Engine FUBAR

aaronjb · May 21, 2008, 09:47

It's burning the oil, you won't see any smoke - the car has a CAT.

Wabbitkilla · May 21, 2008, 10:15

You're more likely to see oil smoke when it's dark and you're being followed by another car with their headlights on. But I've noticed when following Ste's car that you don't get to see a lot of smoke but you can definitely smell oil burning when he hoofs it. Also something to do with the read aerodynamics keeps smoke close to the road surface and therefore not easily seen from the drivers seat.

If you're not leaking it, then you're definitely burning it and i for one wouldn't be seen topping up an engine every week because i'm burrying my head in the sand and ignoring an engine getting ready to break.

Oil deposits in the exhaust? Well your catalyst is probably fubar'd now for certain pumping that amount of crap through it. What kind of oil are you using? Some burns off and some gets pumped through (like the two stroke bikes). Two stroke oil is a bit different, it's designed not to burn off completely as it's job is to lubricate through the comustion chamber. Four stroke oil is supposed to stay out of the combustion chamber (ok apart from a minute film).

Get it fixed!

Liz · May 21, 2008, 10:24

.....consider other road users - especially in your profession, you must of dealt with enough rtc's - if you engine goes bang whilst you are.....

Quotepushing real hard in the corners at max revs at about 80 -90mph

then its not only you in danger of being injured s:evil: :evil: s:evil: . You have had advice that you need to get it sorted, don't come on here and brag about how you are driving with a potentially dangerous car.

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 10:28

I'm def NOT burrying my head in the sand,

its going to go at some stage.... I know that ?

This is my only car.... I have to get to work, What am I supposed to do?

When it goes it goes... I see that as long as i keep topping the oil up she will keep on running....

It will need a new engine if it blows, the same as it does now!

Its not if it can do more dammage than its already doing........
and its not if I can replace the dammaged part and everything will be OK..
Its the whole engine now.... and the whole engine if it blows....

Wabbitkilla · May 21, 2008, 10:55

If it's just the bores that are oval Shane, then it might be possible to save the engine you have. They don't come available too often, and for the sake of new rings, new sleaves / honing or boring and maybe pistons, a set of gaskets and oil would it not be worth trying to fix it?

When it goes bang there'll be so much more to deal with, maybe even bodywork and chassis if it throws you off the road at an inopportune time?

Just seems foolish imho to keep on doing what you're doing. If you can afford to fix it, fix it - i'm certain you will enjoy the car so much more and know you're going to get to where you're going when it's in full working order.

muffdan · May 21, 2008, 11:54

At the risk of going against the common opinion here ...

If its using oil, its using oil, this doesn't mean its going to pop any minute! My reconditioned engine has always burned oil at a rate of about 1 litre every 700 miles for the last 25k, just make sure you keep it topped up.

If/When it gets serious you're going to see the smoke out the back when pulling off, and there's a good chance you'll develop some nasty engine noises to alert you too. The real danger of burning a lot of oil (besides actually running out) is damaging the pre-cats. If you have pre-cats still, get them whipped out asap as if they crumble they CAN take your engine out in a matter of miles. Have someone you know follow you and report on if they see any smoke too.

You're also going to be shortening the life of your main cat considerably and at £1200 a go, its certainly a significant issue that shoudn't be ignored.

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 12:04

Quote from: "shaneh"When Pushing real hard in the corners at max revs at about 80 -90mph I get the faint smell of oil in the drivers compartment evry now and again...

glad you didn't have me as a passenger as you would have smelt something else. s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Wabbitkilla · May 21, 2008, 14:29

Well, yes it has been proved you can do quite a few miles burning quite a bit of oil without the engine going bang.

But if you come on here saying you have to top it up every week and are won dering where it's all going, you're going to get some opinions and suggestions what to do about it. If you don't want opinions or don't want advice, then i wouldn't post up about the engine possibly being fubar'd.

It's up to you really and depends on the circumstances...

How much oil do you have to put in every week?
Are you bothered about relacing the catalyst?
Are you bothered that one day you won't get to work?
Are you bothered that using full revs in a corner, the engine either siezes or goes clunky in a big way, you lose the back end and fly under the wheels of a wagon coming the other way (worst case scenrio - well you could have an aeroplane crashing on top of you at the same time, but that's unlikely s:wink: :wink: s:wink: )

So if it's bothering you enough to post up here asking those questions then to me you are trying to decide if you want to do something about it because it is bothering you enough to ask.

Oh, and 1 litre every 700 miles is anacceptable to me - as i once stated to VW UK when they claimed that was normal and acceptable. If you're using that much oil, you've got a problem.

muffdan · May 21, 2008, 15:19

Quote from: "Wabbitkilla"Oh, and 1 litre every 700 miles is anacceptable to me - as i once stated to VW UK when they claimed that was normal and acceptable. If you're using that much oil, you've got a problem.

No doubt, but depending on which toyota mechanic you talk to that's borderline acceptable for this particular engine. I know people that use no oil at all, despite the engine being designed to actually use a little.

The point shaneh raised earlier was that four figure lumps of cash aren't pocket money that you spend 'just in case' there's something catastrophically wrong. I certainly ain't going to spend another £2k on another engine because I have to top the oil up every few

My particular engine does use a lot of oil, but its consistently used the same amount of oil/mile for 25k miles. If there's something wrong, its clearly not getting any worse. My engine doesn't sound broken, and there's no smoke visible from the back even when the engine is pulling at 7000 rpm in top gear (on a German Autobahn I hasten to add). Those in the know will point out that I do have a little puff of blue smoke when lifting after running on full boost, but that's from my turbo and doesn't count. s:)

s:)

My point is oil consumption isn't a sign your engine is going to blow up mid corner and kill you and everyone around you, I would put money on you being more likely to have a tyre blowout mid corner rather than an engine failure. Its simply a sign that more oil than should be is finding its way into the combustion chamber. There are many reasons for this that don't require a new short block. With these engines I wouldn't worry until the consupmtion is much higher or you see the smoke being burned or the engine starts sounding like a diesel engine.

If I'm not mistaken, quite a few members have a high oil consumption and simply keep their oil topped up with no other problems.

To help you decide, get a cylinder compression test done, and get someone to follow you and check your tail pipe for smoke.

Also, what grade oil are you using?

Jason

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 15:34

Driving around and pushing hard on an engine that has obviously seen better days is about sensible as always cutting the red wire on a bomb: You're probably going to be fine, but if it goes it's going to take other people with you.

Shane, I've met you in person and you're a decent guy, but Liz has got it spot-on in her post. You see every day what happens when cars go wrong at speed, and yet you're still driving hard? That's total lunacy, and borderline idiocy. I understand it's your only car, but then there are such things as hire cars, or mates who give lifts, or public transport to a certain point etc. My point is that there are ways and means to get around, you just need to be a bit flexible. The work needed on your car should take a week max I reckon, so worst comes to the worst take a week's holiday and sit at home.

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 15:49

Its your only car, you cant do without it so you are going to drive it until the engine goes. At which point you have no car, put it in the garage now, you have no car.
Am i missing something here?

Also, say it does go bang and takes you off the road, apart from the fact you may injure yourself and others, you are knowingly driving (and pushing hard, by your own admittance.) a car which you know has a serious problem therefore if your insurers were to discover this i doubt very much they would pay out.

I'm with Liz and Dan on this, your being irresponsible.

SteveJ · May 21, 2008, 17:10

I say leave him to it - Darwinian selection should deal with him fairly soon - problem sorted and avoids further polution of the gene pool s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:18

That last comment is a little harsh, I think, for somebody who doesnt even know me...

If you knew the things ive done in my life, im pretty lucky to be here, not just in one case but in hundreds.. with little or less than one per-cent case of survival and walking out alive...

and im still here...

I was hoping somebody would say that it was another prob overlooked on my car engine? as all the points I pointed out.

Yes its my only car, no I cant afford a replacement or a fix for a couple of months or so, when it WILL get fixed when I have the money... I cant afford a weeks holiday, I work with one other at short notice, public transport doesnt start at the times I do, or go the distance (1500 miles a month ish) I am responsible in keeping the engine topped up with oil, as im on the understanding that serious probs happen when people let it run dry, and that it will use more and MORE oil till its a ONE to ONE mix when it will run out mid jurney, and this is what Toyota said....

My driving is at a level that Im happy with, I wouldnt do anything that I thought unsafe to me or others....

Ive had engines blow up on me before... Two turbos, a gearbox, a radiator, cranc shaft,and three blowouts all rear and one at high speed on a tight corner (outside wheel) Ive written off a MR2 MkII on the Track (not my fault) apart from the Mr2 which was on a track all the vehicles were pulled up at the side of the road with no other incidents...

Darwinian selection happens to all walks of life and species... no matter what we do... Every day we make life changing decisions which could end in death because the wrong path was chosen...

Even you SteveJ ! reguardless of what we drive.

Wabbitkilla · May 21, 2008, 18:24

Well excellent news that you're going to get it fixed in a couple of months, you'll have to update us with what happens then.

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:29

Wow! You have had a less than one percent chance of survival hundreds of times? The odds on you still being here must be astronomical, drive how you like, your indestructable!

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:44

Quote from: "shaneh"My driving is at a level that I'm happy with, I wouldnt do anything that I thought unsafe to me or others....

"When Pushing real hard in the corners at max revs at about 80 -90mph .. "

I take it you were referring to a track day then Shane? Or do you mean a slight bend on a dual carriageway? If not, you cannot expect to post that and not get flamed as it insinuates driving beyond safe, let alone legal, limits.

Sorry to hear you've had trouble with your car, I hope you can get it sorted soon.

BTW - "If you knew the things ive done in my life" - you're not that Sandy McCrab fella are you?

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:50

"Wow! You have had a less than one percent chance of survival hundreds of times? The odds on you still being here must be astronomical"

Yes you would probably be right.. s:D

s:D

Indestructable? Invincible thats what my wife would say "I thought I was"

But I think Plane Lucky.... Wrong place right time maybe.. s:D

s:D

Ive been shot at - on too many times to count - All Missed, RPG'd - Missed , Artillary bombardment - Missed- Sniped at - Missed / Just, Missed a Road side bombed by miniutes... and the list goes on

So Again Yes, you could be right..

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:53

All this on a plane?

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:55

Yes that was on a track...

Im not totaly stupid, as I said I wouldnt do anything that I thought would harm myself or others...

And just for the record I dont hit rabbits or birds, on my travels.

Sandy McCrab fella was a poof whan i last heard his name mentioned. LOL

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 18:58

Oh I forgot to mention "Worked with the Americans" that was far, FAR wrose than all the above........ s:D

s:D

Liz · May 21, 2008, 19:00

Quote from: "shaneh"When Pushing real hard in the corners at max revs at about 80 -90mph I get the faint smell of oil in the drivers compartment evry now and again...

Quote from: "shaneh"Yes that was on a track...

I am confused now - you have taken it on a track despite having problems with the engine then.

Wabbitkilla · May 21, 2008, 19:02

s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Good luck getting it fixed Shane.
It'll make it all the more enjoyable for you.

kanujunkie · May 21, 2008, 19:06

Quote from: "Liz"
Quote from: "shaneh"When Pushing real hard in the corners at max revs at about 80 -90mph I get the faint smell of oil in the drivers compartment evry now and again...

Quote from: "shaneh"Yes that was on a track...

I am confused now - you have taken it on a track despite having problems with the engine then.

not sure whether that stupid or idiotic? putting an engine on track stresses it to the max, taking a broken engine on track could spoil everyone elses day and possibly injure someone when the last of your oil gets dumped on the track, please have a bit of savvy

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 19:07

Shane, i think your only worry is kryptonite, steer clear of that and you will be fine. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Oh, and watch your cape in the wind when the hoods down.

Anonymous · May 21, 2008, 19:13

Hi liz,

Yes its been tracked, I dont think without past knowledge of the engines history you would know that there was a problem with the engine, as I said i think its running better, which was why ive posted the questions I did?

Toyota Garage in Colchester didn't know of this probably with MR2's

Only when I took it back for an oil test had they done reading on it...

I was hoping that You lot would know if something else could be wrong? maybe a high pressure oil leak ? I dont know... (head still in sand maybe!)

As I said before I thought all would be safe if I kept the oil in the proper range, it gets checked before EVERY trip....