What could the problem be?

Canuckrz · 07-12-2008, 03:56 AM

Well got it back from Toyota, they said that the valve cover gasket was screwed and that was doing it. There is no way in hell that that could be just it, yes I know its screwed and its leaking some oil, but not that much and it certainly wouldn't make it burn the oil.

At this point I figure it's likely the valve seals.

So I take it that you're saying lighter weight oils are better for engines in their prime but heavier oils are better for higher mileage engines?

supramacist · 07-12-2008, 07:54 AM

I thought you and the owner had an understanding

.

Do you think it was him under the bonnet??? Or a tech guy that gets paid salary no matter how much work he gets done?

That's the cat you need as a neighbor. Not the owner.

Canuckrz · 07-12-2008, 10:26 AM

Aw well, at least it only took them an hour to do that and take out the radar detector the previous owner had in it; wasn't going to be messing with his sketchy ass wiring job myself. And the valve cover did need to be fixed but a monkey could have seen that, live and learn I guess.

What am I looking at for a price on replacing the valve seals?

Busted Knuckles · 07-12-2008, 01:10 PM

Before you order this work, I just went back and re-read the original post and previous replies. I think your barking up the wrong tree by now focussing on the valve seals. The valves are not on the pressurized oil circuit, and get most of their lubrication from the gasoline. Even if the valve seals are leaking, you will not get enough oil past the valve stem to account for the oil losses your claiming. A typical valve stem seal leak will be a puff of smoke at start-up, but it clears up. If the smoke is continuous, I'd be focussing on rings or BHG.

I noticed you have not posted results from a leak-down test yet. Any good shop can do this, and it gives a real good indication of the condition of the rings and valves. Do this before anything else. It will help determine the next move. And, it is much cheaper than valve seal replacement.

The reason I say this is because it would be almost as expensive to replace the valve stem seals as it would to do a BHG. Not quite, but it would be cheap to do if the head must come off, rather than spend all that money to do it, and then find out the head will have to come off later.

Canuckrz · 07-12-2008, 09:47 PM

Hm, good point. I was thinking about doing the BHG kit from the suprastore anyway just to be safe and so I don't have to tear it apart down the road after shoehorning all the mods onto it.

Is a leak down test the same thing as a pressure test?

And I've been having to drive the thing back and fourth to work every other day and I check the oil every time I get to my destination and I didn't lose near as much as that long trip making me think that the high temp of the engine was effecting the amount of oil it burned drastically somehow. I think the dummy who had it before me had his antifreeze to water ratio screwed up and probably just used a garden hose too, I'll do a coolant system flush possibly an upgrade too just to be safe.

And there's something a little odd with starting it too, sometimes to start it I need to have just the parking brake on and not the normal brakes, other times I need to have the normal brakes on and not the parking brakes and sometimes it wont start if I have either brakes on. Whats up with that, there isn't even any order to it it's just random?

Busted Knuckles · 07-13-2008, 10:44 AM

I think the brake thing is a red herring. There is nothing connecting the starter circuit to the brake circuit. There is a known issue with the otherwise bullet-proof Denso gear reduction starters. The contacts in the built-in solenoid tend to get beaten out of shape, and can cause intermittent failure of the starter. You can replace these contacts, or just replace the starter to avoid any other starter-related issues.

A leak-down test is slightly different from a compression test. It tests how well the cylinders MAINTAIN pressure using a gauge and shop air. A compression test shows how well the cylinders built compression. Did you have a compression test done? Please post those results. If the compression is good, at least 120 psi with all 6 within 10%, then we need to look even further.

Canuckrz · 07-13-2008, 10:21 PM

Yeah I think it might be just a coincidence, so I think I might need a new starter as well because it too about 15 tries before it would start to turn over.

I'll get Toyota to do a leak down and pressure test tomorrow.

So I take it we're back to thinking its the rings are the problem?

07-12-2008, 09:47 PM	#5
Canuckrz Stock Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canada, NS Posts: 28	Hm, good point. I was thinking about doing the BHG kit from the suprastore anyway just to be safe and so I don't have to tear it apart down the road after shoehorning all the mods onto it. Is a leak down test the same thing as a pressure test? And I've been having to drive the thing back and fourth to work every other day and I check the oil every time I get to my destination and I didn't lose near as much as that long trip making me think that the high temp of the engine was effecting the amount of oil it burned drastically somehow. I think the dummy who had it before me had his antifreeze to water ratio screwed up and probably just used a garden hose too, I'll do a coolant system flush possibly an upgrade too just to be safe. And there's something a little odd with starting it too, sometimes to start it I need to have just the parking brake on and not the normal brakes, other times I need to have the normal brakes on and not the parking brakes and sometimes it wont start if I have either brakes on. Whats up with that, there isn't even any order to it it's just random? Last edited by Canuckrz; 07-12-2008 at 09:56 PM.

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07-12-2008, 03:56 AM	#1
Canuckrz Stock Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canada, NS Posts: 28	Well got it back from Toyota, they said that the valve cover gasket was screwed and that was doing it. There is no way in hell that that could be just it, yes I know its screwed and its leaking some oil, but not that much and it certainly wouldn't make it burn the oil. At this point I figure it's likely the valve seals. So I take it that you're saying lighter weight oils are better for engines in their prime but heavier oils are better for higher mileage engines?

07-12-2008, 07:54 AM	#2
supramacist 1000whp postwhore Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Escape from the Prison Planet Posts: 1,356	I thought you and the owner had an understanding . Do you think it was him under the bonnet??? Or a tech guy that gets paid salary no matter how much work he gets done? That's the cat you need as a neighbor. Not the owner.

07-12-2008, 10:26 AM	#3
Canuckrz Stock Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canada, NS Posts: 28	Aw well, at least it only took them an hour to do that and take out the radar detector the previous owner had in it; wasn't going to be messing with his sketchy ass wiring job myself. And the valve cover did need to be fixed but a monkey could have seen that, live and learn I guess. What am I looking at for a price on replacing the valve seals?

07-12-2008, 01:10 PM	#4
Busted Knuckles 12psi boost Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 300	Before you order this work, I just went back and re-read the original post and previous replies. I think your barking up the wrong tree by now focussing on the valve seals. The valves are not on the pressurized oil circuit, and get most of their lubrication from the gasoline. Even if the valve seals are leaking, you will not get enough oil past the valve stem to account for the oil losses your claiming. A typical valve stem seal leak will be a puff of smoke at start-up, but it clears up. If the smoke is continuous, I'd be focussing on rings or BHG. I noticed you have not posted results from a leak-down test yet. Any good shop can do this, and it gives a real good indication of the condition of the rings and valves. Do this before anything else. It will help determine the next move. And, it is much cheaper than valve seal replacement. The reason I say this is because it would be almost as expensive to replace the valve stem seals as it would to do a BHG. Not quite, but it would be cheap to do if the head must come off, rather than spend all that money to do it, and then find out the head will have to come off later.

07-13-2008, 10:44 AM	#6
Busted Knuckles 12psi boost Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 300	I think the brake thing is a red herring. There is nothing connecting the starter circuit to the brake circuit. There is a known issue with the otherwise bullet-proof Denso gear reduction starters. The contacts in the built-in solenoid tend to get beaten out of shape, and can cause intermittent failure of the starter. You can replace these contacts, or just replace the starter to avoid any other starter-related issues. A leak-down test is slightly different from a compression test. It tests how well the cylinders MAINTAIN pressure using a gauge and shop air. A compression test shows how well the cylinders built compression. Did you have a compression test done? Please post those results. If the compression is good, at least 120 psi with all 6 within 10%, then we need to look even further.

07-13-2008, 10:21 PM	#7
Canuckrz Stock Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canada, NS Posts: 28	Yeah I think it might be just a coincidence, so I think I might need a new starter as well because it too about 15 tries before it would start to turn over. I'll get Toyota to do a leak down and pressure test tomorrow. So I take it we're back to thinking its the rings are the problem?