4.0L V6 1GR FE burning oil

My 07 with 175k does alot of offroading and my wife's 08 with 225k. Mine burns a little bit more due to the extreme offroad angles and huge tires I think.

 

Mine eats about the same or maybe a little more. Like everyone else is saying, nothing to be concerned about.

A couple theories. If you get smoke in the morning after sitting overnight, that could be valve seals. Another possibility, I saw a video explaining what severe sludge does to an engine. They showed the piston rings packed with sludge and scored cylinder walls. I’m not saying that’s what you or I have, but it’s a possibility. 2 oil changes ago, I ran some cleaner through the crank case, lotsa crap came out & it ran way better after.

$17 Liqui Moly Pro-Line Engine Flush | 500 ml | Oil additive | SKU: 2037

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-2...=1709750531&sprefix=2037+liqui,aps,253&sr=8-5

Yeah I know, someone will say it’s snake oil. I also started using marvel mystery oil in the crank case and occasionally in the gas tank.

 

I didn't read all the comments. But from what I have read, I think its nonsense to replace a engine because of it using at most half a quart or so. Just check it regularly. These engines are stout. Run it till it blows up

 

FWIW: My 2014 owner's manual (page 417) has an illustration of the dipstick with the two dots and says: oil level at top dot: "Excessive". Level anywhere between the two dots: "Normal". Level at or near the lower dot: "Low" It also says: "If the level is near or below the low level mark: add engine oil of the same type"

When I get my oil changed at the dealer and I check it cold the next day: it's at or near the top dot. If you are only using half a quart between oil changes at 250,000+ miles you don't really have a problem. Honestly, I wouldn't swap an engine that only used a half quart or likely even 1 quart per 5,000 mile. I would call it normal.

Next time you change the oil, establish a baseline by adding exactly 5 quarts, drive it around and check the level, and check it again cold the next day before starting it.

 

Thanks for the advise I’ll try it out! Worst case scenario I’ll be out $16 !

 

I’ll keep an eye on it. He’s a good general mechanic but I don’t think he knows this engine can run the distance. There’s a guy with 400000 miles on his 06 DCSB thread on here

 

Mine doesn’t burn oil. If it did, here’s what I’d consider.

-adding some ATF
-flush with ATF, diesel, or thin oil
-a cleaner treatment
-ring soak
-replace PCV
-oil treatment

making sure to run good oil changed on time.

already did a BG flush before because why not.

 

Just keep changing oil and put gas in it ...check tire pressure for mpg's... till the wheels fall off..around the 5th gen mark...lol

 

So if your oil is reading halfway between the low and high mark on the dipstick, then that is actually the correct level. If its reading all the way to the high mark on the dip stick then its actually a little over the recommended amount. So it sounds like you are fine. If its under the low fill mark then its actually low and you need to add some

 

Re-affirming, 1/2 way on the dip stick is perfectly fine for use over that mileage.

Checking PCV is a good idea.

Don't use 10W30, its basically obsolete, its no different than 5W30 except that its thicker when its cold out.

Stick to 5w30, its doing great.

 

They still make 10w30?? And in synthetic?? I haven’t seen that basically since 5w30 came out

 

Yes, but it's a little ambiguous... When I change it, I add 5 quarts and if it's above/a little above halfway, i call it a day. Not a real issue for me though because my 4.0 uses no oil between my 5,000 oil changes, synthetic or conventional. It's still a youngster at its current mileage: 131,000. No oil leaks either: Nice dry timing chain cover.

 

It’s was more $ than that. Depending if you follow the instructions on the can, or how I did it.

Instructions per on their site, 500 ml is sufficient for 3-5 Liters (0.8 gal. to 1.3 gal.) motor oil. 5 Liter is sufficient for 30-50 Liters (8 gal. to 13 gal.) motor oil. Add Pro-Line Engine Flush to the engine oil at operating temperature before changing the oil. After adding the product allow the engine to idle for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the degree of contamination. Then change the oil and the filter.

How I did it. Dump & refill the oil. Drove it hard for a couple weeks. Dump their stuff in, idle 15 minutes. Even with oil that was only in there a couple weeks, what came out looked nasty. After that I can’t remember if I did an additional dump & fill before doing a regular oil & filter change.

So really if you go by their instructions it is just the cost of the can of snake oil.

 

I believe you on that

 

Unrelated but your truck looks great for a 2007 model. Only thing wrong with it is that license plate frame.

 

Read above... Drive on and just check your oil.
And never stop to help "a disabled Toyota"... It's a trap.

 

This.


Depending on the level of surface, amount of time since ran, amount of oil poured in during oil/filter change a half n between full and low dipstick over 5k miles is nothing to be concerned about. Thats how my 2013 has been since stock.


Dont go back to the same mechanic if hes telling you shit like motor swap. Do your own oil changes, note the starting level and ending level right before next oil change on the same exact surface under the same conditions.


TLDR: 2nd gen 1GR motors are NOT known to use oil. Your mechanic needs to be fired.


EDIT - make sure you change rear axle/front diff n tcase if 4x4, as well as transmission fluid with toyota ws fluid and new trans filter if auto trans. Also change coolant and serpentine belt if there is no documentation of such. Do that up front and you will have truck thats good for another 200+k miles.

 

I can attest to what he said.

 

Nit picking, but anywhere between the two dots, including AT the top dot, is "normal". Only if it is above the top dot is it "excessive."



Given that it takes 1.6 quarts of oil to raise the level from the "low" dot to the "high" dot, if OP's truck is going from top dot down to middle of stick, it is burning about 0.8 quarts in 5400 miles.



That is definitely a considerable amount of oil, but not out of the ordinary for a higher-mileage vehicle, even a Toyota, depending on how it was driven & maintained throughout its life.

I would suggest changing from a 5500-mile OCI to something like 3500 miles, keeping a close watch on oil consumption, and being on the look-out for any other symptoms like blue exhaust smoke, power loss, strange engine noises, etc.

If there are no other symptoms besides burning approx. 9 tablespoons of oil per 1000 miles, I'd just keep driving it & changing the oil regularly. Do note that, at that age/mileage, burning that amount of oil, it may lead to excessive fouling of the cats (catalytic converters) which could lead to throwing emissions-related codes at some point.

 

Also, if it isn't spelled out plainly in recent service records as having been done sometime in the past ~60K miles, change out the PCV valve. This is a small part that costs less than $15 (and less than 15 minutes of labor to do) but it performs an important function to keep internal crankcase pressures from building up.

When a PCV valve gets old/clogged & no longer works as-intended, crank case pressures will build up, leading to increase blow-by around the piston rings & higher oil consumption. Also increases chances of oil leaks around seals and gaskets.

There are many videos about PCV valves, here's a basic one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91gMq7QYN-I

Here's a more technical one that is still well-presented and understandable. Ignore what he says at the opening about "diesel engines", the concepts he describes apply 100% to gasoline engines as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5TCxmJPFuU

As with any repair or maintenance you might personally do on your vehicle, read everything you can find about it on TW forums to be as-informed as possible about the best practices. E.g. for this particular part, the PCV valve, the threads are tapered, not straight. That means it should only be screwed in snug, NOT TIGHT. Trying to crank it "all the way in" is likely to CRACK the aluminum valve cover, leading a much-more-expensive repair.