94 Landcruiser is using oil why? (1 Viewer)

[coolhand]

My 94 Landcruiser FZJ80 is using about 2 quarts of oil every 5,000 miles. It currently has 110,000 miles with no modifications. No oil spots on the floor, no oil from around the valve cover, it does not smoke, it runs great with plenty of power. Losing this much oil, I think it has to have a leak and is burning on the engine before it reaches the floor.
Where is the oil going, what is happening? Any ideas or suggestions will greatly be appreciated.

 

[elhombre]

The general consensus which I have seen on MUD is that it is normal for the engine to burn up as much as 1 quart every 1000-1500 miles. I don't know where that number comes from, but it seems somewhere Mr. T said that that much oil consumption is OK. I have always wondered where that fact came from. Maybe someone will chime in and say.

I personally was burning one quart every 1500 + miles. It has "completely" stopped burning oil after doing a head gasket R & R with new valve seals. I don't have to add any between oil changes (every 5K). My truck smoked at start up.

 

[john_eckels]

considering the age of the vehicle (10+years), it is expected to have some seepage and most do. There are lots of thread on the common areas of seepage, i.e. front main seal, rear main seal, pan arch, distributor O ring etc. When I crawl under mine, I usually see a couple small drips on the transmission bell housing. This is comming from the pan arch. I switched over to using M1 High Mileage oil and my consumption was cut in half. Some people have had good luck with Rotella.

 

[gisham]

when i did my head gasket i did a full head work up (valves, seals etc..) and i have zero consumption at 150K... id chalk most of it up to head gunk -

 

[LC80Ducati996]

I go 6k between changing the Amsoil and never need to top it off. Slow burn of oil here. Check your antifreeze for oil getting in it?

 

[ALCO]

It's normal, just stay on top of it, it's a big 6 with alot of miles on it. As long as it runs well and continues to pass emmissions don't worry about it.

I have > 206,000mi.

 

[LC80Ducati996]

It's normal, just stay on top of it, it's a big 6 with alot of miles on it. As long as it runs well and continues to pass emmissions don't worry about it.

I have > 206,000mi.

His post states 110,000 miles on his.. I have almost 200k and I don't burn that much. It could come down to the maintenance and or break in from new of the PO. They may not have used enough load and thottle to seat the rings quickly and evenly.

If it is not in the coolant.. With the potential of a HG failure its worth it to look at the coolant.... or the ground or on the engine then it is burning a bit for a reason that is likely best lived with. If it was the HG I'd fix it. If it was valve stem seals.. Maybe maybe not fix it. Oil pan(s) probably fix it eventually. Blowby at 110k... Just top it off with oil more often..

 

[ALCO]

Yea, I see what you mean. Toyota engines usually don't use oil at 100k, something else must be going on there.

 

[jlg32281]

Is the CEL light on? You could have a bad EGR which would consume more oil. You can also do a leak down test to see the overall health of the engine. I would go ahead and do some PM with the HG since you're probably close to needing it. With the HG job, have the head freshened up and I think you will see a difference. Plus you can have the shop that resurfaces the head take a little extra off to give you a few more ponies. Some oil consumption is normal.

 

[SeanAndHis80]

Valve seals. Old and cracked. Not burning enough oil to see - but burning it indeed. Miles does not matter as much as application of heat over time. Another member did not think he was burning oil but then discovered when he removed #6 plug that it was wet with oil. Take a look to see what your plugs look like.

 

[lndcruz]

What kind of oil are you using?

Im using mobil 1 10w40 high milage and I burn no oil in the 5k oil change interval. 180k and the valve cover has never been off.

 

[coolhand]

Thanks for all the help!
No oil in the coolant, no coolant in the oil. The oil I use is Castrol 10-30. No CEL light on. However the oil light will come on when the oil is around ½ qt. low, however I always have good oil pressure. No oil spots on the floor. No smoke, no oil burning smell on engine. It’s a little wet at the back of the valve cover. I will pull the plugs ASAP to check for oil.
Thanks

 

[gotmud]

Pretty odd the oil level light would come on at that oil level.

Perhaps you could switch to a higher weight oil during the summer months and see if that helps.

 

[retrofive]

My friends 97 fzj oil lights comes on at crazy times as well.

Paging Ebag333....

 

[Ebag333]

My friends 97 fzj oil lights comes on at crazy times as well.

Paging Ebag333....

Yup.

In the truck the light comes on at 1 quart low, almost exactly.

My truck, the oil level will be 100% full. The light will come on. It's totally random and totally useless. I'm guessing a bad sensor.

It seems that no two sensors are calibrated the same. Most trucks I've seen/heard about have the light come on at different points.

As for oil use, if you're using 1 quart per 1k miles or less I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can try various things such as making sure your bolts are tight on your valve cover gasket, oil pan, etc. Change out any gaskets that are leaking (dizzy o-ring is a common and easy one). But don't worry too much about it seeping oil, mine seeps quite a bit and I'll only start doing anything about it once I have oil hitting pavement, until then it's just a minor annoyance but no harm as I burn about 1 quart every 3k miles.


One thing that did help was switching to a heavier oil. The oil pressure gauge stays in the range better than it did with a thinner oil, and my oil usage went down quite a bit. Use something heavier than a 10w-30, I prefer something in the Xw-40 (and heavier rather than lighter, but whatever they have on hand usually).

Last time the oil shop used a 5w-40 which is a bit thinner than the 15w-40 I used previously....I might see if they have something like a 15w-50 or so next time.....

 

[Makelo]

Check your distributor O ring / After I replaced my o ring, the oil consumption went away

 

[lndcruz]

Next oil change try some 10w40 mobil 1 and see if it slows.

 

[TacticalAnt]

Same thing here, at 230k. Been using Rotella 5w30 so will try a thicker oil next change. I was a little concerned, but as it seems common im a bit releaved.