Strange Oil Level Behavior

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Hello all,

Long time lurker here. Excellent website.

I have an unusual question. Over the past few months, my '95 Toyota Corolla with 220k miles has had rather unusual oil level behavior.

Since I switched from having the local place do my oil changes with Kendall oil and filters to Valvoline MaxLife high mileage and Toyota oil filters myself, my oil level plunged to nothing registering on the dipstick twice across two 3,000 mile OCIs.

Convinced the engine was (rather suddenly) burning it, I changed my oil at the local shop again to isolate all variables (with their 5W30 high mileage oil). Yesterday, I passed 2,000 miles and to my surprise, the oil level hasn't moved at all.

I am doing something wrong. Surely Toyota doesn't sell subpar oil filters.

The only change between then and now is I changed the 30,000 mile old PCV valve, surely that's not the cause of such a large change.
 
I doubt that you did anything wrong unless they added a lot more oil to the empty sump than you did.
Did you underfill it or are they overfilling it?
If neither of these is the case, then switch to Kendall HM.
The brand they're using may simply be a better choice for your engine or they may be using a thicker grade than what you used.
The oil filter used has nothing to do with oil consumption.
 
Not trying to offended you but are the filters the same size, and did you let the car sit over night before checking.

Iv noticed people in the past mention dramatic swings in oil level to only find out they where checking at times while running and parked for multiple hours.
 
I have noticed this with my truck and Ashland products. Through 1,000 miles of Napa Synthetic I burnt over a quart and by 3,000 I had burnt another quart of Valvoline Next Gen I was using for top offs. I changed it at 3,000 because it had been burning so fast with one my favorites Quaker State green bottle and it has barely burnt any. I haven't added any with over 2,000 miles currently on it. Both times I changed it myself so I know it had the right amount put in. I used a Wix filter with the Napa synthetic and changed back to AC Delco on current fill, that shouldn't have made a difference.
 
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It's not uncommon for consumption to occur when switching brands, however it should eventually go away on it's own. If you really want to use MaxLife, then go for it, just keep it topped up and it should eventually level out and stop consuming oil on its own.
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
Very possible, but did you make sure they filled it properly in the first place?


They put in 3 quarts (bottles) as do I.

Quote:
Not trying to offended you but are the filters the same size, and did you let the car sit over night before checking.


Very legitimate questions, it sounds like something I would do. I try to check my oil weekly in the morning before I leave. I bought the filters from Toyota (90915-YZZF2 for my vehicle). The filter the shop put on is a little taller, it looks like a purolator.

My only other hypothesis is I didn't tighten the oil filter enough, though surely I would have smelled burning oil at some point.

Quote:
If neither of these is the case, then switch to Kendall HM.


It seems like I have to. Is this a decent oil? The only issue is that it's only available in a 12 pack. This is the oil they used.

The shop and I both used 5W30 weight oil. Is there a similar high mileage oil that is available widely? Toyota sells their own oil but they don't have a high mileage variant.

Quote:
When did you change the PCV in relation to the oil changes??


The old one expired (passed 30K miles) around my last oil change. I changed it after I got home from the oil change.
 
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I've heard about oil burning issues with the '98+ ZZ and '93-'95 7AFE engines, but very little about the 1.6 4AFE engines, which is what I have.

What would be the best oil for my engine? Kendall high mileage synthetic blend doesn't burn any oil and Maxlife synthetic blend burns quite a bit. I would happily continue using Kendall, but it is only available in 12 packs for me to buy, and I'd prefer to change my own oil rather than the shop.

I've read on this forum that Maxlife is a 'thinner' oil than competing oils at the same weight (it's HTHS rating is 3.0). Is there any truth to this?

Is it worth sticking with high mileage or try something else entirely? My only goal is to give the engine the best oil it wants in terms of quality.

Before I rolled over 75,000 miles, I used Mobil 1 without issue. Perhaps I should switch back?
 
Anyone know of an oil I can try? Kendall High Mileage is available here, but I don't need 12 quarts.

Chevybadger mentioned Quaker State. Has anyone else liked that brand?
 
Originally Posted By: Apples555

Chevybadger mentioned Quaker State. Has anyone else liked that brand?


I've used Quaker State oils for years & cannot say anything negative, just positive results. Plus, QS is usually priced cheaper than other name brand oils, and better than some of them also. Just my 2 cents.
 
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