Oil Problem?

2005 PreRunner 2.7L with 191,000 miles. I change my own oil and for a while now when I drop my oil only about 4.5 quarts comes out. I started keeping a check on my oil better even though I hate that stupid dipstick with the two dots on it. I used a piece of sand paper to scratch up the area between those two dots so I could see where the oil is.

Manual says 6.1 quarts and I have always just dumped 6 quarts in even though it shows from the best I can tell a little more than full. So, long story short, I am seeing some oil consumption and if you do the math its 1.5 quarts used in 3,000 miles and three months. However, I have put two full quarts in during that time...any ideas what or why it seems to be using oil? I just did an oil change last night and put Castrol High Mileage blended synthetic in it for the first time ever. I always have used Castrol GTX 5W-30

 

Sounds like normal oil burn off for a high mileage engine. You might try a thicker oil like 5w40 and see if that helps. It worked in my 1995 Chevy.

 

If it's not leaking it's burning. I'm not familiar with the 2TR but older Toyota's are notorious for leaky valve stem seals at higher mileage. Are you getting any smoke, especially on a cold start after sitting for a couple days? It's definitely worth investigating as you've noticed the difference recently. You might also pull the plugs and look for oil fouling and check the compression.

 

Obvious question is if there are any leaks anywhere?

Tomorrow morning after the truck has sat overnight start the truck and run to the tail pipe to see if any blue smoke comes out. This would mean you have some valve seals leaking. Also take a look in the coolant reservoir. Does it look Gatorade or like a cafe latte? (Gatorade is good).

Other than that it is a bunch of miles on that engine and not shocking that it is useing some oil. The truck is at the age where you need to keep a quart of oil in the back seat and check it every other fill up. Not the end of the world and the only thing that will keep the engine from hitting 300k is if you don't keep the oil topped off.

 

A compression test and a leakdown test wiil determine if the issue is ring or valve related.

You're burning about 1qt per 1k, right? Thats not crisis level, but it is time to know the cause and plan for correction.

Its not going to get better.

 

No leaks. No blue smoke. It has been cool in the mornings lately so the normal "smoke" you see is all I see. I get close to it and smell of the exhaust and it doesn't have the oil burning smell to it...just smells like exhaust. I really would like to get this engine to 300K and do everything that I can to get it there. It's a bucket list item if you will. I might try a thicker oil next oil change 5W-40. I have a small compression tester that I use for my outboard engine would that work? I am also going to try my hand at replacing the spark plugs tonight they are due for a change so I will see what the old ones look like. Anything else I need to do?

 

As long as the engine has oil it'll run.

 

GTX 5w30 is good oil and 191k is not necessarily high mileage for the 2TR-FE, unless those are hard miles. Also remember there's 1/2 quart in the filter so you're probably getting closer to 5 quarts from a drain. Not sure if that helps any... either way, your consumption is not extreme. Have you experienced any performance issues? You can look into it or just keep driving and check / top off more often. If it still runs good and passes emissions, I would just keep trucking.

 

Depending on your climate you might even go with straight 30 or even 40 in the summer. I would stick with conventional and quit wasting money changing it every 3k. With conventional you can go 5k. I had a 2001 F150 with the lovely 5.4. It used a qt about every 1200 to 1500 from the day I bought new until I sold it with 92k. Ford said normal. They did replace some 5.4s for excessive consumption. My boat mechanic had a Ford doing same thing and he figured out that the oil consumption was happening primarily at cold start up.

 

My 5spd 4cyl has 217k miles on it and it used to burn about 1-1.5qts per 5k miles. I switched to mobil 1 high mileage and no longer have this problem. Its a full synthetic just like regular M1 but it has higher heat protection to keep it from burning. Solved my problem, maybe it will work for you as well. Good luck

 

Most 5w-40 oils are for diesels, diesel oil has additives in it that will harm your catalytic converters. I'd go with something like Mobil 1 0w-40 if you want a thicker oil. My argument is probably not valid if it's burning that much oil though, the cats will clog or fail anyways with that much oil going into them.

 

You can get gasoline 5W40. Most European cars use it, but you are correct, 5W40 is a popular diesel oil and using that in his truck would not be wise.

 

Have you checked for valve cover or other leaks? Could also be a bad head gasket. Pull your plugs and see which one look black and wet. That's a cylinder that's burning oil.

 

Awesome! I just changed oil last night and went to the Castrol 5W-30 High Mileage but it is a blended synthetic and you say your High Mileage is a full synthetic?

No leaks around valve cover. Going to pull the plugs tonight and put in new ones. Just watched a few Youtube vids and looks like all I need is a long extension, spark plug socket and ratchet?

 

And a torque wrench

 

Yep, its a full synthetic. heres a pic of it



Its the middle one in the diagram above. Notice the three stars for high engine temps vs. the 2 for regular M1 full synthetic

 

I don't have a torque wrench. I can't just get them good and snug and be good?

 

Absolutely not. "Good and snug" can mean either stripped threads or you'll never get the plugs out again when you need to change them next! Definitely be careful when torquing plugs.

I've not done the plug change myself, but for some vehicles/plugs you can do finger tight and then turn a specified amount of a turn. There is a good thread stickied somewhere on here on the plug change. It isn't hard, but just make sure you torque properly.

EDIT: The relevant thread is https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-spark-plug-change-1-gr-fe.30479/

EDIT2: Looks like it is finger tight and then a quarter of a turn. Check the instructions on the box for the plugs you buy to be sure.

 

There is a page stickied with all of the various torque specs on the 2nd gen page

 

Send in oil for analysis? (Ie Blackstone Labs) maybe its sludging up?

190k miles is not a lot of miles in my opinion. Your truck shouldn't be drinking oil. None of my vehicles have at 200k at least.