2002 Oil Consumption Fix?

[chilled]

Ok I have recently brought a 2002 celica but didn't know about the oil problems before purchasing it. The car has full service history and has had the oil done regulary I have just done a oil change myself and used Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil. Checked it today and I'm sure it's lower than when I filled it up but not 100% sure. Is there a fix for this problem? I have read about seafoam can help and also someone said about some stuff Toyota used but cant remember the name of it? Also can a mechanic fix the problem if I was willing to pay? And how much would they roughly charge? Or is it a terminal problem? Any help would be great as I have only had the car for 1 month.

Thanks.

[Old Red Celica]

Best bet is use a thicker Oil and top it up every time you buy fuel, have you used 5w/30? 10w/40 is what many use.

This could be a case of research before you buy, but you've bought it now so you need to keep a close eye on things. It's no secret, many forums have been discussing this for the last 10 years.

It could still go on for 200k miles, so no big panic. On the other hand run it low on oil and you may only get 2 miles from it.

[chilled]

Thanks for your reply is there no know way of a mechanic being able to fix this or is that too expensive. Oil is pricey and sounds like you need to keep buying it.

[Old Red Celica]

There is no cheap quick fix. Keep oil going in, engine keeps running :)

This link may work

http://www.celica-club.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/125889-boughtlooking-at-a-99-02-celica-140-gen7-read-this/

Free to join.

[Roker]

It was a design fault in the pistons causing overheating of the pistons and blockage of the oilways

[wirek29]

One liter per 1000 miles is normal in this engine.

[Roker]

I would not change to a thicker oil see notes on engine

Toyota redesigned the pistons to include 8 oil ways which allowed the oil to pass away quicker.

3. The use of poor quality or overly thick oils (thicker than 5w30) increased the likely hood of the issues above occurring. Toyota noted that even dealers where using oils such as 10w40 and quickly pointed out that although the owners manual listed 10w40 it was for warmer climates and that 5w30 was the preferred grade and insisted that dealers use 5w30 when servicing and repairing #zz engines.

4. Poor piston ring design, In an attempt to reduce friction, increase efficiency and lower emissions the engine designers profiled the piston rings to a sharp point reducing the contact point on the bore, this on its own only increased oil consumption slightly but when combined with issues 1,2 & 3 caused the piston rings not scrape the overly thick oils effectively.

New piston rings where designed with a larger contact area and higher ring tension.

[Scarlett Arrow]

3. The use of poor quality or overly thick oils (thicker than 5w30) increased the likely hood of the issues above occurring. Toyota noted that even dealers where using oils such as 10w40 and quickly pointed out that although the owners manual listed 10w40 it was for warmer climates and that 5w30 was the preferred grade and insisted that dealers use 5w30 when servicing and repairing #zz engines.

I totally agree, but out of interest, where did you pick up this info?

[Roker]

Cannot remember where it came from but I though it was important enough to copy into my notes