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i have a 07 tacoma 196.000 miles on it every 1,500 i have to put in 3 quarts oil, I have did all regular maintenance faithfully, No burning, no leaking out. No tail pipe smoking, where is it going? IT is a 2.7 engine, any suggestions or ideas?

 

It has to be ether burning it or leaking it. No smoke at start up or wide open throttle? Have you had somebody follow you and see if they see it smoking? It is sometime hard to see small smoke in mirrors.

 

I once had a 1978 Chevy Monza - same basic engine as the Vega.

It went through more oil than that and didn't smoke or drip at all. Turned out to be one cracked exhaust valve, and of course the seal above it was trashed. It was burning oil so well that you couldn't tell by looking at the exhaust.

 

I bet your PCV system is clogged somewhere or the valve is bad.

 

If it were my truck, here's what I'd do:

- as millertime said, the oil is going somewhere. Have someone watch your exhaust pipe when you start the truck (preferably after the truck has been sitting overnight), and have him follow you on a drive that will warm up your truck thoroughly. He should be looking for blue-ish smoke, and sniffing for the smell of burning oil. Blue smoke or a smell of burning oil would point to rings and/or valves not seating properly.
- Pull each spark plug and compare it to a pic of what a plug should look like...pics can be found all over the place online. Google something like spark plug diagnosis and you'll get pics of various spark plugs. If they look at all oily or seriously fouled, you're burning oil. If some plugs look ok but others look oily, then you've likely just found that you may have bad rings or valves/valve seats on those cylinders, or you've found where you may have a bad head gasket. While you're at it, change the plugs, and then check them again in a week or so looking for any changes.
- Clean the exterior of the engine from top to bottom, front to back, and make sure you get underneath. Use a de-greaser and lots of water. After driving for a day or two, crawl around looking for anything wet and oily...if you see anything wet & oily, you've found a leak.
- Clean/replace your PCV, and clean everything you can that goes to or from it. Check it again in a few days to see if it looks oily. A clogged or non-functioning PCV valve could be the culprit of that.
- Along the lines of PCV, pull as much of your intake plumbing as you can, and look for oil & gunk build-up...that could be a non-functioning PCV.
- On the valves...I'd go cheap first and max out the dosage on a fuel system cleaner for a few tanks. Or use something like sea-foam to clean the heck out of everything. After you've done that, change the oil, and monitor your consumption.
- Check your coolant...if it's milky & brown-ish, your oil is ending up in your radiator and engine, possibly through a blown head gasket. Also check your oil filler cap & tube, and your dipstick for anything milky.

Doing all that is not expensive. And at least you'll know that things are clean, so you can monitor for changes and go from there.

 

Solid response soldierguy, and +1 on a thorough cleaning; makes it much easier to find leaks and work on the thing once you find it.

 

Defiantly a great post soldierguy. OP do the things he said and you have a very promising chance on finding your problem.