oil consumption

[Grink]

Hi !

my avensis is a 2.0 vvti 150 hp. It has 230000km. 
I find no trace of oil under it, it has no loss of power, it doesn’t make coloured smoke (almost no smoke at all by the way)it works very well and yet since a few months it consumes a lot of smoke ..I add 1l per a thousand km approximately. Is it even useful to do my next oil drain 🙂 ?!!

I know that’s hard to tell anything with just those informations but you guys seem so competent! 

I have no money to go to a garage for now, any idea where to look. 

 

regards 

grink

[avensis_2018]

change spark plugs, clean the intek, add k&n filter instead of the original one.

change oil to 0W20/0W30.

[Grink]

Thanks! 
what is intek please ?

 

(and of course I wanted to write “it consumes a lot of oil” not smoke !) but you understood right 😉 

 

[Stivino]

Take no action and above all things, do not change your air filter to a K&N, it will be a backward step.

[Mojo1010]

Not sure how changing to an aftermarket KnN filter will help? Think the engine got to the stage where is consumes quite a bit of oil. Probably cheaper and best to keep topping up the oil as nothing is wrong. Other more inform members may offer better advice. 

[Gerg]

You might have a read at this thread:

 

[Grink]

I have to say I changed from 5w30 to 15w40 at my last drain… oups ?

i never pay so much attention to the filter’s brand. I just don’t take a too cheap one…

thanks

[Konrad C]

3 hours ago, Stivino said:

Take no action and above all things, do not change your air filter to a K&N, it will be a backward step.

I agree. It is not address the cause. Don't use the lighter oils - stick with the recommended (preferred) oil grade.

2 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

Not sure how changing to an aftermarket KnN filter will help? Think the engine got to the stage where is consumes quite a bit of oil. Probably cheaper and best to keep topping up the oil as nothing is wrong. Other more inform members may offer better advice. 

I agree with this too. 142000 miles is good going for an 18 year old car. Since the OP does not have much money, it's not worth doing more if means some engine work. Check see if the spark plugs are oily. Valve stem seals could be worn.

2 hours ago, Gerg said:

You might have a read at this thread:

 

This is a good idea. So long as the PCV valve is working properly, it will help with the worn engine to a point.

[Grink]

thanks a lot for all your answers 

I will drain it soon. And go back to 5w30 as recommended. Changing for the cheaper 15w40 was not a good idea obviously. 
I’ll check pcv valve too. 
 

I wonder if it’s time to replace front wheel bearing for quite an amount of money…

[paul9]

Yes, still do an oil change. Even though you have topped up enough that the oil in the engine is mostly new, the oil still has all the old combustion dirt in there. It needs to be drained out of the engine. Also check your coolant for signs of oil contamination, just in case that is where your oil is disappearing to. Do not bother with a K & N filter, they arguably let more particles through and cause more engine wear than a standard filter. Do not change to a 0W oil. Thinner oils will have more chance of getting past the piston rings and burning up in your cylinders. Not a good change in a high consumption engine. Using the thicker 15W oil might be a good choice if your 5W oil is used up too fast. Keep an eye on that.

Also, change your wheel bearing now for "quite an amount of money" or wait until later until worse damage is caused, then change extra parts with it for even more money. If the bearing is noisy or the wheel is detectably loose, then the change would be due.

[Grink]

Thanks for your answer, instructive! Of course I know it’s due but I don’t want to send to the trash in a month a car with brand new and expensive bearings because of another break. 
 

Impossible to say !

[Grink]

Breaking news !

today I had a look on my spark plug. Electrodes look normal according to pictures I compared, BUT two of them had oil on the screw part and above. I even found oil (not gasoline, oil) on my tool. 
could it come from rocker cover gasket ? Could it be the reason for the one I lose oil ? 
 

thanks again!

[Stivino]

You’ve got a wee leak which is finding its way into the plug well.  It probably won’t be the main reason for a low oil level. It’s more likely to be that your engine is burning it.