Oil Consumption way too high.

Well its been some years since I've posted here. My 05 Tacoma with the 2TR-FE has over 185,000 on the odometer and has had the normal servicing at the correct schedule.

I am burning 3/4 a quart per 1000 miles. I want to believe this may be caused by ring damage but I have my doubts. From what I hear this is common with the newer Toyota engines.

My question to anyone here with a 2TR-FE truck is how much oil do you burn in 1000 miles?

 

My 2006 2.7L with 125,000 miles does not burn any noticeable oil in 1000 miles. The dipstick oil level stays around the same level between oil changes - that's at least 7,000 miles.

I don't think newer Toyotas burn oil either. Not sure what you have heard... can you cite where you heard this?

All engines burn oil, but most engines in good condition burn so little that it's not noticeable (which is my case), or at least it's not too concerning (my old Mustangs would burn a little but I never had to top off the level between oil changes). Personally I would be concerned if you have to add oil between oil changes to keep it in the safe zone on the dipstick, which it sounds like you have to. But that's me. Some engines in good condition do burn quite a bit of oil, I understand this is mostly associated with some late-model engines with low-tension piston rings which reduce friction in the engine, increasing power and fuel economy. Low tension rings do reduce friction, and they also allow more oil into the combustion chamber, hence the increase in burned oil. (The low-tension rings don't "scrape" oil off the cylinder walls very well on the piston downstroke.) My boss has a GMC Sierra pickup that seems to run fine, doesn't leak a drop, but it burns 1 qt every 2000 miles. The dealerships tell him it's normal (low tension rings) but we know it's too much. Pretty sure he'll be replacing the cats at some point.

First be sure your engine is not leaking ANY oil. What do the emissions tests say? 24 oz in 1000 miles is burning a lot of oil IMO. 185,000 miles is not really that high in a Toyota, especially since it has been serviced regularly. Any odd noises from the engine? Do you ever notice smoke in the exhaust? Any loss of power?

 

No leaks, plugs look a little sooty but that could be from a fueling issue that was corrected, no knocking, no noticeable loss of power and about 3/4 of a quart every 1000 miles.
My local dealerships have been very upfront with me probably due to a few techs being friends of mine. The word is this is common on all late model 4 cylinder Toyota power plants. They have told me as of lately they replace or rebuild three to five Camry and Corolla 4 cylinder engines a day all due to ring failure or oil rings sticking.

At 125K I had near zero loss at 175K the oil consumption began showing up usually a quart low every oil change. Beginning to thing I have sticking rings or just worn out rings. The oil I have used since around 70,000 miles is Mobil 1 5W-30 Synthetic. Great oil but not so cheap when your adding nearly 3 quarts of oil every 5000 miles.

 

I may end up running Rotella T6 5W-40 HDEO or Rotella T5 10W-30 and hope the heavier detergents will free the rings up.

 

With 185k, you could also try a high-mileage formulation. Good luck.

 

@BabyTaco

 

2009
109k miles
No noticeable loss of oil at all

 

Don't think there is enough difference in the oil formulation (additive package) to make me want to use a "high mileage oil". They are basically one in the same.

 

Keep an eye on it.

How much oil do you pour in during your oil change? I have been using 5.5 to 6 quarts.

 

I want to say 6 quarts

 

I had ring damage and was burning quite a bit of oil towards the end. When it first started I burned about a quart over 800 miles or so. At least that's when I noticed it.

One thing you might check before cracking open the engine is your pcv valve. They can get stuck open and drain oil pretty quick. Its about $15 and 20 minutes of your time to replace.

 

As for the rings did you have them replaced?
How did you figure it was ring damage? Compression/cylinder leak down test?

It's on the list of things to clean. The last check was about 15000 miles ago and it was still functional. Chances are it probably still is but it's due for a replacement. I normally change them when I change the gear oil every 60k.

 

We did a compression test but it didn't show much of anything other than something was wrong in the 4th cylinder. When we added oil it only bumped the numbers slightly, but nothing substantial. I started with pulling the valve cover and replacing the valve seals. I ran into difficulties with this and took the truck to my local machine shop. We decided to just do a head job but when the head was pulled it was evident the issue was the 4th cylinder (wall scouring and rust). This basically meant I was in for a full rebuild. I was lucky and the machine shop did the work and kept the cost down. Once tore down we found dirt in the intake (possible cause) but the first 3 cylinders were perfect. The last cylinder the rings were broke in multiple places and it looked almost like I had blown a head gasket.

All in all, the culprit is still unknown. Could be dirt, could be part failure, and it could have just been just plain ol' bad luck.

To get you started in your search, I would perform a simple compression test. If you find that a cylinder is low, I would stick an endoscope in the spark plug hole and see how the piston head is looking.

 

Sounds like a head gasket failed. Probably not from dirt.
The broken rings are probably just bad parts from the factory.

I don't have oil on any spark plugs but cylinders 2 and 4 both show soot on the spark plugs. Not sure if the coil packs are weak or an injector is flooding the cylinder with fuel but those two are rich.
I have a feeling I have worn piston rings on the engine or cylinder wall scoring and I will not just slap a junk yard engine in there. A build for this engine is going to cost as much as the truck.

 

Not too bad considering the circumstances.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/your-longest-high-rpm-pull-on-a-2-7.416224/#post-12356898

Just dont want folks who use their truck as DD's to think that regular driving could lead to ring failure.

 

Mine is a daily driver. On my post your quoted happened when I was working in the Eagle Ford oil patches. We were late to a huge safety meeting because the company that contracted the company I was working for forgot to advise us we had to be there or else we lost our contract. So us lead guys locked up our gear and hit the road. Our 2 hour drive turned into 1.25 hours at 110 MPH. Like my truck description says "abused".

 

Lack of ventilation equals blown seals and gaskets. Too much ventilation at the wrong time equals high consumption. If it's stuck it will be wide open. The valve cover also has a hose going to it that pulls from the crank case I believe. I never did look to see if there was an oil separator built into the valve cover.

 

Very nice.
I like my oil lol.

 

Yes the PCV. Chances are it is stuck open otherwise excessive crankcase pressure would push out a seal or gasket causing a leak. No leaks evident on the engine so PCV stuck in the open position is possible.