Es300 2001 Eating Motor Oil . A Quart Every 2000 Miles

[americandesi]

my es300 2001 is just eating too much engine oil , about a quart every 2000 miles. its has 69000 miles. also i do get thick black smoke in cold weather only.usually in mornings. any clues?? anybody?? thanks.

[blk_on_blk]

Well, you're obviously burning oil... more pronounced when cold, burns 'cleaner' when hot (and as things expand and tolerances become tighter, so probably burns less). There could be a lot of things that could cause this, and none of them are good. Anything from a cracked piston ring, cracked piston, cracked head, and more. Have you run a compression check on each cylinder? Have you pulled the spark plugs and looked to see which one(s) is sooty (should be massively sooty).

I haven't heard much about newer engines, especially a Toyota with as low miles as you have, with such a significant problem. If you are burning a quart every 2000mi, then I am guessing you keep an eye on the oil and it's not over ful or anything.

If you can run a compression check (with a gauge that screws into the sparkplug hole), and check sparkplugs, hopefully you can pinpoint if it is a single cylinder with the problem, or if it's systemmic to the whole engine. Either way, I think the thing is going to have to come apart in a big way.

Any other opinions?

[SupraMan]

I had a sticking ring on my turbo Supra a couple years ago ~ in spite of regular changes in synthetic oil and all sorts of other finicky maintenance. Before the planned teardown/fix, one of my forum buddies in Supra Mk4 suggested Marvel Miracle Oil. Snake oil in my 2JZgte? NEVER! Well, I did try it and quickly freed up the ring, solved the problem completely. If all else fails, get this snake oil at KMart/Advance/Pep Boys and give it a shot. It worked for me, bring on the flack that 'additives suck' guys. Good luck, hope it is something stuck and not fractured.

[blk_on_blk]

Now that could definitely be your problem... especially with all I've heard about "gelling' of the oil in the ES engines (but I thought they got that problem solved by 2000). I run Rislone in all my cars, and it's a noticeable difference. I've had friends who swear by other addatives, too, and one friend who races boats professionally and says Lucas products are phenomenal.

I would definitely try some Marvel Miracle Oil or other engine treatment before you do anything else. With modern naturally aspirated engines, something catasrauphic happening is rare and far and a few between... a sticking ring is much more likely to be your cuplrit!!!

[tckcumming]

my es300 2001 is just eating too much engine oil , about a quart every 2000 miles. its has 69000 miles. also i do get thick black smoke in cold weather only.usually in mornings. any clues?? anybody?? thanks.

A quart per 2000 mi. is a lot, especially with only 69000 miles on the engine.

I never have to add oil to my '93 between changes (5000-6000 mi.) and it has more than twice the mileage yours has.

But...

Burning oil in an engine creates a bluish-white smoke from the exhaust, it has a distinctive smell too (anyone who has driven an old "beater" will know that smell).

Thick black smoke = engine running too rich, too much fuel being injected for the amount of air.

Might be 2 different problems. Have you had a tuneup lately?

tck...

[blk_on_blk]

Running rich makes "thick black smoke"? I've worked with race cars, motorcycles, and hot rods my whole life, and running rich definitely makes soot, carbon deposits, and fouled plugs, but I haven't seen it cause 'thick black smoke'.

I cracked a ring/piston on my old Chevelle years ago and that left nice bellows of smoke coming out of the exhaust (didn't help that the original engine rebuilder had lightly bored out the block and put in the old pistons!). I know burning oil has a bluish tinge to it, but if you're buring a lot, it could look black. The 'usual' whitish smoke from a cracked head and burning coolant in the combustion chamber is a clear symtomatic indicator, but if it's a darker smoke, it's almost always oil.

I still can't foresee it being a major failure with such low miles on a well designed engine that has been maintained. Any luck with the additive?

[tckcumming]

Running rich makes "thick black smoke"? I've worked with race cars, motorcycles, and hot rods my whole life, and running rich definitely makes soot, carbon deposits, and fouled plugs, but I haven't seen it cause 'thick black smoke'.

I've been around awhile, too.

Black smoke = fuel mixture problem, running rich.

There are many causes for this, all involving fuel system - pressure (too high), injection (leaking injector?), not enough intake air (plugged filter, air intake), vacuum leaks (causing the computer to inject too much fuel), or carburettor (ah, the good old days!). Sometimes poor ignition (fuel in cylinder not burned completely).

FYI - I googled "engine black smoke" ....

http://www.cabq.gov/aircare/smoveh.html

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/chat/phpB...opic.php?t=2132

http://www.autoupkeep.com/QAfuel.htm#Anchor-54675

http://pages.ebay.com/buy/guides/evaluate-...ne-smoke-guide/

http://www.trustmymechanic.com/troubleshoot_smoke.htm

Different makes/models etc., but you get the idea.

tck...

PS... what year was your Chevelle? I had a '64 Nova, I still have a soft spot for the old Detroit iron.

[Scrub Hunter]

Have you ran a solvent type cleaner like Lubecontrols FP60, sometimes these things can eat holes around the injector area. Cheaply made products due more harm than good. If your using a solvent type thing you might want to change to something like lucas fuel treatment, which has no solvents but still cleans way better than solvent type products. You might just need to have your injectors cleaned, I'd run Lucas for about three tankfuls and see if it halps. If you insist on using a solvent fuel cleaner it would be good to use one that has the best research and development around it like Chevron Techron. Definetly better than these witches brew type companies that through some solvents together.

Also, I hear autoRX or Seafoam will help with engine oil burning, worth a shot. Marevlous Mystery oil is a great well known product, but it will temporarly fix it as opposed to something like Autorx that will supposedly clean the engine well. MMO is cool because you can use it in the gas tank or crank case, but the only thing it is good for is a little lubrication. Change the PCV first before you use an additive, because just like TcK said you might have too much pressure in there. It seams like maybe you have two things going on (again TCK read my mind on this one too), a fuel system issue and an oil burning issue.

This might be the most helpful from the above links-

http://www.trustmymechanic.com/troubleshoot_smoke.htm

Black Smoke: Black smoke is caused by excess fuel that has entered the cylinder area and cannot be burned completely. Another term for excess fuel is "running rich." Poor fuel mileage is also a common complaint when black smoke comes out of the tailpipe. Black smoke out the tailpipe is the least cause for alarm. Excess fuel will usually effect engine performance, reduce fuel economy, and produce a fuel odor.

How did the fuel get into the cylinder in the first place? Some of the causes of excess fuel are a carburetor that is out of adjustment, a faulty fuel pump, a leaky fuel injector, or a faulty engine computer or computer sensor. If black smoke is present, check the engine oil as in the white smoke example to make sure excess fuel has not contaminated it. Do not start the engine if a heavy, raw fuel smell can be detected in the engine oil. Call your mechanic and advise him of what you have found.

I hope this helps you determine what could be causing your engine smoke, and the possible reasons behind the smoke.

[tckcumming]

my es300 2001 is just eating too much engine oil , about a quart every 2000 miles. its has 69000 miles. also i do get thick black smoke in cold weather only.usually in mornings. any clues?? anybody?? thanks.

I just had a "brainwave" a few seconds after I clicked the "Add reply" button...

If you have a leaky injector (or 2), you would probably get some black or dark smoke on a cold startup. After parking the car for the night, fuel leaks from the leaky injector down into the cylinder overnight, and burns off on first startup. That's where the black smoke comes from.

But... the more serious effect of a leaky injector is that the fuel that leaks into the cylinder can also leak past the rings in that cylinder and find its way into the engine sump. Over time (short or long, depending on how much fuel is leaking), the fuel dilutes the engine oil. Oil viscosity drops rapidly as it gets more and more diluted, causing the engine to burn the thinned oil because it's now thin enough to pass by the rings.

So your problem might be fuel leaking into a cylinder or cylinders, causing the puff of black smoke AND the burning oil.

You should get this looked at ASAP, major engine damage can result if you drive it for a long time like this. An additive of some kind might help "unstick" the injector temporarily, but not for long.

The good news is... it's a relatively easy fix if it is a bad injector (or a fuel pressure problem). Much easier than the alternative (rings, valve guides, etc).

Of course, I could be totally wrong - just my opinion, as usual.

tck...

Scrub Hunter - didn't read your reply before posting this one.... seems like you're reading my mind too ( OOOOooooooo - (spooky music)

[Scrub Hunter]

Again, I concur with most of that, change the PCV first and look to see if any injectors are leaking and replace those. I'm pretty sure this will get the smoke but not convinced this will get the oil burning issue. Might be intersting to find out though. Keep us posted.

[92Lex]

valve stem seals?

[mburnickas]

valve stem seals?

That is what I would say; if at start up only.

[blk_on_blk]

Huh... I've seen many cars run rich, even had one that formed the nice sooty carbon on the tailpipes, but have never seen 'thick black smoke' come from it.... maybe 'whisps' of smoke at the most. Maybe I haven't been around as much as I though :-)

Ah, a '64 Nova.... very cool. Mine was right at the tail end of the 'decent years' with it being a '71 Malibu. When the 283 detonated, I dropped in a built 350 with a 4-bolt main... fun ride, and I too have the soft spot for the Detroit iron. If i ever come across the right deal on a '66 Chevelle that's set up right, I'm on it!!

I can see the injectors posing some problems, and valve guides even more viable. I had a friend who had an S-10 Blazer with leaky valve guides... man, HUGE ploom of smoke upon start up, but then would clear up to running okay after the first minute or so. The Chevy V6 had a lot of problems with worn and leaky valve guides/seals.

The biggest thing I'm looking at in Americandesi's situation is that the vehicle is consuming a ton of oil, and there's smoke coming out the exhaust.... now unless the oil is leaking or getting sprayed somewhere, it's getting burned in the combustion chamber. With that connection, what ever the 'hue' the of smoke, it's pretty clear it's burning oil. So, how is it getting through? Leaky valve guides/seals? A stuck piston ring? (crossing fingers that it's not this) a busted up piston??

I would try some Seaform or other engine cleaner/sludge remover and see what comes of it.

At this point, i'm still leaning towards SupraMan's sticky piston ring... smoking in the morning before the engine fully heats up and thermoexpansion tightening up the tolerances fits. No major problems once it's warm, except for still consuming oil, tells me it's probably not a major catastrauphic failure, so one plausible explanation is a sticking ring. I guess we'll see once he runs some cleaner through it, huh?