Burning oil

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dpost

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Can you tell from oil analysis if a car is burning oil?

Story. A 04 Corolla with regular oil changes, 70K miles, engine locks up 3K miles after a quick service oil change, with only one quart of oil in engine. No history of burning oil, no evidence of burning oil, no leaks. no overheat, no oil light, or other warning of problem. I did save the oil from the pan, when new engine installed. Thanks, dp
 
Oil light came on only as the car was going off the road for good. ie engine noise, light on, pull over, engine done. No (useful) warning. Mechanic explained that this is not uncommon. It is an oil pressure light, not oil level, so as long as a little oil is there, oil pump working, and no oil light.
 
That oil sample might give you some valuable info. Google Dyson ANALYSIS. But probably won't talk to you much about burning.

Who paid for the engine?

Sounds like it may have been underfilled, the oil light thing surprises me. Was it burning oil before?
 
Originally Posted By: dpost
Can you tell from oil analysis if a car is burning oil?

Story. A 04 Corolla with regular oil changes, 70K miles, engine locks up 3K miles after a quick service oil change, with only one quart of oil in engine. No history of burning oil, no evidence of burning oil, no leaks. no overheat, no oil light, or other warning of problem. I did save the oil from the pan, when new engine installed. Thanks, dp


I would say the answer likes in this fact.."after a quick service oil change"?? as in they were smoking something and your unit was their "my bad" unit as in they didn't put but 1 qr or screwed up some other way?
 
Yes, my suspicion is that the quick lube place put in too little oil. Since I failed to double check their work, and since I failed to check the oil level with each refueling, I didn't discover the problem until it was too late. I relied on "professionals" to do their job, that I paid them for. Now I get to pay for a new engine. Since I have had this problem, I have discovered that Quick lube places are notorious for this kind of error.

The question is can any form of oil analysis rule out burning oil as an engine problem?
 
If I can see where you're going with this, I'd say that the oil analysis will prove that the oil was either functional or totally trashed at the time of the seizure. Being low would surely have done some nasties to the oil, but there may be some case in proving that either the oil was "new" or not. That is, "there's no way that this oil could have been blablabla".

How many miles after the quick lube oil change did this occur?
 
he said it happened 3K miles after the service in the original post (if I'm reading it right) Theres no way in [censored] you lost 3 quarts of oil in 3000 miles without seeing a puddle under the car at work or at home. And without mosquito fogging your neighborhood. My old ford ranger with 350+K miles smoked like crazy and only burned a quart over a couple thousand miles. We have an 05 Corrolla here with 35K miles, and our kia and tacoma truck. Both toyotas have been flawless
 
Originally Posted By: dpost
Yes, my suspicion is that the quick lube place put in too little oil. Since I failed to double check their work, and since I failed to check the oil level with each refueling, I didn't discover the problem until it was too late. I relied on "professionals" to do their job, that I paid them for. Now I get to pay for a new engine. Since I have had this problem, I have discovered that Quick lube places are notorious for this kind of error.

The question is can any form of oil analysis rule out burning oil as an engine problem?


Is it too late to argue? You maybe came here a bit late. It's only remotely possible the oil sample will help you....even at 3K you should have stood your ground. The weak link IMHO is you can't testify that you checked your oil regularly.

The engine was in sound mechanical shape and consuming NO OIL before your visit to the lube joint.

As noted the car was not smoking, leaking, etc - and well 2 or so qts of oil keeping the car going indeed the oil should look like toast in the UOA. Will prove nothing but the fact that the oil was of a type very much like what the oil bunnies put in.
 
Originally Posted By: dpost
Yes, my suspicion is that the quick lube place put in too little oil. Since I failed to double check their work, and since I failed to check the oil level with each refueling, I didn't discover the problem until it was too late. I relied on "professionals" to do their job, that I paid them for. Now I get to pay for a new engine. Since I have had this problem, I have discovered that Quick lube places are notorious for this kind of error.

The question is can any form of oil analysis rule out burning oil as an engine problem?


They probably put the wrong amount in the crankcase. Never trust an oil idiot light - ot the new OLMs being forced upon new vhicle purchasers.

But you are at fault for not checking the dipstick since that date of oil change.

A lesson to be learned here. Periodically check all fluid levels inside your engine compartment - or under the vehicle.

I'm sorry to read about your misfortunes. Not a good way to begin a New Year.
 
Sounds like jiffy lube gave you the lube job.

Change your own oil, and check it every other fill up. That's how you prevent engine seizures.

When I was foolish enough to get my oil done at lube job, I popped my hood and checked the dipstick. First thing. You can't rely on anybody but yourself.
 
Originally Posted By: CruzNlife1
he said it happened 3K miles after the service in the original post (if I'm reading it right) Theres no way in [censored] you lost 3 quarts of oil in 3000 miles without seeing a puddle under the car at work or at home. And without mosquito fogging your neighborhood.


My Metro burns... 10-15 quarts in 3k miles. I add a quart every week. No oil puddles. No mosquito fogging. Cat converters are amazing things.
 
Of course I check my oil often, how else can I keep it running?
wink.gif


Seriously, I bought it used in 2001, and it was burning oil since the day I bought it. It wasn't so bad back then, maybe only a few quarts over an OCI, but the damage was done long before I set eyes on it.
 
Vilan said:
Quote:


My Metro burns... 10-15 quarts in 3k miles. I add a quart every week. No oil puddles. No mosquito fogging. Cat converters are amazing things.


Holy Mackerel - that's a ton of oil to consume....
shocked2.gif
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Vilan


My Metro burns... 10-15 quarts in 3k miles. I add a quart every week. No oil puddles. No mosquito fogging. Cat converters are amazing things.


So you are saying you burn a quart of oil every 200-300 miles. That's probably over 1 quart every fill-up.

Something is not right here.
 
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