Oil consumption

I have a 2008 tacoma, 4 cylandar, 210,000 mi. I am using a great amount of oil. I am still getting 22 or 23 miles to the gallon per tank and have good power. I see no smoke from the exhaust.

 

check spark plugs and look for leaks

 

Check the spark plugs to look for oil on them?

 

examen you sparkplugs for any thick black oil build-up. Also replace your PVC valve!

 

I'm no mechanic so what does black buildup on the plugs mean, and what is a PVC valve.

 

Generally there are 2 kinds of black buildup on spark plugs. Sooty/powdery buildup means rich fuel mix. Hard black deposits mean oil burning.

PCV (not PVC) valve is for positive crankcase ventilation. It's mounted on the back side of the valve cover, on the right (passenger side). California models have a threaded base into the valve cover.

 

If you do all of the above and there are no leaks whatsoever, I'll bet hard that the oil control rings have let go. I had the exact same issue. I didn't loose power or mpgs until the cat plugged with oil. Currently rebuilding the engine

 

I'm going to replace the PCV valve this week and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

 

Please keep us updated.

 

What is a 'great amount'?

What type oil do you run and what are your change intervals?

 

This is where my oil consumption ended

 

This is to Clearwater Bill, I use about a qt a gas tank full, 0-20, 5000 mi.

 

Try 5w-30 or even 10w-30 next oil change.

 

Wait so you're using 1L per tank of fuel or 1L per oil change. By the time mine got to consuming 1L per tank of fuel it was barely running

 

Yep, 1 quart of oil per tank of gas.

 

If you are not seeing smoke, it must be leaking. One quart per tank of gas is a tremendous amount of oil. You would certainly smell that and see it in the exhaust if it were burning. Do you see smoke when decelerating? Is there oil on the driveway where you park? Is it sprayed in the engine compartment somewhere or underneath? Could it be leaking on the exhaust and burning off while driving? You would smell that as soon as you stopped most likely. Is it leaking from the front or between the head and block? It's got to be going somewhere, we need to find out where its gone first.

If this has gone on very long and it was burning in the cylinders, I would not be surprised if you had or will get a check engine light. The check engine light does work when you turn the key on?


0-20 is awfully thin for a high mileage engine generally, but probably not the only cause of this consumption.


P.S. Have you had any head or valve work done recently??

 

I started running 10-30 at 119,000 miles and I live where it gets into the single digits and below zero at times. No problems but I did install an oil pan heater. I really didn't "need" it in the single digits but why burden the starter. I heard some piston slap way back at 120,000 miles and switched to 10-30 synthetic. No piston slap since. I've never been a fan of these thin oils and run as thick as I can get away with. I've got 185,000 now and zero oil use. I run Amsoil 10-30 Signature which does make a difference. I would never run a Dino 10-30 under the same conditions nor a synthetic blend such as Mobil 1.

 

Nope, I don't see smoke, I don't see any on the ground or on the engine, my check engine light works, and has come on with emissions leak codes. I have been using 0-20 synthetic, would it hurt the engine to go to a 10-30 regular oil?

 

Ok, I changed the PCV valve and it was still clicking; clicking when I shook it. So that shouldn't have been the problem, right?

 

Really long shot: Do you see oil in the coolant tank? Are you using/ loosing/overflowing coolant regularly or at all? Possible head gasket issue? That amount of oil has to go somewhere... burned or leaked.