Oil Loss But I Dont Think Its Burning It

[waqar_lionheart]

Hi All,

My car is 1.8vvti 2001 avensis.

I dont mean to get on the oil burn and loss band wagon but truly There are no tell tale signs of oil burn. I am losing about 0.7-1litre oil for 1000 miles. There is NO FOULING OF PLUGS, No smoke on start ups no oil residue in the exhaust but i did have a massiv oil leak under high pressure from my rocker cover seal. I was recently drawn to stuck open PCV but I doubt that as that would also cause the fouling at the plugs. I have put the rocker cover gasket right and its stopped leaking from there. I think there might be an oil leak just where the injectors sit as there is a very small puddle in those pockets but i am wondering where on earth is that coming from as rocker cover isnt leaking any more further more where on earth is my oil going. My engine is quite dirty from previous oil leak but i want to explore other seals as well. I dont think my crank seal is leaking. There is oil marks where head gasket is but my impression is that if it was head gasket, it would be mixing with my coolant as water jacket sits outside. I am completely puzzled. Need help. Where on earth could it be leaking from.I hate this. I am thinking the sump, but no obvious puddle or oil marks on the ground. When i went to germany, i drove it at 70-80mph and when I got there after around 500miles trip and parked my car, it left a small puddle on the ground the following morning but those were the days of rocker cover seal leaking. This car is bit of a mystery to me now with these happenings. Would love some guidance from all my fellow toyota geeks.My engine is quite dirty and i understand some people will say that i need to clean it first but all i wanna know is what are the possible culprits for this problem.

Best Regards,

Waqar

[Druid Boy]

Oil goes two places. 1. on the road - or your drive overnight. 2. Down your exhaust pipe ie burning.

No oil on your drive = oil going down your exhaust

Your car is 12 years old, just keep topping her up.

TUMO.

Top Up, Motor On.

[waqar_lionheart]

Well Druidboy,

I think i have found it. I think luckily my engine isnt burning any oil yet (plugs are clean and no traces of oil in the exhaust). But my transmission (manual) is covered in oil. having done some research about it, it appears that it might be rear main seal which is a big big job. Also found a few drops on my parking spot.

Regards,

Waqar

[BigMo82]

Although oil loss is a pain, I would prefer a leak providing its easily resolved over an engine that's consuming too much oil.

Mo

[Druid Boy]

big job to fix = loads of oil you could buy in the meantime. TUMO! TUMO! TUMO!

[Konrad C]

Hi Waqar.

This is for the benefit of others, since we discussed this over PM.

Your clutch may also get contaminated. Hopefully the oil will be flung and burnt off it only a small amount of oil leaks onto the clutch unit. If it gets worse, then the seal can be changed at the same time as the clutch or visa versa. Once the clutch has been removed, only the 6 bolts holding the flywheel are left to get at the seal.

You can pay a little extra but it would be 2 birds killed in 1 go.

Konrad

[waqar_lionheart]

Hi Konrad,

Definitely thought about it after pm. Yeah I think I will do and since the beast isn't appearing to be burning any oil. I am gonna keep it as a pet for as long as I can :).

I think I ll go for that.

Thanks again for the help.

Regards,

Waqar

[Druid Boy]

Oh, oil onto flywheel & clutch via crankshaft oil seal. Got it. If the oil gets onto the friction plates you will probably notice a judder on engaging the clutch.

[golders]

If its eating oil cheapest place for oil is

ASDA 5 litres for only £12. Many varieties too.

Look at it this way your car is always

going to have fresh oil inside, which can only be

a good thing.