98lexgs4

Hey fellas. 98 GS4, black/black, 135k miles.

I had my timing belt changed about 3 months ago, and my local mechanic messed up big time and bent some valves. He replaced them, and other than an occasional vibration/shake at idle, everything seems to be okay.

That is, until today. Its been about 4,500 miles since my last oil change. I just checked my oil, and its pretty much off the dipstick. There's the F line, the L line, and then another inch or so to the bottom of the dipstick, and the level is just barely nicking the bottom of the stick.

No oil spots in the driveway, so I don't think I have a leak. Why would the car be consuming oil after having the valves replaced? Any ideas? Thanks.

THE_CEO

Fill her up again and check in another 100 miles....

CEO

JPI Racing

How many qts of oil did your tech fill it up when the job is complete? If the cylinder wasn't torque down properly, oil would leak into the combustion chamber and burn it off. Once the valves are damaged, You would want to inspect your valve guides. We always replace the valve guide if that valve is damaged. It won't hurt to run a quick compression and leak down test. The leak down test will let you know the condition of your valves. I woud suggest that you bring the vehicle back to him for further inspection.
JPI

chuckb

^JPI-do you think it's possible/normal for the car to burn a little oil at first after the valve job while it's breaking in or no?

JPI Racing

This is not normal at all. You would expect to lose around 0.5 qts of oil for a freshly rebuilt 1UZ. I've seen people actually forgot to replace the valve steam seals after the rebuilt. I strongly think it isn't the headgasket in this case. Have the vehicle check once again and top off oil.
JPI

98lexgs4

Thanks for the replies guys. Here's a picture of the dipstick. It's kind of blurry, but you get the idea. It's way below the L line. I am taking it in for an oil change tomorrow. I think I might have them check the oil filter for anything unusual. I'll be sure to check the oil level in a few hundred miles to see what's going on.

DCMango

Agreed, don't sound like a head gasket problem. Valve seals would also be my first guess.

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

I would take it back to the place who did your tbelt, and have them change the oil, and do a consumption test. it sounds like they damaged the guides or seals, as other people have stated. That much oil consuption is certainly not normal.