How Long Do I Have?

July 12, 2004

Hello. I am entirely new to this forum but I need help. I have a 1987 Camry with 240,000 miles or so. I bought it 2 years ago and have put on about 20,000 miles myself. I decided to do a tune-up and all the plugs were nice and tan until I got to #4 (next to distributor) and it was positively dripping with oil. I was stunned because it starts and runs like a dream. Is this worn valve guides, a bad piston ring or a combination? How long can I run like this? It did have more pep after the tune-up (also replaced fuel and air filters). Any recomendations for how to proceed? I am able to do the work myself. Last year, I replaced the leaky power steering high pressure hose, which caused me to replace the control arms and the RH driveshaft/CV's because the fluid ate away all the rubber on these 2 units. This is a 3S-Fe motor and other than the neglected leak it had religious routine maintainence. Are there any other plans of attack for this particular motor at this particular mileage?

August 29, 2004

240,000!!! That's Mercedes diesel kind of miles. If it runs fine otherwise, just change the plugs & have at it.

Most likely it's a worn or maybe clogged up oil ring on that piston. Keep an eye on it in case the oil consumption increases drastically & then it's time for mechanical intervention.

Norm in NJ

October 31, 2004

Good news and bad news. The oil came from a leaky gasket which dripped oil into the spark plug tube. When I removed the plug, the oil that had pooled in the tube ran down the plug and looked like it was oily from in the cylinder. Re-torqueing the head bolts and the valve covers fixed it. Here is the new problem. I tested the compression and it is nearly 200lbs. on all cylinders. My service manual says my 3S-FE engine should only be 178lbs. at its best! It also suggests carbon build-up in the combustion chamber could cause this. This sounds right as the car tends to idle poorly when hot. What is the best (read easiest) way to fix this. Is there a gas additive that will actually remove this carbon build-up? Or, do I have to pull the head and scrape it off the piston crowns and the head dome?

November 3, 2004

A fuel additive, a tank of premium, and a good long blast on a highway would be a start! :thumbsup: Berryman and Chevron would be good places to look for an additve that would be good for carbon desposits.

November 4, 2004

my friend swears by a product called SeaFoam. you can pour it in your gas, your oil, and suck it directly into the engine via one of the vaccum hoses. (it will explain on the can) it gets rid of all the carbon build up and makes the car run a hell of alot better, so with an engine with that many miles on it im sure it would do wonders for you. he put it in his 93 MR2 and after the exhaust pumped out a ton of black smoke (normal of course) and a couple of blocks of breaking it in, the car was so much quieter you'd think it was a different engine in it.

November 18, 2004

Tried the Seafoam and have reduced the compression 10 lbs. on every cylinder! Seems to run better. I intend to try it again though I imagine it isn't a good idea to do this too often. I did run it straight throuh the PCV intake on the manifold, it smoked and sputtered a bunch and then ran fine. Thanks a bunch.