not another dumb oil question..... (1 Viewer)

[big worm]

before you guys start chewing me out, i already searched the threads for this.

my dilemma:

i put 8 quarts of oil in my cruiser. the level stays the same for around 2500 miles, then i start seeing the oil light. i put a quart in two weeks ago and now the light is back on. could the temperature change be affecting the oil? i dont see obvious leaks or smoke. there is a little oil residue under the truck, but there are no drip spots or signs of them. this happened the last time i did a change too. i use 10w-30 castrol and a fram filter( :whoops: i bought a couple before i saw this website). the truck has 110,000 on it and seems to run perfect. has anyone had this problem?

 

[TLCgrappler]

From the owners manual
*********************************
..........It is normal that an engine should consume some oil during normal enginge operation........

The amount consumed depends on the viscosity, the quality, and the driving conditions.

When judging the amount of oil consumed, note that the oil may become diluted with fuel or moisture from extensives short trips, and then have the diluting factors driven out when driving at high sppeds on an expressway making it difficult to judge when the oil consumption occurred.
**********************************
The manual implies [rather directly] that short trips should result in oil consumption by 600 miles.

This is all on pages 113-114 of the 1996 manual.

My 96 gets low on oil by a quart or so regularly---say every couple months, which is about every 2000 or so miles, I would estimate.

BTW, the manual also says that the difference between the low mark and the high mark on the dipstick is 1.6 quarts. It also has a chart showing the expected range of the oil pressure guage when idling and when driving. Driving ranges from the very top to halfway down, and idling ranges from the bottom end to 2/3 of the way up. (My)conclusion is that if your idling pressure is above the 2/3 mark, or your driving pressure is less than halfway, you're out of the proper range.

Amazing whats in there when you go back and look.

 

[MoJ]

Search for oil light or low oil warning. IIRC, there was some discussion about an over sensitive sensor. You didn't mention if the reading on the dipstick was low or not when the light comes on. You also didn't mention which engine/yr you have. On my 94, the light will sometimes come on around 2500 miles, always on the same curve about 1 mile from my house. I don't use synthetic but am going to switch next change as I've read a few posts claiming that it helped with oil usage.

 

[erics_bruisers]

I doubt you are losing so much oil that the check oil light is coming on -- though i may be wrong -- I remember someone mentioning you've got to lose a hell of a lot of oil to have it come on --

-- are you burning the oil, perhaps? That would be a big repair --

-- with my '91, that is a self-contained leaking unit, and my '94, that is bone-dry, I never top up either between oil-changes --

-- hopefully it's the gauge --

e

 

[Scamper]

When was the last time you replaced the PCV valve? You can loose quite a bit of oil if it's not funtioning properly.

 

[hoser]

Report back to us on your dipstick readings rather than your oil light observations.

 

[mabrodis]

Wow, you're actually getting the Low Oil light on? I have only seen that once ever in my '97 and it was atleast 3+ quarts low (god only knows how it got that way).

 

[nakman]

the manual also says that the difference between the low mark and the high mark on the dipstick is 1.6 quarts.

No way, I never knew that! makes sense though thinking back to past experiences... thanks, Grappler! you too, Rodman, no dumb questions, right?

 

[big worm]

thanks a lot guys, great info. I think the post about stopping and going is probably right.
im in school and times are desperate, so i had to start a paper route delivering 250 newspapers seven times a week. thats a lot of stopping and going, so i guess i must be using it somehow if my exhaust is not black and i have no leaks. now that i think about it, i didnt start seeing the light until a week into the route. i did check the level, and it was definitely low like the light said. could i have hurt my engine driving it a couple of miles with low oil?

Also, i usually add oil until it is just above the dipstick low mark. i have always been paranoid of adding too much oil b/c i heard it is really bad for your car. is that true?anyway, thanks also for the info about the 1.6 quart measurement for the dipstick. That helps ease the paranoia.

i also haven't changed the pvc valve yet. i dont have any idea what that even is, ill have to look it up.

thanks a lot guys

 

[warpdriv]

From what I am told, if you add too much oil, it will cause the rear main crankshaft seal to leak.

Anybody heard anything different?

 

[RavenTai]

To much oil only becomes a problem when the level in the pan reaches above the windage tray where the wind from the crank can get at it, the crank will beat the oil into a froth compounding the problem, the froth then gets picked up by the oil pump, you can guess the rest, large amounts of oil flung off crank at high speeds could cause seals to leak


The oil level the stick brings you to should be safe for most driving conditions, and usually there is also some padding both higher and lower, although I dont knwo how much padding there is either higher or lower so it is best practice to stay between the lines where toyota wants it to be, I would not go above the full mark with an off-road capable vehicle like this without knowing more about where the oil level is on different grades (I have no idea how to easily estimate that)

On the low side as long as there was enough oil to keep the oil pump fed without sucking air the only possible side effect is slightly higher oil temp as the oil coming back from the engine does not sit in the pan and cool as long before it makes another round, I doubt just a quart or 2 low had any noticeable effect especially as the 1FZ has an oil cooler

Mabrodis my light comes on at just below the add mark on the stick, witch I thought was 1qt below full but now I read it is 1.6 so mine probably comes on just before 2qt low, I have heard it described as sensitive by others here so 3qts sounds like it is lower than average?

 

[RavenTai]

P.S. unlike my past vehickles I have noticed the level on the stick changes quite a bit depending on when I read it, I think it may have to do with the horizontal oil filter that can drain, would like to hear if anybody khow when is the official time to cheak it, IE what conditions the dip stick is calibrated to

 

[big worm]

yeah, i would love to know when the optimum conditions are to check oil too. the manual says to crank it up and then test, but how long should you leave it running? should it be running when you check?

i noticed on my first oil change that when i put the recommended dosage in( i was on level ground) , i then read it whithout starting it up and it looked very high. i took a quart out, checked it, it looked perfect in the middle, drove it a mile and then the oil light came on. then i checked it and it was bone dry!

does the oil just need to be hot? that could be a huge difference between someone checking it in the north or the south.

 

[RavenTai]

woop's looks like I need to spend some more time with the owners manual , I think I have been slightly underfilling as I check it in the mornign before start, when I check it like described the level is a lot lower,