It has been awhile since my last posting. I have an 03 Toyota Camry. It currently has 130,000 miles on it. It seems to consuming a quart per 1500 miles. At this point I am not sure if I should continue using pyb 5w30 or move on to a high mileage oil. Just looking for some ideas. I have an old stash of pyb and did know if moving to a sn product would make a difference or move on to a hm oil. No collant issues at all.
03 camry and oil consumption
- Thread starter bfrey64
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Depends on your goal? Are you trying to reduce consumption? If not stay on the PYB. If yes, try HM oil, 5W30 over a couple of oil changes and see if the oil consumption changes.
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Do you know if it's leaking vs. consuming?
Since you have the stash, I'd use that till it runs out unless there was another car that could use it.
A quart in 1500 is fine, actually, though to some on BITOG that would mean an overhaul is imminent
Since you have the stash, I'd use that till it runs out unless there was another car that could use it.
A quart in 1500 is fine, actually, though to some on BITOG that would mean an overhaul is imminent
Hello. Need to know if its a 2AZ-FE. If so I know the engine well, dealing with the issue myself for over 100k.
2az-fe engine. I can the oil every 4,000 miles. I haven had any issues with collant, all levels are normal when I checked the collant level. Noticed the issue at 120000. But I do drive with a lead foot. About 80 miles per hour 30 miles each way daily. So it might be from driving at that speed.
It sounds like you change your own oil so 1st check for leaks around seals...if there is a leak and it's minor then HM oil with seal conditioners might be worth a couple of cycles before using your stash...seal 1st then go back to PYB...that's how I'd go...
Is this car smoking or leaking oil? If it's not something silly like a block crank case vent then you might think about an HM oil, as 5w40 is not an approved oil range as far as I can tell. It's worth asking on a Camry forum for more ideas if you have oil leaks.
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OK. 2AZ-FE is a great engine but has its flaws. The cast of the aluminum block makes it prone to hot spots which creates a few problems over the miles. Concerning oil consumption the heat causes problems in 2 main areas. 1) valve seals. 2) Carbonized piston oil return holes. You need to figure out which one, could be both. Blue puff of smoke in the morning is burnt seals. Because hot spots are an issue with this engine, oil choice is important. What type/brand oil have you been using? Does it begin with a "C"?
Ok, I have been using pyb for the last 50,000 miles with oil changes around 4000 miles. I have been using an oem oil filter from Toyota. I also change the air filter every 15000 miles. I have no oil leaks. Never noticed any smoke or anything that would indicate a leak. I looked around the back of the engine where there manifold and the engine meet. It looked a little wet but nothing unussual. I told a paper towel and it looked like dirt no oil or anything that would seem to indicate a leak. I have been keeping an eye on the oil level. I just want to keep my camry running smooth, I have had it since mile 1 and don't want anything to happen to it. It idols fine. Not rough at all, oil seems to drip around 3000 miles. Sometimes half quart to a full quart. My wife told me it was a full quart this last time at 3400 miles on this last change. I just want to make sure it last another 100,000 miles.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
When was the coolant last changed?
It's very possible that the engine hot spots have taken their toll on that engine.
Not changing the coolant could have made things worse.
I would do a complete coolant flush and change and start running a full synthetic oil with low Noack. Pennzoil Ultra would be a candidate based on its cleaning as well as its low Noack.
Others may recommend a high mileage oil in which case make it a full synthetic high mileage oil. But at some point I would want high detergent oil in there for cleaning as you could have deposits from those hot spots.
It's very possible that the engine hot spots have taken their toll on that engine.
Not changing the coolant could have made things worse.
I would do a complete coolant flush and change and start running a full synthetic oil with low Noack. Pennzoil Ultra would be a candidate based on its cleaning as well as its low Noack.
Others may recommend a high mileage oil in which case make it a full synthetic high mileage oil. But at some point I would want high detergent oil in there for cleaning as you could have deposits from those hot spots.
Oil type is PYB. Ok. If I'm reading you, your claiming no oil loss until near the end of an oil change, where it drops between 1/2-1qt. And you change your oil around 4k. My opinion on that is if you checked every 1k or so, you would see a more consistent drop. The loss of 1qt per 3k is approximately where I am (1qt per 4k). IMO it doesn't sound too bad. But it could be better. However if the driving pattern changes, say more highway and faster speeds at times, you could see a faster loss of oil, as I do.
In the morning after sitting all night have her start the car, you watch the tailpipe from behind when she does. Your looking for blue smoke right when it starts for a second or so. That would indicate the valve seals are on the way out. you will lose some oil there. Find out if its happening. The options are get the valve seals done, or try swelling them with High Mileage oil. Over time leaky valve seals will cause issues with the valve, use a fuel injector cleaner with PEA every other oil change to keep valves free of deposits.
If the Piston oil returns have become carbonized there's not a whole lot that can be done about it without a teardown. However if its just started burning oil, cleaning is possible. Once you've verified its not the valve seals, and the oil consumption is a recent event, there are a few ways to attempt an engine cleaning. A "drive with" additive combined with a full synthetic, or a "fast flush" used with PYB. I personally prefer using synthetic oil with a "drive with" engine cleaning additive because I'm paranoid what a cleaner does to the oil chemistry running in an engine over time.
Anyways here are the things I have tried that helped. I included your oil of choice with options:
- Change the PCV valve (use Toyota)
- Mobil 1 High Mileage/Kreen brew.
- Lubegard Engine Flush with PYB
Note: Prolonged oil consumption with this engine will rear its ugly head with a P0420 catalyst efficiency CEL. The efficiency programming is set to 95%, so at your mileage burning oil it can trip at any time. the sooner you try to resolve this the better.
In the morning after sitting all night have her start the car, you watch the tailpipe from behind when she does. Your looking for blue smoke right when it starts for a second or so. That would indicate the valve seals are on the way out. you will lose some oil there. Find out if its happening. The options are get the valve seals done, or try swelling them with High Mileage oil. Over time leaky valve seals will cause issues with the valve, use a fuel injector cleaner with PEA every other oil change to keep valves free of deposits.
If the Piston oil returns have become carbonized there's not a whole lot that can be done about it without a teardown. However if its just started burning oil, cleaning is possible. Once you've verified its not the valve seals, and the oil consumption is a recent event, there are a few ways to attempt an engine cleaning. A "drive with" additive combined with a full synthetic, or a "fast flush" used with PYB. I personally prefer using synthetic oil with a "drive with" engine cleaning additive because I'm paranoid what a cleaner does to the oil chemistry running in an engine over time.
Anyways here are the things I have tried that helped. I included your oil of choice with options:
- Change the PCV valve (use Toyota)
- Mobil 1 High Mileage/Kreen brew.
- Lubegard Engine Flush with PYB
Note: Prolonged oil consumption with this engine will rear its ugly head with a P0420 catalyst efficiency CEL. The efficiency programming is set to 95%, so at your mileage burning oil it can trip at any time. the sooner you try to resolve this the better.
Also, if your looking near the intake for a wet spot, your aware of the "stripped headbolt" issue. (its really stripped block threads). Losing a little coolant from the expansion tank is normal. It breathes, so there is some evaporation. And its a small tank, so loss is exaggerated. About the thickness of a finger every 6 months. If you get the problem you will see a sudden and dramatic loss of coolant, and an overheat shortly after. Keep the Toyota red changed out frequently (drain and fill every couple years/40k), you will be fine. don't mix or change, stay with the Toyota LLC (Red) mixed 50/50 w/distilled.
Changed the collant at 95,000 miles as per Toyota. No issues with the collant that I am aware of, but you never know. I cleaned the PVC valve at 100,000 miles. Seemed to work well, but you never know. I will say I am not having any issues other then the consumption. I love my camry but I have been thing of switch to hm oil. Crazy thing is that Walmart has no 5w30 hm in anything at two walmarts. Only thing is Quaker state defy. I am not sure if that would be a good hm oil to start with?
Yeah, defy is fine for a start. I have not used it. Its new. People on here have and like it. No long term results are known yet. maxlife is another if you see it. Its results are well known, good. I noticed walmart being out of HM oil recently too. The HM oil I use (Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30) has been sold out for over a month at 3 different stores. But they have a stash somewhere local so i order it online and go pick it up.
a quart every 1500 you are lucky. a friend of mine daughter bougth a2003 forerunner and found out it burned a quart every 400 to 500 miles. it had 50k when she got it. the desler changed the pvc valve and told her it was ok. she drove it from ohio to south carolina and it was down 2 quarts, she had to get rid of it.
I loved for maxlife and Mobil 1 hm. Sold out in two walmarts. It's like the oil gods are against me, but I my try the defy for at least one oil change. Is m1 or maxlife better then the defy or is it too soon to tell? Thanks for all your help I love my Camry it's treated me well for the first 130,000 miles.
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Better? I can only give you opinion. Defy has a high (claimed) level of the wear additive ZZDP, so its been a popular new oil on here. The two of us are wanting seal swellers and cleaners. Thats the unkown part of Defy at this point. How well they perform, how long they last, etc. Maxlife is known for swelling seals, cleaning, etc. Being a semi-syn, its a 5-7k interval oil. Mobil 1 High Mileage is a full syn, so its good for up to 10k. Cleans and swells as good as any oil I've tried. Gives me extended intervals, and the additive pack lasts for an extended interval. So thats my choice. If you run 4k, The Defy and Maxlike should be fine.
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