Engine

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 11:37

Hi guys, not been around for a while basically down to having so much work to do and being out of the country.

Anyway, on the way to work today, a couple of miles down the road from my home the engine check light came on, Oh god, I thought to myself and pulled over straight away to check the oil levels - guess what, yep, Almost empty. The car is 5K in from its last service and I guess I checked the oil around 1000 miles ago.

I very cautiously drove the car another 100 meters down the road to a BMW garage (the first place I saw), who very kindly let me phone Toyota to check the right kind of oil, which I then purchased and put into the car. Toyota suggested I drove the car very slowly to them (in Slough, some 7-8 miles away).

The cars now with them and I'm waiting for them to check it out, rather nervously I might add. Fingers crossed that the oil is coincidental and the CEL is just down to a dirty MAF or something.

For the record, I never rev above 3500 untill the engine is full warmed up, I check the oil every month or so.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 11:41

I got my car two weeks ago, and i check the oil level for the first time last week end, and it was very low, the car was serviced 1000 miles ago. i'm Sh*ting myself aswell. it's a 2001 with 20K. s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 12:13

If your warning light hasn't come on I wouldn't be too bothered, I would imagine everything will be ok, sometimes cars do use up oil.

roger · October 4, 2005, 12:14

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you mate.

By the way, the dipstick is easy to misread. IMO the cross hatching doesn't always show the correct level, especially if you do a quick in and out, even more so if the oil is clean.

You have probably done it a few times, but just in case you haven't make absolutely sure you get a proper reading.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 12:23

Yeah i did it about 20 times, it is really hard to read, but as I put more oil into it, the level went up accordingly, so i'm pretty sure i got the level.

Question 1: How low is empty, I mean the dip stick still showed some oil above the "L" level, engine was warm and on a flat forecourt, so it stands that there was some oil there?

Question 2: Toyota told be to add 10 40 semi synth, all the garage had was fully synth 10 40 so this is what I used, i'm goign to ask Toyoyta to change the oil anyway (it is time), but will i have caused more damage by using slighty the wrong oil?

philster_d · October 4, 2005, 12:49

Fully synthetic is better than part synthetic.

If I remember correctly Synthetic is fully synthetic, semi synthetic there is no rules on the percent synthetic included so it can be called semi but actualy have very little synthetic contents.

*sits back and waits to be corrected*

Phil

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 13:53

bah they havn't looked at it yet, after lunch which is 2pm apparently, its agony waiting for the phone call.

darrenjuggins · October 4, 2005, 14:00

Hi Odub,

Just to make you feel better, when my cat, engine and pre-cats went and it lost plenty of oil over the period of a few months the engine warning light never came on.

It's only ever come on when the MAF went belly up, other wise it's never come on. So I'm presuming it related to the running of the engine, be it MAF related or fuel related.

Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers

Darren J

roger · October 4, 2005, 14:00

Quote from: "odub"Question 1: How low is empty, I mean the dip stick still showed some oil above the "L" level, engine was warm and on a flat forecourt, so it stands that there was some oil there?

I am sure some of the techies will tell us how many pints remain at what level, and how many the engine needs - but as long as its above L IMO you have absolutely no worries.

Quote from: "odub"Question 2: Toyota told be to add 10 40 semi synth, all the garage had was fully synth 10 40 so this is what I used, i'm goign to ask Toyoyta to change the oil anyway (it is time), but will i have caused more damage by using slighty the wrong oil?

Again only my opinion, using the "wrong" stuff won't damage an engine to the degree you are thinking about, and running it for the mileage you have done and using fully as a top up only, the engine won't even know there was a difference.

Keep cool, s8)

s8) I am judging by these posts you are beginning to panic. Don't. There may be sinple answers all round once you have it checked out.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 14:08

Thanks guys, I'm only panicing a little bit, possbile because I was one of the guys who kept saying we shouldn't talk about precats because it'd devalue the car somewhat and probably wasn't a real problem.

Based on what darrenjuggins says and looking through posts it would seem my problem doesn't 100% fit the norm, so fingers crossed. There's been no loss of performance, no funny noise (its quite loud but I think thats the exhaust I have fitted).

Maybe I just forgot to screw the petrol cap back fully, but then still the oil shouldn't have gone like that, hmm,

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 16:18

Right...

After finally getting though to Toyota (including one guy putting me on hold then starting a conversation with a customer so I was sat there for 20 minutes), the results are:

CEL code came up "BANK 1 SENSOR 2" which apparently is an O2 sensor, though the guy didn't think there would likely be anything wrong with the sensor itself. He couldn't explain to me where the oil had gone, other than saying 1L per 1000 miles was Toyotas prediction for oil usage.

The mechanic has topped it up with oil, and requested that I drive it for another 1600 miles and take it back for an oil check.

He refused to actually check my precats, got a bit irate with me actually: "If we snap one of them sir are you going to pay the £260 to replace them?", Hmm, fair enough, I'll do it myself tonight.

So, (touch wood) the engine is ok, I'm just going to check the oil every single day and make sure its stable.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 16:25

Did they charge you for today's activities?

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 16:27

Dunno yet because I havn't picked it up, I expect at least a charge for some oil.

Peter Wright · October 4, 2005, 16:30

Quote from: "odub"1L per 1000 miles was Toyotas prediction for oil usage.

another 1600 miles and take it back for an oil check.

I have not put any oil in for four years (except oil changes)
Check the oil every 20 miles

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 16:39

i just phoned Toyota Guildford and explained exactly what had happened and exactly what the CEL was. He gave me exactly the same advice as the Slough dealer, said they often get o2 sensor lights that just go away and never come back and that probably the oil is standard use.

So, i'll pick the car up and check the oil very carefully, The guildford guy did advice me that the levels will seem low when the car is hot (which it was when I checked), and the slough guy aid i should notice burning and smoke if there was an oil consumption problem.

Both say I shouldn't be worried, we'll see! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 16:44

Bank 1 Sensor 2 is the O2 sensor after the main cat. It could indicate a clogged main cat, which could be because of precat material in there. They should check the precats.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 17:49

Ah you've gone and said that and got me all worried again now!

Driving it form Slough back to work 7ish miles = absolutly fine, no light, full power etc etc, oil was on full, i've set a trip.

I need to drive to the gym and back home which should be another 15 miles. I'll keep on checking that oil!

If it is a clogged main cat, then I should get the warning light back on again I'd have thought?

Anyway, they ummed about charging me, put it down as two hours labour, found out I was out of warranty, so charge 30 mins instead = £50 and some free oil.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 18:25

Quote from: "odub"so charge 30 mins instead = £50 and some free oil.

Bast*rds aren't they, I had a Fiat and whenever I took it to the dealership to have a look, they never charged me, neither did all the other independent Garages. Sods

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 18:28

The slough dealership is quite bad for that, the guy serving me was going to let me off by the manager stopped him.

the same guys tried to charge me a full hour for fitting a battery before, making it over £100!! I flat out refused to pay and they knocked off most of the cost.

To be fair i was glad to pay, as at least i have some paper work and they have some responisbility now, thier advice is to drive it 1600 miles, if the engine breaks as a direct result of that, i'll want some answers.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 20:33

Bah, 13.1 miles later the engine light came back on, so I think the sensor is blown or as beanie says the cat is clogged. Either way I guess i've to take it back and shell out for a new sensor.

After reading up on here, the story is a bit more clear. Its the third sensor, which means the car will not go into limp mode (only the two manifold sensors will make this happen).

So, either the sensor is broke, or its the cat itself, but since its only got 35K on it, I doubt its broken. More likley, the sensor needs cleaning or the wire is lose. Worse case would still be the precats are shot, and the main cat is blocked. but since there is no drop in power at all, I doubt it.

Also there might be some trip function for the CEL, so that it only occurs after a certian amount of time or trips - to be sure its an actual fault.

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 22:37

That test, wherein the output of the post-catalytic converter sensor is compared to the ones before, takes a certain amount of driving to complete, so it's not surprising that it came on again, but not immediately. There's a specific code for "catalytic converter operating below threshold" or something to that effect. If you have full power, that's a good sign. Since there's a code related to emissions equipment, Mr T is required to investigate it (assuming under warranty). Hope it's not serious, mate (I get to say "mate" on mr2roc.com s:)

s:) ).

Anonymous · October 4, 2005, 22:50

its not under warranty for shame. Still its looking good.

mph · October 4, 2005, 23:21

There are actually six error codes for each O2 sensor. Knowing exactly which code has been thrown will help know what the actual problem is.

For reference, see m http://www.mr2roc.org/subdreamer/index. ... rticleid=8 m

Anonymous · October 5, 2005, 11:40

Out of intrest, how hard would it be for me to fit a new o2 sensor, I have an o2 secor socket unused and a soldering iron (although thinking about it, no way to plug it in).

mph · October 5, 2005, 11:54

Quote from: "odub"Out of intrest, how hard would it be for me to fit a new o2 sensor, I have an o2 secor socket unused and a soldering iron (although thinking about it, no way to plug it in).

Not difficult if you already have an O2 socket. The original O2 cabling has a plug/socket, so you can disconnect there, unscrew the old sensor, take in doors cut 'n' splice the old plug onto the new sensor (four wires) and then back outside to screw back the new sensor and plug it back in.