 

Correct, I replaced the PCV valve when I purchased the truck along with spark plugs. This was done at around 257k miles. I purchased the truck at 256k miles

 

Purchasing it at 256K miles there could be / probably is considerable wear on the piston rings. This would vary widely according to how the truck was maintained (oil changes & coolant changes regularly) and how it was driven (treated well or frequently high revved.)

If your time/tools and/or funds permit, I would do a warm-engine cranking compression test to get a basic notion of what the piston ring condition is. I'd also do a relative compression test (requires different tools, i.e. an amp clamp and a scope or scope-meter) to see whether the engine is approximately balanced in power output across all cyclinders and between the two banks.

 

Agree! They came with truck when I bought it in October. Will get some heritage Toyota frames. Truck is clean, interior is very nice and well kept for 264k miles and almost 17 year old truck.

 

If you search for "OCI" or "oil change interval" on TW forums you'll find hundreds of threads and thousands of posts on the topic.

My simplistic view is that while a 3 to 3.5K OCI may not be necessary due to improvements in modern synthetic oils, filtration, etc -- there is no harm to the engine in changing oil + filter that often, other than the increased cost & time for doing so.

Since I do my own oil changes, buy oil and filters in bulk, my materials cost per oil change is about $45. Looking at the lifetime oil-change costs on the vehicle, assuming it makes it to 400K miles, the costs are as follows:

400K / 3.5K OCI = 114 oil changes * $45 = $5,130
400K / 5.5K OCI = 72 oil changes * $45 = $3,240

Cost difference: +$1,890 lifetime cost for a 3.5K OCI, in possibly excess/unnecessary oil changes.

The hard part is, and I really can't answer it conclusively -- does paying the extra $1,890 make it more likely that the truck lives to 400K miles, vs. 300K miles? If yes, then spending a extra $1,890 is well-worth the extra 100K miles of usable life. Since I can't answer that conclusively or even with a strong benefit of the doubt in one direction or the other, I just choose to burn the extra $1,890 and consider it as a form of "insurance."

---- EDIT ---
You know, this is the first time I've ever done the simple math on the cost difference. Actually, at ~$2,000, it may make more sense to change to a 5K OCI and start sending my used oil in for a Blackstone analysis (costs about $40) every 20K miles, and only start reducing the OCI if the lab results indicate it would be helpful.

Perhaps this is a case of my reason working against my sense of 3-3.5K OCI tradition + superstition. For the time being, tradition & superstition are still winning.

---- EDIT 2 ----
Forgot to mention the other, frequently-ignored factor in OCI's -- it's not just mileage, it's calendar aging. Technically OCIs are generally X miles OR X months, whichever comes first. I.e. even driven only 1K miles, if it has been >6-8 months since last oil change, it's best to change it anyway. My understanding is that this is due to acids & other combustion byproducts + atmospheric moisture starting to oxidize the oil simply with the passage of time –– like cooking oil left in a cupboard a long time –– regardless of mileage driven.

In my case since I seem to only drive ~5-6K miles a year I think will probably stay with a ~6-8 month OCI, which ends up being 3K miles or so anyway.

 

134K on my Prerunner. Six month intervals with Amsoil XL 5W30 5500-6500 oci. A few 10K runs on Amsoil SS 0W30. The last few years I’ve added lube guard biotech.

 

Looks good.

Here's my timing chain. This is ~48 hours since last drive; that probably also matters a lot as the chain will look darker 30 minutes after last drive vs. days later, due to oil gradually draining off it. Mobil 1 Synthetic and/or COSTCO Kirkland Signature 5W-30, ~6-7 month or 3.5K OCI since 62K. Toyota OEM oil filters. Previous owner had dealer service and dealer oil changes every 5K.

Probably a bit difficult to compare chains exactly due to differences in amount of lighting, camera + lighting color temperature, camera sensor color gamut, etc. Very little varnish on either of them. Yours looks slightly less-varnished than mine.

 

Wow thank you for that breakdown and cost analysis. I will be sending my oil to black stone to see what the results are and will share with you guys. I’m coming from owning two prius (great cars) but at high miles they consume so much oil due to piston/ring design. This has been traumatic. I’m not mechanically inclined but will start doing oil changes myself on the Tacoma with 5w30 Mobil 1 full synthetic extended life. It amazes me these trucks can go the distance, I personally wanted a 3rd Gen but could not pass on this deal. I’ve owned it for 5 months and the 4.0L pulls like a dream on freeways. No hesitation or from engine or transmission.

 

Looks almost new. Do we have to “service” the timing chain?

 

To my knowledge (others should cross-check me on this,) there is not a factory-recommended service/change interval for the timing chain in the 1GR-FE motor.

I have read plenty of examples (mostly here on TW forums) of high-mileage 1GR-FE's running on their original timing chains. 300K, 400K miles even.

The biggest source of timing-chain wear is (as with many other parts,) too-long OCI's (allowing oil to get dirty) and/or allowing the oil level to run chronically low. Oil / grease with dirt in it is otherwise known as "grinding paste" (for sharpening knives) or "lapping compound" in the optical/lens-grinding industry. A grease/fine dirt mixture is ideal for gradually grinding away thin layers of any material, including metal.

Dirty oil running in the timing-chain rollers (the little rollers at each end of every chain link) gradually wears them away. Over the total # of rollers in a chain and over 50 or 100 or 200K miles in dirty oil, in the entire chain can gain as much as ?? 50mm (half centimeter) of length. This gain in length is referred to colloquially as "stretching," though it has nothing to do with actual stretching like a rubber band. It's all to do with increased gaps & "slop" within each chain link roller.

Other things that can specifically damage timing chains is a one-time major over-heating of the chain, causing its metallurgical characteristics to change (it becomes more brittle,) or and chronic VVTi problems (rattling/instability in the VVTi actuator) causing the plastic cover on the upper chain guide to fall off, and then the timing chain is riding on a bare-metal upper chain guide. Additional details in this Car Care Nut video about Toyota timing chains.

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Whether a specific timing chain in a particular vehicle needs changing depends on how much that chain is worn / "stretched." There are different ways to assess this, perhaps the simplest informal method is to remove the timing chain inspection cover & see how far the timing-chain hydraulic tensioner has extended itself over time. (But this is non-trivial as it does require the inspection cover to be properly re-gasketed/re-sealed so it doesn't leak.)

Another way to diagnose timing chain wear is indirectly, i.e. via electronic measurements of the 2 camshaft timings vs. the crank timing, but this requires a multi-channel (at least 3 channels) oscilloscope & skills to use it. Here's a fine deep dive example of how a scope is used to very precisely quantify timing-chain wear via scope. (~3 hour long (!) video series.)

In your case, probably pulling the little timing-chain inspection cover (about 2" x 2" square, NOT the entire timing chain cover,) either yourself or having your mechanic do it (taking clear close-up photos) would be the simpler & cheaper option. If the timing chain tensioner is extended pretty far out, that's a pretty certain sign of considerable chain wear, and an indication that probably the timing components (chain, sprockets, guides, tensioner) should be replaced. Not sure but that job has to be at least $2K in parts & labor at a mechanic.

----

Before worrying about the condition of the timing chain I would get the warm compression test & separately the relative-compression tests I suggested earlier done; these will give a good indication of the overall condition of the cylinder walls & piston rings -- how tightly the rings seal. If the compression is low or way out of balance in some part of the engine, that needs to be assessed & dealt with (or not) separately from the timing chain.

If the overall compression is already drastically low then it's time to probably think about replacing the engine.

 

mfgs saying oil consumption is normal during warranty on OCI schedule is their way of saying we don’t want to fix any issues unless there’s a lawsuit.

for example
Audi 2.0T bad piston ring design carbon buildup
VW MK4 Jetta 2.0L N/A piston rings installed upside down from factory

 

Appreciate the detailed description. I will start looking into doing the compression tests and also will do a blackstone lab oil test. Cheers

 

Looks fantastic.

 

@2ndgenron, a half a quart at 5K miles on an engine with that many miles on it is perfectly acceptable. Just do your 5K/8mo oil changes going forward and you should be fine.

If you haven’t already, be sure to do a couple of drain and refills on the coolant in order to avoid issues due to acidification. It can lead to a blown head gasket and/or leaks from corroded pipes.

 

Thank you, that’s next on my list. Besides coolant flushes, do you recommend looking into replacing the water pump to prevent head gasket issues? Are there any signs when a water pump is going out?

 

Here is the ODO as of last night