Where's my oil

[Anonymous]

Ok here goes,

Was driving back home today when i noticed my MR2 2001 roadster was making a strange knocking/rattling noise from the engine bay.  Also had to brake hard and the oil warning light blinked for a second.  Well as you can imagine this started the old alarm bells ringing.

When i arrived home i let the car stand and then checked the oil level to my horror the dipstick was bone dry.  I check my oil every 1-2 weeks and have never lost any.  Well just to be sure i let it sit an hour and checked again still no oil.  I have put about 2 litres in now and it is still not showing on the dipstick???

Any ideas where the oil may be going? Apart from the rattle today the engine has been running fine no loss of power no smoke and no oil patches on the drive etc??

Any thoughts greatfully received.

Thanks

[spit]

Aside from the obvious checking for leaks - sump, filter, end seals etc (oops  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  I see you've already been there!) - you might want to remove and check the PCValve on the breather hose (big nut, front LHS of the engine as you look at it). Pull the pipe off and unscrew it from the cam cover.

The PCV should block one way and open with a light blow the other way. If its flunked you could have a build up of crank pressure. Another test for this is to pull the dipstick when hot and see if its fuming.

A good rinse-through with carb cleaner or the like will free it up if it is gummed shut.

[markiii]

have you read the precats thread

[Anonymous]

have you read the precats thread

Unfortunately i have read the thread and the all the syptoms point towards precat (god i hope not).  If the worse happens and it is pre-cat failure the car is under warranty and as such should be sorted.  My question is i see the engine will be knackered if this is the case.  If a replacement engine is fitted and i force them to replace the main CAT incase of any leftover rubbish in the CAT would the car be good to go??

Wouldn't want major work like that to be done just for it to happen 6-12 months down the line.  I see from previous post the recommendation is to get rid of the car due to residues of the pre-cat left in the main cat hence the suggestion about trying to make them change that as well if this is indeed the problem.

[uktotty]

Well done for reading Junkie, YES defo get them to replace the main cat if they replace the short block.

My jeep was eating oil and I feared the worst but it was the valve thing that Ste was referring to and cost me £28 or something daft

[spit]

Oh well, so much for my optimism   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  Still quietly hopeful for you matey. You're either losing it or burning it, and its feasible that a blocked PCV could be accelerating the issue on a tired engine. Still worth a punt IMHO.

If it is the dreaded PC thing, engine and a decent cat should see you OK. If you can't find a cat with a good heritage, great excuse to go with aftermarket pipes   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[markiii]

first thing you need to do is get the manifold off and check if your precats are still there

[Anonymous]

first thing you need to do is get the manifold off and check if your precats are still there

Yeah next course of action when i get home tonight i think.  Well that if i have a 22mm Sensor socket at home.  Fingers Crossed!

[Anonymous]

Not sure i'll have a socket at home after checking lunch time.  Quick question can you not just use a 22mm spanner the front two sensors i could see with the heat sheild on looked easy enough to get too??  Not sure about the other?

[SimonC_Here]

Not sure i'll have a socket at home after checking lunch time.  Quick question can you not just use a 22mm spanner the front two sensors i could see with the heat sheild on looked easy enough to get too??  Not sure about the other?

You can but be careful, easy to cross thread and cost you a fortune to get fixed.

[Anonymous]

Not sure i'll have a socket at home after checking lunch time.  Quick question can you not just use a 22mm spanner the front two sensors i could see with the heat sheild on looked easy enough to get too??  Not sure about the other?

You can but be careful, easy to cross thread and cost you a fortune to get fixed.

Thanks for the heads up!!

[Anonymous]

If a replacement engine is fitted and i force them to replace the main CAT incase of any leftover rubbish in the CAT would the car be good to go??

Wouldn't want major work like that to be done just for it to happen 6-12 months down the line.  I see from previous post the recommendation is to get rid of the car due to residues of the pre-cat left in the main cat hence the suggestion about trying to make them change that as well if this is indeed the problem.

junkie_ball,

If its any comfort, I had the same problem and a short block replacement back in october '06 under a toyota extended warranty.  The car hasn't really missed a beat since and shown no oil consumption.  The main cat was not replaced at the time but there hasn't been any problem with performance or emissions so I havne't worried about it.

Good luck with yours.

David

[Clarky87]

Hey, im also burning a fair amount of oil in my w reg (precats out). This pcv would it cause mass backpressure on the oil cap and oil into the pcv pipe?  Might be worth a check if these are related   s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Aside from the obvious checking for leaks - sump, filter, end seals etc (oops  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  I see you've already been there!) - you might want to remove and check the PCValve on the breather hose (big nut, front LHS of the engine as you look at it). Pull the pipe off and unscrew it from the cam cover.

The PCV should block one way and open with a light blow the other way. If its flunked you could have a build up of crank pressure. Another test for this is to pull the dipstick when hot and see if its fuming.

A good rinse-through with carb cleaner or the like will free it up if it is gummed shut.

Oh dear tried testing the PCValve by checking any fumes escaping from the dipstick.  Alas no fumes.  Couldn't check the precats tonight the bolts holding my heat shield in place and somewhat more than rusted as such didn't fabcy trying to undo them at the risk of shearing them couldn't of dealt with that too!

Gonna have a chat to my local garage tomorrow who happens to be a sabb and toyoata specialist i think? so will run it past him then contact the warranty people see where i go from there.

I now have a oil reading about halfway between full and min on the dipstick though after putting 3 litres in. As i believe it takes about 3.7 after a filter and oil change it must have been running on thin air for lubrication.  Not good.

Thanks for all the great advice on this so faar it is very much appreciated.

[spit]

Oh well, where else can you get 24 hours of hope for free   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  Cheaper than the Lottery!

Keep us informed when you get a diagnosis - its interesting that you've gone from no oil loss to sudden oil loss rather than a progressive deterioration. I'm intrigued.

[Anonymous]

Oh well, where else can you get 24 hours of hope for free   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  Cheaper than the Lottery!

Keep us informed when you get a diagnosis - its interesting that you've gone from no oil loss to sudden oil loss rather than a progressive deterioration. I'm intrigued.

Ok next chapter! I tested for any cat material coming from the exhuast and ll seems clean!! Spoken to my mechanic and he's has seen a similar thing precious in the VVTi engine of this age.  On contacting toyota with this problem apparently they say the exceptable oil consumption for this engine is 1 pint per approx. 700 miles!!!!!!  Even quicker if fully symehtic oil is use.

Been asked to test how much oil it uses over 500 miles although on running it all by him he's thinks the PC's sound ok.  Think i will get them checked out or even removed if he's willing either way. Well at least i've got a good excuse to go for a cruise!!

[onion86]

Been asked to test how much oil it uses over 500 miles although on running it all by him he's thinks the PC's sound ok.  Think i will get them checked out or even removed if he's willing either way. Well at least i've got a good excuse to go for a cruise!!

Here's hoping, enjoy your 500 miles  s:) s:)

In ~10000 miles I've put 6L of part synthetic oil in so that's 1L per double 700miles but I guess some engines might use that much.

After 8 years of the Manifold heat shield being on only 1 bolt snapped when I took it off last year, on Friday night after another year 1 more bolt snapped (both the 2 closest to the head), so I would be careful; a bit of plus gas/WD40 on a few occassions before hand will help though as that's something I didn't do. I did take it off without the O2 sensor socket, I took the top heat shield off (4 bolts) and used an adjustable spanner to get to the O2 sensor from underneath, no issue at all and once the first sensor is out the heatshield will come off and the other sensor is a doddle.

[kentsmudger]

I tested for any cat material coming from the exhuast and ll seems clean!

The main cat does not break up - The pre-cats in the maifold tend to break up and then block the main cat - This is why you need to get the manifold off.

As has been said before - plenty of plusgas on all the nuts & bolts over a few days before you try and shift them. You will need deep sockets and preferably a breaker bar to shift them.

Having said that, I lost a lot of oil, apparently due to blocked oilways / defective piston rings, leading to oval bores, and I didn't spot it in time. I ended up losing the big-end bearings and getting the short-block replaced. My pre-cats, however, were intact. (Removed now!)

Has anyone suggested a compression test yet, to check the bores?

[SimonC_Here]

I tested for any cat material coming from the exhuast and ll seems clean!

The main cat does not break up - The pre-cats in the maifold tend to break up and then block the main cat - This is why you need to get the manifold off.

Although the precat material can and does come through and out of the exhaust pipe.
Just ask anyone who was at the North Weald car limits day when my precats went. You could see the white stuff blowing out of the exhaust pipes as the engine was revved.   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

Andy was quite surprised!

[StuM]

Although the precat material can and does come through and out of the exhaust pipe.
Just ask anyone who was at the North Weald car limits day when my precats went. You could see the white stuff blowing out of the exhaust pipes as the engine was revved.   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

I suppose that the more that comes out the exhaust the better - ie. not into the engine or stuck in the cat!

If the worse happens and it is pre-cat failure the car is under warranty and as such should be sorted..

Have you approached the garage with your concerns?

[Anonymous]

Just my thoughts and I'm no mechanic but as spit knows, my engine was swapped for a better'un a couple of months ago and all was well, then suddenly I had all the same symptoms as you, long trip, oil light flicking on and off when braking.

Checked oil and it had pretty much all gone. Panicked, filled it up with 3 litres of el cheapo 10w40 and got round to spit's who as usual bent over backwards to try and find the problem.  He had the plugs out and cleaned me valve then took the car off for a leak down test which it passed fine.

Now it's taken a further 1/2 litre but it's at a very manageable rate of loss.  I did 500 odd miles last Thursday to Glasgow and back in a day and lost probably 200 mils!

I'll live with that, just a case of topping up regularly I suppose.

Hope that gives you a little more hope.

[Anonymous]

Just my thoughts and I'm no mechanic but as spit knows, my engine was swapped for a better'un a couple of months ago and all was well, then suddenly I had all the same symptoms as you, long trip, oil light flicking on and off when braking.

Checked oil and it had pretty much all gone. Panicked, filled it up with 3 litres of el cheapo 10w40 and got round to spit's who as usual bent over backwards to try and find the problem.  He had the plugs out and cleaned me valve then took the car off for a leak down test which it passed fine.

Now it's taken a further 1/2 litre but it's at a very manageable rate of loss.  I did 500 odd miles last Thursday to Glasgow and back in a day and lost probably 200 mils!

I'll live with that, just a case of topping up regularly I suppose.

Hope that gives you a little more hope.

Does give me hope thanks! Will report back here once the 500 miles are covered. Shouldn't take long.   s:D s:D

[Anonymous]

Put in a litre today so that fits the 1l per 1000 miles.

spit (Ste) has suggested some thicker oil so definitely going to give that a try soon as I get some.

[nyeregis]

Just my thoughts and I'm no mechanic but as spit knows, my engine was swapped for a better'un a couple of months ago and all was well, then suddenly I had all the same symptoms as you, long trip, oil light flicking on and off when braking.

Checked oil and it had pretty much all gone. Panicked, filled it up with 3 litres of el cheapo 10w40 and got round to spit's who as usual bent over backwards to try and find the problem.  He had the plugs out and cleaned me valve then took the car off for a leak down test which it passed fine.

Now it's taken a further 1/2 litre but it's at a very manageable rate of loss.  I did 500 odd miles last Thursday to Glasgow and back in a day and lost probably 200 mils!

I'll live with that, just a case of topping up regularly I suppose.

Hope that gives you a little more hope.

Does give me hope thanks! Will report back here once the 500 miles are covered. Shouldn't take long.   s:D s:D

There is a lot to be said for a decent 10/40!

[Anonymous]

Well not looking good had some quality 10 40 oil in there.  Covered just over 230 miles and half the sump full of oil is gone.  Will be dropping it off at the garage tomorrow!  Or worse case the scrap yard!   s:scared: :scared: s:scared:    s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  (After a return trip to the car sales that sold it to me first!)