Toyota Rav4 Vvti Engine 2004

October 16, 2009

Anchorman: I will never sleep well again after seeing what load the timing belt is under, It has to run many things, These rubber belts must be strong then? My service history says mines been changed along with the tensiner at 57K (now on 68K), so I hope i`m ok for a while? are these 60k 5 years intervals? I`m not sure as i`ve seen 70k 6 years intervals too, can you confirm, Also do you have a pdf of where the oil actually flows and pictures of jets etc, like in the VVTi pdf.

Kevinvic: Not sure about the mixing of oils etc. but I usually change mine around 5-7k or 10k if i`m lazy, I have changed oil when it goes dark black in petrol Vw`s I like to keep the oil a Golden colour, but in a diesel (this is my 1st) the oil tends to go black near enough straight away, I presume this is normal as they are dirty buggers. Either that or my engine needs a good clean. I do know however that in VW PD engines you have to use PD oil spec or you will round off the cams, I belive this PD oil has a higher shear rate and using non PD diesel oil will damage the cams...... How do you tell after 70k miles what engine oil has been used in your car? Before buying you would have to remove the rocker cover and inspect the cams????

I always use fully synthetic oils if I can, as they are said to be better. I have heard that mineral oils break down quicker espesially in turbo charged cars, but I would not have thought rav engines would be classed as performance engines.??

Anchorman uses a semi synthetic mineral oil in his rav with no problems, but I think he changes the oil at 5k anyway.

You said the dealer put 15w/30 into your rav, I would have thought this was a tad thick, but then again you are in a very hot climate so this may be the norm for Cyprus ravs? I do my own oil changes as that way I know exactly whats going in and whats come out of my engine.

I think you have just been unlucky, but like you say its not good when your engine packs up in such a way. :blowup:

I dont know if its just me but I do read a lot about cars of different makes and models using a lot of oil nower days? Could this be down to these thinner oils? I still think something fishy is going on. <_<

October 16, 2009

Kev

As long as the oil has been changed at the correct interval and the Toyota garage used a reputable brand, I doubt whether it is responsible for the failure even if it was minerable based. The data sheet only calls for oil of a suitable grade and API rating and mineral oil is capable of meeting that spec'. If the oilways were blocked, I doubt that the cause was poor oil unless it was way, way overdue or has been neglected at sometime in the past (which could allow sediment to become dislodged - the human equivalent might be a thrombosis or stroke). If it was blocked it is more likely that a bearing has turned because all of the major components use oil directly from the output side of the filter (there are two filters - one course strainer and one fine paper). The problem is that it will be so difficult to tell because when it is opened up, the engine will be full of melted and smeared metal that resembles a melted lump. If you look at most oil containers, they state that the oil is compatible with "all types". Again, I would only suspect that the sole reason of an oil based failure was more likely to be down to pure neglect rather than mixing unless somebody has done something really daft like putting gear oil or water or brake fluid............ - something which has degraded or contaminated the oil. If you can prove by service history that the vehicle was serviced in accordance with the schedule, I think your best policy is to follow a claim towards premature mechanical failure.

Jedi

I don't know if you have ever turned a camshaft by hand but if you did you would realise just how amazing a timing belt is!!! It is capable of turning all those auxiliaries and 2 cams at high speed and through an astonishing temperature range. Chain technology has evolved and coupled with modern oils, they seem to be the modern choice.

I don't really have anything better in terms of pdf's because the info in the 4.2 manual is nowhere near as good as the 4.3 (where the VVTi picture came from). When I am at my desk top, I will look if there is somethig nice on a 2.2 so you can at least have a look.

I think the service interval for the belt is 60k or 5 years, whichever comes first.

BTW - Don't buy a new RAV with a CVT box or you will NEVER sleep!!! That is vee belt driven,

Cheers

October 16, 2009

This was an interesting read regarding the new thinner oils used today, are we sacrificing our engine protection, so motor companies can meet their CAFE quota`s? :disgust: