Buying 2008 VX - smoke out of oil fill cap (1 Viewer)

[David Ruiz]

Hello everyone, I'm in the market for a series 200 and found one that I really like. I've researched some but I see responses from "this is normal" to "the engine needs rebuild." When the car is on and I open the oil fill cap I see steam coming out, what does that mean? Steam also comes out of the dipstick hole.

I'm sharing a link to a video to show what I mean and hope someone can help.



Thank you,

David

 

[gaijin]

Sounds like a clogged PCV valve - replace it (cheap and easy DIY) and you may be fine.

HTH

Sorry, just saw your video and I'm not at all familiar with the diesel engines. You should probably wait for someone with more knowledge than I to post.

 

[David Ruiz]

Thank you for your response. I should have mentioned that it has 177k kilometers on it which seems to be a bit low for a motor like this to be needing piston rings replaced, etc. The other thing that concerned me a little bit was the exhaust pipe which had a thick-ish layer of soot but the car does not smoke from what I could tell.

Thanks again,

David

 

[David Ruiz]

Sounds like a clogged PCV valve - replace it (cheap and easy DIY) and you may be fine.

HTH

Sorry, just saw your video and I'm not at all familiar with the diesel engines. You should probably wait for someone with more knowledge than I to post.

Thank you, I'll wait for someone else to give their opinion so I don't get into something I will regret.

David

 

[Lester did that]

Whats the engine temp? Is it fully warmed up? If you took that video at full operating temperature the pulsing smoke looks to be blow-by. If the dip stick is also smoking at full temp than yes. There is a piston ring/rings that need to be replaced. Something is causing a drop in compression. It is sending the exhaust gasses back into the crank case.

That is a hard one to tell from a video. Take it to a diesel mechanic and have them pressure test it. That is the only way you will know for sure. (The dipstick and pulsing is the red flag)

 

[bloc]

A compression test would determine piston ring health. A 1VD with dead rings wouldn’t be completely unheard of, but I don’t know enough about these engines to say how much blow-by is acceptable.

 

[David Ruiz]

A compression test would determine piston ring health. A 1VD with dead rings wouldn’t be completely unheard of, but I don’t know enough about these engines to say how much blow-by is acceptable.

Sounds like a compression test is the way to go. I called the guy selling it and he got offended and thinks I'm wasting his time by looking at the car so much and now asking for a mechanic to look at it. Sounds suspicious to me. That is too bad because everything else looks really good on the car.

David

 

[David Ruiz]

Whats the engine temp? Is it fully warmed up? If you took that video at full operating temperature the pulsing smoke looks to be blow-by. If the dip stick is also smoking at full temp than yes. There is a piston ring/rings that need to be replaced. Something is causing a drop in compression. It is sending the exhaust gasses back into the crank case.

That is a hard one to tell from a video. Take it to a diesel mechanic and have them pressure test it. That is the only way you will know for sure. (The dipstick and pulsing is the red flag)

The car was at operating temperature in the video.

 

[linuxgod]

Sounds like a compression test is the way to go. I called the guy selling it and he got offended and thinks I'm wasting his time by looking at the car so much and now asking for a mechanic to look at it. Sounds suspicious to me. That is too bad because everything else looks really good on the car.

David

I'm not sure about what's customary in Nicaragua but definitely in the US if a seller won't let you have a private pre-purchase inspection done at your cost that's a red flag.

 

[Lester did that]

Sounds like a compression test is the way to go. I called the guy selling it and he got offended and thinks I'm wasting his time by looking at the car so much and now asking for a mechanic to look at it. Sounds suspicious to me. That is too bad because everything else looks really good on the car.

David

Sure he sounds offended. But if the engine is ok he shouldn't be offended. Your smarter than most to look at things like this. If he knows there is no issues than he should laugh and say no worries mate. It's solid. Get it tested if it makes you feel better. If you are a legit potential buyer having a second party mechanic look at it should not be an issue. If the man says no I would not trust him at all. So many vehicles look great on the surface but if the motor is shot or needs a full rebuild than you have to look at the cost vs price of purchase.

It could be totally fine, it might need a little engine work that might be cheaper than you think, it might be destroyed. You will not know the condition unless you bring it to someone that can test it. A mechanic with the proper tools can just plug it into a computer and read all the data. Deduce what is good or bad without tearing things apart.

If I was in your shoes I would just get a second independent opinion.

 

[bloc]

Alternately, if you know anyone else with the same engine see if it acts the same way.

 

[David Ruiz]

Sure he sounds offended. But if the engine is ok he shouldn't be offended. Your smarter than most to look at things like this. If he knows there is no issues than he should laugh and say no worries mate. It's solid. Get it tested if it makes you feel better. If you are a legit potential buyer having a second party mechanic look at it should not be an issue. If the man says no I would not trust him at all. So many vehicles look great on the surface but if the motor is shot or needs a full rebuild than you have to look at the cost vs price of purchase.

It could be totally fine, it might need a little engine work that might be cheaper than you think, it might be destroyed. You will not know the condition unless you bring it to someone that can test it. A mechanic with the proper tools can just plug it into a computer and read all the data. Deduce what is good or bad without tearing things apart.

If I was in your shoes I would just get a second independent opinion.

It's a weird thing here in Nicaragua, people get offended very easily and sometimes you don't know if they are hiding something or they are being Nicaraguan. This is something I'm still having a hard time grasping. I drove the beast and it was a beauty to drive. I'm currently driving a 1hz so it felt really good.

I will contact him again to test the compression; we'll see what he says.

 

[Mazderati]

In general, some light smoke from the oil filler neck in diesels is not uncommon. The video appears to show a little puffing which could justify more testing. Accurate crankcase pressure testing may require closing off any crankcase breathers and testing with a manometer. Toyota probably has acceptable specs buried in their literature.

 

[David Ruiz]

Thanks, everyone, I will see about getting it tested and report back.

David

 

[Lester did that]

In general, some light smoke from the oil filler neck in diesels is not uncommon. The video appears to show a little puffing which could justify more testing. Accurate crankcase pressure testing may require closing off any crankcase breathers and testing with a manometer. Toyota probably has acceptable specs buried in their literature.

Very true even with gas engines. A little smoke or vapor is normal. But the pulsing and there is also smoke coming out of the dipstick means there is a high chance something is off.

 

[David Ruiz]

Hello everyone, it turned out that the compression test came back good. I think I'm going to buy it and have a question about the oil grade you guys would use on this car. The most common oil here is 15W40 and Toyota brand and is very hard to get high-performance oils or other grades unless you really look. The car has 179,002kms now. Here's a picture of it:

 

[bloc]

Looks great. I’d have zero hesitation using whatever it says in the manual.

 

[David Ruiz]

Looks great. I’d have zero hesitation using whatever it says in the manual.

Thanks for your response. I looked this up and the oil I should be using is 5W30 but no one here sells it. When I went to the Toyota dealer they said the computer says to use 15w40, which is what is sold here. From your knowledge, would that work just fine?

Thanks

 

[WCDAVE]

With your ambient temps in Nicaragua, having the cold crank weight be a 5 is less important there than in say Wyoming. The most important thing with oil is to change it regularly. I don't think you need to run yourself crazy trying to locate a hard to find oil.

 

[David Ruiz]

With your ambient temps in Nicaragua, having the cold crank weight be a 5 is less important there than in say Wyoming. The most important thing with oil is to change it regularly. I don't think you need to run yourself crazy trying to locate a hard to find oil.

Okay, good to hear, and thank you for your advice.

Getting the oil changed tomorrow, greasing all that can be greased, changing all filters that can be changed, and making sure that all is well on our new Landcruiser.

Thanks, everyone for your help and advice.

David