ablovato

Just joined this forum. Bought new a 2001 LS430 in 2000. Have had regular lexus service until last 2 years. Car has 129,000 miles. Car has ran great, no problem until last December. Took on trip. Had brakes replaced and oil and air filters and oil replaced. 150 miles into the trip, noticed

ablovato

Hit wrong button. Low oil level warning light went on. I 8mmediately pulled over and guessed that jiffy lube didn't fill my oil. I bought oil and filled. When I turned the car on, I got a very large amount of smoke.to make a long story short, took it in to mechanic (not a lexus dealership). Replaced pvc valve said it was stuck open. Car was good with no smoke for about 50 miles. Smoke came back, slowly but now really bad. I wondered if it could be a bad pvc valve. I diconected and plugged pcv hose. No smoke. Let it idle for 45 min to burn any residual oil. No smkecar running perfect. I know I ccan't run car with hose plugged. Any suggestions on what the problem could be. Side note, I pulled all the plugs and they were clean. Any ideas on what could be the problem. FYI I haven't driven the car since it happend in December.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

What oil weight at you running? Are you loosing oil? Was the shop reputable? Not common whatsoever for an LS to burn any significant amount of oil. Get it looked at soon.

Edit: Sounds like a bad PCV.

Bowie5

Is the Smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, or could it be oil dripping onto the exhaust and being burnt off, ? if its coming out of the exhaust, its not good, if they put the wrong oil filter on or left it loose it could be leaking oil onto the exhaust, Not common for an Internal Engine problem to occur on these engines, but not Impossible, Ive owned 3, 90 LS 400, 245,000 miles. 93 SC 400, 201,000 miles, currently an LS 430, 171,000 miles, with no Major Mechanical issue, Ive seen 3 working in the Automotive Ind, with well over 300.000 1 at a car dealership with 402,000 mile, these car are Bulletproof. SORRY didn't read the 2nd post you made.

ablovato

Checked that. It's comming from tail pipe. Smoke stops when pvc valve is plugged. I can also see oil in hose.

Bowie5

Changing the Positive Crankcase Vent (PCV) Valve would be the Least Expensive Fix to Try, Perhaps you should try an OEM Replacement part, instead of an after market, such as Oreillys sells, If that doesn't fix it. I believe the Service shop should be held accountable, if they didn't put oil back in it after, an Oil Change.

ablovato

Replaced pcv with an aftermarket unit from OReillys. It is still sucking oil. Has anyone heard of maybe the oil drain vents being clogged which might allow the oil to pool by the pcv valve and allow it to be sucked in? Remember, when I plug the pcv valvethe smoke stops (totally).

Bowie5

Did you have this problem before it was Driven without oil ?

ablovato

It wasn't driven without oil. I thought because the idiot light went on that maybe they forgot to fill it. As soon as the light went on I pulled over and added 2 quarts to fill it. 100 miles later I needed to add another quart. I beleive that the oil is being sucked thru the pcv and burnt out the exhaust. Pulled the oil fill neck and saw that the interior is full of sludge. Any suggestions?

writes123

sludge is usually caused by neglected oil changes. i'd take it to a good independent mechanic for his opinion on what the next steps should be. I've seen videos of mechanics taking off the valve covers and gaskets and essentially cleaning out the sludge via physical and chemical means to try and save the engine. these engines are bulletproof so either the oil change interval was neglected/overextended or something that would have a similar effect. i don't know how much it would cost to de-sludge a LS430 but a good mechanic should give you a good estimate to see if it's worthwhile.

possibly the wrong weight of oil, poor oil quality, incorrect install of oil filter, poor ol filter, poor install of drain plug. a whole variety of reasons for oil issues. I know that by this age, the valve cover gaskets usually need to be replaced due to age but that should only cause seeping, not engine sludge.

the reason i do my own oil changes is so that i can verify what goes into the engine and what the current state of my engine is. using a high quality filter, washer, and oil are basic but key components to keeping the engine running. 5k oil change intervals are the recommended change interval. i change mine at 3k with full synthetic oil with a high quality oil filter with new crush washer each time.

writes123

when you added the oil did you notice how low the oil level was? after adding the oil, did you ensure that the oil dipstick read full?

i would have drained the oil jiffy lube oil and replaced the oil filter with some high quality oil to try to minimize the damage caused by the oil issue rather than just topping off the oil since it became low for a reason. either it wasn't filled or more likely, the drain bolt was properly installed or oil filter wasn't properly installed.

Bowie5

If the valve covers are full of sludge then it is possible the Heads a stopped up not sure of the internal head design, It was common during the 80s to see Fords and Chevys come in my shop like that, due to paraffin residue, and small drain holes in the Heads, but I haven't seen it in a long time, You could pull 1 of the Valve covers and see what it looks like inside, you got me Scratching my Head. What kind of oil have you been using?

BMW7_LS430

How much oil did you fill? Did you check the dipstick after?
I once overfilled my lawn mower and leaned the lesson about not overfilling. Just wondering if there was too much oil.

ablovato

The oil in the car is clear (15w30). But because of the sludge I saw, I decided to try the seafoam. I added 1/2 can to oil and 1/2 can to gas and then drove it for 30 miles. I expected to see dirty oil on the dip stick (sign that it was breaking dowm sludge), but instead the oil is still clear and looks clean. Now I worry that the oil pump is not circulating the oil. Will an oil pressue warning light come on if there is a problem with the oil pump? Since starting to work on car, I have started driving it to try to diagnose te problems. With new pcv valve in place, the car doesn't smoke when I turn it on and drive, if I stop and let sit for 10 minutes, still good. But when I let it sit for 1 to 2 hours and restart, I get smoke. It burns off an the seems ok but will smoke on restart for 5 minutes thrn clear up. There are no oil leeks.

RushNatU

I wouldn't drive it with a faulty PCV valve because it's possible to hydro lock the motor and bend every valve in the process. High crankcase pressure can also blow out your valve cover gaskets.

If changing the PCV valve doesn't resolve oil getting sucked in, then it probably have leaky valves that allow oil to drip into the combustion chamber as it sits for a while, then burns off when you start it.