stoutman

This is my first post and I really need some advice here. Here goes: In Feb this year I had our local Toyota dealer put a new (reman long block) engine in our 2002 RX 300 due to lost comp in #2 cyl of old engine after 157,000 mi. This totaled $7200.00 and came with a 12 mo / 12000 mi warranty. Thought this would be better than a used engine due to oil sludge history and new reman should have design corrections for that. There was an initial small oil leak under timing gear that was repaired free of charge when first comp oil change was done after 2200 mi. The tech's report stated that rear valve cover gasket had been leaking and the tube seals had been installed upside down. He corrected same on front sets and resealed the camshaft seal bearing cap, which he stated had been done incorrectly. This was a bit alarming to me but was assured they corrected leak issues and I would be ok under warranty. 3500 mi later we are about to take our first long trip in this and I notice that oil is near the bottom mark on stick. I take it to dealer the other day and he tells me it is only a little bit low cause the amount bet the marks is a 1/2 qt. (I later checked the manual and it says the amount bet marks is 1.6 qts). He returns with car from tech and says that the new Toyota oil usage spec is 1/2 qt per 1200 miles, but when he types that up on the report it says 1 qt per 1200 mi.! This rather blows my mind as he says they will top it off and charge me for the oil or I can do it myself and really not to worry about it unless the oil light comes on! I'm about to drive 900 mi round trip in summer temps and just as wanting them to do oil changes during warranty period I did'nt want to be adding oil myself bet changes but declined them topping off. It seems that they are laying the groundwork to refuse oil consumption issues as pointing to any problem with the engine under warranty. I know that it was the first sign of trouble with the oil sludge issue and can be with many other engine problems. I'm now halfway through my warranty period on this and don't know what right I have to make a case about this. No oil is dripping under car. Car drives great otherwise. I'll be taking it back to pay them to change oil in 1,500 mi. I found online where Toyota is in fact stating new oil usage spec as 1 qt per 1200 mi but says it's due to using thinner oil (0w20 / 0w30) ect in their new engines. I was told by the dealer when they changed oil to use the oil weight that is stated on the cap. IE: 5w30. Could the initial problems their tech found when fixing the leak be causing internal issues at this point? Pay them to top it up now, or just do it myself? I'm not gonna let it run dry. Please help

salimshah

Welcome to CL.

Please understand that ALL engines (any make) have a specification of oil consumption. That does not mean all engines consume oil, but none the less the manufacturer has a spec to go by when a consumer complains.

Make sure there are no leaks ,,, which the dealer has helped you to get to.

Learn about your engine. Usually there is 3/4 of quart between low and high mark. Once you learn how your engine is behaving, you can plan appropriately. I check with engine cold ,,, allows oil to make its way down to the sump. For me I dont need to add oil between oil-changes.

Note how much you have to add and then take it up with the dealer if it is outside of the spec. Also read up on the oil consumption thread .. one theory is that it is through the PCV and the new valve cover fixes it ,,, although there is one member who had data which does not support this theory.

Salim

trhs75

Welcome, Stoutman! I'd be curious to know what oil they put in there. I had always been a Mobil 1 guy, but my daughter's '99 was going through a quart every few hundred miles on the road. No smoke or other evidence of oil burning. There was no oil consumption in town. I switched to Pennzoil Platinum (5W-30 as before) and the consumption problem disappeared completely. No oil use between 5000 mile changes. She does have the old style valve cover and PCV (do a search on that) which I was going to change out if the problem continued. An oil/filter change is a very cheap first step to take just to see if it helps. Welcome to the group!

stoutman

Thanks for your quick reply. I have had this car for 6 years now and have always checked the oil in the manor you describe. I knew the marks were more than 1/2 qt apart on stick as dealer stated and with manual showing it to be 1.6 qts it puts the oil level WAY lower than what he told me. I just am concerned that there were so many parts installed improperly in this new engine when they put it in that it may be causing this type of problem. I will top off oil and keep a record but 1 qt per 1200 miles is 4 qts bet oil changes and I just think that is insane for a new engine. Plus this is 5w/30 not 0w/20.

fastnoypi

Just to be clear, which style pcv and rear valve cover do you have on this remanufactured engine?
Is the pcv a plastic right angle style or straight metal screw in style?

stoutman

Thanks for the welcome all! Also, I do have the screw in type PCV valve on this. Remember, this a new factory remaned and dealer installed engine with 5,000 mi and had a dealer oil change 3,500 mi ago. I may just be paranoid cause I suspect the oil sludge issue caused the demise of my last engine, but I don't think that should be the concern with this new one. I read up and found out a lot about the MZ-1FE in that first go-round. The internal problems they found (and fixed) causing the initial oil leak in the new one just make me wonder if something else could be going on in there.

jimsRX300

Pull the valve covers. Clean with a case of carb cleaner. Then pull BOTH oil pans. Clean with more carb cleaner.

Change oil and order:

BG MOA!! Get a bunch off of Amazon!!

Keep changing every 500 - 1000 miles until it clears up.

I had to swap my motor because the oil pumped got gummed up and starved the heads of oil. I now change mine every 3000 miles with "High Mileage Oil" swill and substitute a can of BG MOA every oil change.

5 quarts in ... 5 quarts out

fastnoypi

there is absolutely no way he can have that much sludge in 6 month old engine to require a cleaning.

jimsRX300

Well, the oil is going somewhere bro. Gotta find it.

It's sludging that sucker up somewhere.

jimsRX300

You spend 7200.00 AT LEAST change the oil and SUBSTITUTE 1 can of BG MOA for the same quantity of oil.

See what happens.

You are in the same situation as me, I did the work myself but still. Otherwise, your posting on here is futile if you don't at least heed the recommendations / advice of those that give it.

fastnoypi

i agree its going somewhere.. it could be as simple as the pcv itself sticking wide open and letting the vac of the intake manifold suck it all out.

I had one that internally had a spring that was stuck open, it could have been an cheap 3rd party pcv that the previous owner replaced with and had the same oil draining symptoms.

Replaced it with an OEM pcv that rattles open and closed by gravity..no more consumption.

Yes, he can change the oil and add a can of bg moa....if no change ..no harm no foul. Troubleshooting the cause of oil loss on these motors is definitely a process of elimination and trying a bunch of things.

carguy07

No way it's sludge already. I would run it with dino oil and try to seat the rings. Try to load it up a low rpm and hold the gear (snow mode might help). After bogging it down good a few times, run it up to 4500 rpm or so. See if that seats the rings.

stoutman

Topped up to mark with 1 qt 5w30. Well here is my update: Ran 800 mi round trip. 3.2K for hours and hours straight in summer heat. No oil appears to be lost at all. Maybe after initial 6k it still needed this to seat the rings good. I am going to have the dealer do all oil changes and any service until the 12/12 warranty period is up on this engine cause I know how they can be. After that I'll open my toolbox if needed. I do feel much better about it now. Thanks for all the input.

trhs75

Glad it's working out, buddy! Take care!