98 Corolla Consuming Oil

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I just bought a 98 Toyota Corolla 3 speed automatic, which had 103,400 miles on and now has 105500. I did an oil change soon after I bought it with Castrol high mileage 5w30 and its been burning a lot of oil. No signs of leaks and no smoke. The only thing I can think is causing it to burn so much is the fact that it is a 3 speed and at highway speeds it cruises at a full 1k rpms higher than a 4 speed corolla. I'm thinking of trying AUTO-RX to help this problem. What do you guys think?
Right now I think I'm going through a quart every 1k miles. I have changed the PCV valve too.

Thanks,
Nick
 
That is a known problem with Corollas cars from 98-02, the problem stems from faulty piston rings that were installed at the factory. I doubt Auto-RX will help, only a rebuild will REALLY fix the problem. I suppose you can use a thicker viscosity oil to cut down on oil usage.
 
I know if I didn't want to fix it right away I would be running the cheapest 15W40 or even 20W50...but that can only last so long.
 
Go get some Delo or Delvac 15W40 at Walmart and some cheap Walmart Brand 15W40 inthe quarts for top off! It is about as good as it is going to get. These engines from 1998-2002 had some oil consumption issues. The oil scaveger ring is a bit too good at it's job. They only seem to do it at HWY speeds people that never go on the HWY never notice this problem. Make sure the PCV valve is clean and working or replace and make sure the air filter is good shape! That is about all you can do. I would not use Auto-Rx thinking it is going to solve the problem but on that same note witht he milage on the car it is a good idea. Run the Auto-Rx for the entire OCI and the run a rinse phase. I would use nothing but 15W40 to keep consumption in line. In fact if you wanted to go even cheaper just use the Walmart brand 15W40 it is not any where near as good as Delo or Delvac but it is cheaper and from a wear stand point any oil you put in this car will do fine!
 
Oh and even the newer 1.8's do this as well but it is more hit or miss where between 98 and 02 it was almost all of them!
 
Originally Posted By: parimento1
That is a known problem with Corollas cars from 98-02, the problem stems from faulty piston rings that were installed at the factory. I doubt Auto-RX will help, only a rebuild will REALLY fix the problem. I suppose you can use a thicker viscosity oil to cut down on oil usage.


From discussions on the Toyotanation forums its seems the piston ring problem only affects the 01-02 corollas. None of the 4 and 5 speed 98 corollas are having this problem. I'll give the thicker oil a try. What about cold startups in winter, wont the thicker oil cause more wear? Should I use the 15w40 with the ARX?
 
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sucks man, i say use engine restore, should help restore compression so i think it should help with rings sealing better
 
My (former) 2002 Corolla burned oil pretty much since it was new; it had the 4-speed so it's not a function of RPMs. That car is the reason I'll never buy another Corolla with the 1.8 (2.4 is another story entirely). So many engine problems and dead at just over 100k.
 
I own a 1998 Chevy Prizm, 3 speed auto (basically the same car 105), my car hasn't had any consumption issues at all, it has 80,000 miles and I drive about 50/50 (highway/city), I've used Maxlife in the past but just use 5w-30 Shell dino with no issues. Having the 3 speed auto is annoying, I'd think the 4 speed would get better MPG. I get around 30 overall, 36 on the highway. Good luck with your Corolla, I think mechanically your car should last a long time, I'd try Delvac 15w-40, I've used it in the past in some 4 cylinder engines with good results. I'd just keep adding oil and drive it for another 10 years.
 
Originally Posted By: Anduril
My (former) 2002 Corolla burned oil pretty much since it was new; it had the 4-speed so it's not a function of RPMs. That car is the reason I'll never buy another Corolla with the 1.8 (2.4 is another story entirely). So many engine problems and dead at just over 100k.


A lot of the 02's had the piston ring problem. I went on a 170 mile road trip soon after my first oil change and when I got to my destination it was amost a quart low. I drove 70-75 mph most of the way. Since then I've kept the rpms below 3k which is 62 mph and its not been nearly as bad. I drive 200 miles a week, 50/50 city/hwy.
 
Originally Posted By: Buick92
I own a 1998 Chevy Prizm, 3 speed auto (basically the same car 105), my car hasn't had any consumption issues at all, it has 80,000 miles and I drive about 50/50 (highway/city)


Did you buy the car new. Hopefully you've taken better care of your car than whoever owned mine before. On the outside my car looks pretty good but who knows how they beat on that motor. Your corolla might start having consumption issues when it gets a few more miles on it. There are a few 3 speed owners at toyotanation with a 100k+ miles and they all have the problem. One guy at that forum doesn't have the problem and he only has 70k miles. Who knows. I know I'll probably never buy another toyota.
 
My girlfriend has a 2000 that burns about 2qt per 3K. Has since about 100K(has 138K now). We're about 1K into the clean phase right now of ARX and it has only burned about an 1/8th of a qt, almost all highway miles. So far, so good.

When it first started burning oil we tried some 20w50, but it burned about the same as 10w30. High mileage was about the same as well.

But we're still happy with the car, it runs great and gets good mileage. It also has the 3 speed.

If you haven't read about it already, then I would clean your MAF, I've heard some people reporting issues with dirty maf's(not related to your oil burning, just a tip).

The ARX is worth a shot though, good luck and enjoy your car.

Mike
 
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I know additives are 'forwned on' here, but I'll second the rec. to try Restore. I've heard a fair few (anecdotal, but still...) stories that it does help reduce consumption in oil-burning engines.

Might be worth a shot.
 
105, ok here's a contrarian thought - but first here's some normal advice - get a bottle of Neutra 131 from Schaeffers - put it in the crankcase and leave it there for 500 miles. Then do an OC. Neutra is a slow cleaner and does a great job according to Mokanic (a BITOGr who is a Toyota Master Tech) - I have a 98 Sienna that was consistently consuming 1 qt in the first 1k of an OCI, and two Neutra runs cut this about in half.

Now the contraian advice - use a 5w20 (or 0w20) - I'm using this now in my Sienna (got 5k hard summer miles on the PP 5w20 now - it's still a nice amber) and my consumption is the lowest it's been since I've kept (mental) records of it. The theory as to why this may be helping (according to BITOGr Dr. Haas, etal.) is that the thin oil does a better job of getting into the upper cylinder area and thus helps with ring seal better than a thick oil. Yes, this is counter to most of what we hear on consumption issues, but this PP 5w20 is consuming at about 1 qt in 2.2k in this 98 Sienna with 155k miles - and that's excellent for this vehicle.
 
BTW (someone correct me if I'm wrong) - Neutra is ester based - similar to A-rx though I'm sure the chemistries are otherwise very different. Neutra is a slow cleaner, just not as slow as A-rx.

Also, I agree with alphasparky above - get a high capacity oil filter (M1, PureOne or Amsoil) - run it to at least 10k whether you're doing OCIs in that period or not. M1 engineers (when discussing M1 EP) say to leave the filters on for 15k miles (or more if OEM OCI is higher) - regardless of the filter type. My 98 Sienna is a clean running van - I believe (backed by M1 engineers) that a good filter can easily go 10k and not even be challenged. I have a PureOne on it now - put it on last November - it's now seen several OCIs.
 
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