my lx450 seems to burn oil. Suggestions?

wildman326 · 09-07-08, 11:54 PM

It seems to burn quite a bit. It's got about 160k.

Does it need rings?

Is that super hard to do? I've pulled the motor on my old 89 toyota truck a few times, replaced it's headgasket, rebuilt the rear end, and rebuilt most of the tranny, so I'm fairly competent mechanically . . . .

NLXTACY · 09-08-08, 12:46 AM

Er is it actually burning oil? Could it possibly be leaking oil instead?

F0RSAKEN · 09-08-08, 01:00 AM

How rapidly is it losing oil (burning or leaking)? Mine eats about a quart every 4k miles or so, and I know a few other members' rigs do as well.

NLXTACY · 09-08-08, 01:39 AM

I've been lucky. I go through half a quart every 6-7k.

But you NEED to verify if it comes from a leak before you start linking about tearing anything apart.

akarilo · 09-08-08, 02:53 AM

Synthetic or conventional? Try some Shell Rotella 15/40 and a Wix filter. I swear by this combo and run it in everything I own. If this oil "disappears" I would say you might have a ring problem. If it doesn't smoke any, who cares, just keep topping it off. Beats the hell out of the price of a rebuild.

wildman326 · 09-08-08, 06:43 AM

It leaks some, but not enough to drip onto the ground.

I'm using mobil 1 synthetic 10w30

PACNW96 · 09-08-08, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildman326

It leaks some, but not enough to drip onto the ground.

I'm using mobil 1 synthetic 10w30

I am using this same oil as well. You might want to try the High Mileage variant of M1 10w-30 or try a XW-40 weight oil.

Good luck.

rgsiii · 09-08-08, 05:13 PM

My 1994 did not like the Mobile1 you are using. I switched to the Rotella mentioned previously and all was well.

DocLX450 · 09-08-08, 05:49 PM

I've tried all the above, but when it burns, time for ring job. I just don't see any liquid at this point will help. Mine was burning at 150K.

12MPG · 09-09-08, 04:25 PM

Are you doing your own oil changes? Make sure your shop knows these vehicles take 7 quarts. My oil light came on and after I stopped panicing, I looked at my last receipt and realized I was only charged for five quarts of oil. My LX still burns about a quart between changes. Five quarts minus another quart give or take plus a slight incline put the light on. Food for thought.

super90 · 09-09-08, 05:45 PM

Mine "used" more oil with M1 10W-30 too. I am in Texas and switched to 15W-50. Consumption is lower, maybe a quart per 3k mi.

My indy worked at the Lexus dealership, maintained a lot of LX450s and said many trucks used oil even when new. Not to worry too much.

I would definitely do some analysis with the different oils and viscosities before declaring it needs serious work.

john_eckels · 09-09-08, 08:01 PM

I switched to the M1 High Mileage and my oil consumption went down significantly. I now go through a quart every 3-4K

e rock · 09-09-08, 08:46 PM

The P.O. of our LX had a complete engine rebuild done at the Lexus dealership at 138K for "excessive oil consumption" to the tune of nearly $4K. It doesn't seem to use any now at 170K.

CJF · 09-09-08, 09:10 PM

THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT KNOWING HOW MUCH OIL IT'S CONSUMING PER 1K MILES!!!

Jebus you guys...

wildman326 · 02-20-09, 11:42 AM

Was synthetic. Mobile 1 10w 30

Just bought the high mileage mobile 1 10w30.

I must not have had my email notifications set up correctly. I just saw this had been replied to.

It uses about 1 qt every 750 - 1000 miles.

Not dripping at all. Period. I fixed all the leaks. (except rear seal, which does not drip on ground/concrete)

98 SNAKE EATER · 02-20-09, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12MPG

Are you doing your own oil changes? Make sure your shop knows these vehicles take 7 quarts.

Odd

Mine takes 8 and the low level light comes on at 7

SBFJ60FIG · 02-20-09, 01:46 PM

If you're using a quart every 1k I would not do a thing to it.

Is this an easy motor to rebuild? Sure...aren't they all? But you'd be kidding yourself if you thought you could get to a point where it uses little to no oil.

Brentbba · 02-20-09, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJF

THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT KNOWING HOW MUCH OIL IT'S CONSUMING PER 1K MILES!!!

Jebus you guys...

Thank You!! Same thoughts reading thru this.

Are you seeing white/bluish smoke? How much oil are you going thru?

I need to put in 1 qt between 5K oil changes. Using dino Penzoil high mileage stuff - factory recommended weight. Truck has almost 193K now.

CJF · 02-20-09, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brentbba

How much oil are you going thru?

See post #15 (in which he revived the thread).

Brentbba · 02-20-09, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJF

See post #15 (in which he revived the thread).

thx - I was skimming! That does seem a little excessive, even though Yota does consider 1 qt/1000 miles normal and ok.

ajh1996 · 02-20-09, 02:26 PM

had simular consumption changed to NAPA 10/40 now it seems to be 1quart every 2/3k.

RetiredLifeguard · 02-20-09, 05:45 PM

I was "disappearing" about 1 quart every 800 miles using 5w-30. I changed to 0w-40 and now I only use about a quart every 1300 miles.

wildman326 · 02-20-09, 09:33 PM

OK.

I'm not as thourough as I should be. I know that it burn enough oil that i don't feel an oil change is really necessary. In the 6 - 8 months that Ive owned it I've put 2 - 3 5-gallon oil containers through it.

I should be more anal, but I haven't reached that plateau yet.

I'm more of a fixer than a maintainer, so I want to fix it so I don't need to worry about it for a while. I'm sure that is irresponsible, but that's me.

Pretty sure I'll drive 1000 miles in the next week or so. Perhaps tomorrow I'll top it off (again) and check to see how much it burns during the next week.

I relegiously write down mileage so maybe I can add an OIL column.

wildman326 · 02-20-09, 09:34 PM

btw it burns hella tons of white smoke at start-up, I mean a sh!+ ton. Its embarrasing

IdahoDoug · 02-20-09, 11:02 PM

White smoke at startup is either normal cold morning condensation or coolant. Oil burning on startup is blueish grey.

DougM

johns94cruiser · 02-21-09, 07:44 AM

Mine used to burn through 3-4 quarts every 1500 miles. Toyota wanted to rebuild at $4000, local shop replaced front and rear seals and I haven't had any problems yet. Started at 165,000 miles, now at 199,900.

SBFJ60FIG · 02-22-09, 11:06 AM

When you say a shit ton of white smoke...do you mean like Rally-X style, that you cannot even see the truck if the wind is right? Or just a little puff...or like you are James Bond and you just hit the smoke screen button on your latest spy vehicle?

Maybe a picture could better capture this?

Beowulf · 02-22-09, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildman326

In the 6 - 8 months that Ive owned it I've put 2 - 3 5-gallon oil containers through it.

If you drive an average of 1,500 mi each month, that would be 12k miles. 2.5x5gallons = 12+ gallons = approximately 50 qts. which would be 1qt every 250 miles.

If you are giving us correct information then you have a major oil consumption problem that needs to be repaired soon.

-B-

wildman326 · 02-22-09, 02:00 PM

Major screw up on my part . . . I meant 5qt containers, not 5 gallon. So lets say 15 - 20 qts.

From 6/21/08 - 2/21/09 I drove the car exactly 18,846 miles. At 15 quarts, thats 1 qt every 1256 miles. At 20 qts, thats 1 qt every 942 miles.

I guess that's not so bad. However, I'd prefer it if it burned zero oil.

ehanes75 · 02-22-09, 11:35 PM

From my recent experience...Check your PCV valve and hoses.

I had a bad PCV valve and my LC was burning 5 qts per 500 miles! Thought I needed a new engine. Changed it out and now it hasnt lost any measurable amount of oil over the past 500 miles but I am still monitoring it.

How is the compression? I ran both a leakdown test and compression test. This ruled out any internal problems w/ rings or valves.