I have a 98 Camry. About four weeks ago, my engine was mostly gone with only viscous fluid left behind. I added oil and got an immediate oil change. A thousand miles later, the oil level has gone from max to min and it is turning viscous. I see no oil spots where I park.
I have always been religious about my oil changes and I have 75,000 miles on the clock. What could be wrong?
Thanks!
If the oil-level drops to minimum in a thousand miles, it's not what I would call critical. It simply means the engine is burning a bit of oil, and some vigilance is required to ensure it is replenished. Check your oil each tankful of fuel or more and add oil to return to max on dipstick.
If the car starts blowing blue smoke and consumption tripled, then its time to repair the engine. Sounds like it may have had a slight overheat? Normally the 4 and 6 cyl engines are not noted for this problem.
Jason
As already suggested by others, check the smoke to see if you burning oil.
The other possibility is a leak or cracked head that allows the oil to leak into coolant. Check the oil for coolant, and check the coolant for oil.
If the oil or coolant looks like soapy water or an oily emulsion, you may have a broken head gasket or a cracked head, and the two fluids are mixing.
Is coolant going down is oil color milky, if so its likely a head gasket leaking coolent. Remove and look at spark plugs they tell all, do a compression test to see if its got any life left.
Dont drive it till you fix it water does not lubricate
Standard answer for this: Check for a loose oil pan. You won't see any leaks, since it doesn't leak till the oil is at pressure...
Happened to me on two cars till I became wise to it.
The oil-pan is a resevoir which the oil-pump intake is submerged. Once the oil is pumped thru the various oil galleries, it constantly drips back into the oil-pan after escaping from all the pressure-fed bearings. At no time is the oil-pan oil itself under pressure, its simply a small lake of oil.
Jason
============ What oil change interval, 3,000, 5,000, 7,500? What type of driving, short trips or long? What type of oil brand, viscosity? What type of climate, humid, dry, warm, cold?
If there is no head gasket leak or external leak, then you may have the sludge problem. That generation of Camrys are known for that. I think you caught it early, before the check engine light comes on and the engine seizes.
Toyota has a sludge warranty for those engines that goes for 8 years and 80,000 miles(?) Depending on when you bought the 98, you may be just out of that. You may want to check with the Toyota 800 line about it.
The problem is with the then-new low emissions status of those engines and not sufficient cooling. High cylinder head temperature cooks the oil.
Rajesh Kapur wrote:
To avoid sludge/gelling, switch to a synthetic oil, or at least a synthetic blend. I have heard some people say that a synthetic oil can clean out some existing sludge, but I don't know if that is accurate..
That's what VW did when their 1.8L turbo sludged up because of the heat. Only some brands of synthetics were approved. Web searches should tell. Supposedly VW's larger oil capacity and a revised, larger filter helped, but the 5SFE has only 4 qts and uses a small, wimpy filter.
IMO maybe time to look for another car if sludge started to form and the car's out of the toyota sludge warranty.
Mark A wrote:
Sorry, I have not visited this news-group for a few days. I appreciate all the feedback. Here is something strange.... Ever since the oil change at the Toyota dealership in MN(they also changed a three dollar part that the lady explained should be done every 30-40K miles), the oil level has not fallen at all. In fact, my gas milage has gone up from 22 MPG (mostly highway driving of 50 miles per day) to about 27 MPG. This makes no sense to me. I continue to monitor my oil level every 3-4 days but (fingers and toes crossed), no problems so far... Thanks!!!
$3 part, eh? Sounds like your PCV was plugged. That would cause a few problems, poor fuel economy in with them! Gald you have such a happy ending. Keep an eye on it for a while. Your original post scares me, however...turning viscous? This is usually caused by water in the oil, an indication of a blown head gasket. But, they would have told you about that, and, again, a plugged PCV can cause weird problems...
I had two Corollas that the oil was escaping past the pan seal on, and the cause was loose bolts. Never leaked while parked, but oil on the frame and parts around the oil pan suggested some sort of blow through. Tightening the bolts every 30,000 miles stopped this.
I can't believe that a dealer would only charge $3 for a PCV. Maybe it was the drainplug/washer that was causing the leak?
Yeah...come to think of it, $3...must have been the gasket...
it, $3...must have been the gasket...
Ha, ha, ha... what city do you live in? Here in Sacramento, when Toyota replaced my radiator at 100k miles, they didn't change any of my rad hoses. But they happily charged me for a new thermostat.
Michael
PCV lists more than $3. So must be a $0.25 gasket selling for $3 at the dealer ;)
On the other hand, a stuck PCV causes pressurized crank case and oil leaks. But no oil leaks? I haven't seen a stuck open PCV (as in the low vacuum position) that causes all the oil to be sucked into the cylinders like the oil loss problem described.
Hachiroku =E3=83=8F=E3=83=81=E3=83=AD=E3=82=AF wrote:
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