Celica 1.8 St Drinking Oil

[sotal]

Thanks for that mikeb, interesting stuff.

Yes the compression test was done when the engine was warm, and according to the tests it says it does indicate if the valve seals are worn, but will not indicate if the valve stem seals are worn.

I hoped to have the car in the air this weekend to look for signs of oil, but I never got the chance so it will probably be next weekend.

I have just got a bit of the last bottle of oil (Halfords own fully synthitic 10w40) and will probably try some high mileage stuff - Just slightly worried about it being a mineral based oil?? (aparantley) and also whether I can just top up the existing oil with the high mileage or if it will cause problems??

[sotal]

Well I managed to grab a few minutes extra at lunch to have a look under and around my engine in daylight.

Previously I had looked for big dark oil patches as I expected to see, but after seeing someones post on here about light coloured greasy patches I decided to get a cloth and wipe all round the engine to see if it got wet any where. I did manage to find a greasy patch:

Now I wouldn't say it was greasy enough to explain gallons of oil, just wondered if it was a possibility? It is also behind the oil filler cap so it could just be where oil has spilt??

Can anybody tell me what the parts of the engine round there are? Ie what part would be leaking if any? What is the short black rubber pipe to the left of the greasy pipe - can I pull it off? Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers

[cookci]

clean it and see if it gets greasy again ;)

[GT4 BOOSTER]

i'm not 100 % but that pipe looks like its comming off the waterpump.

[sotal]

clean it and see if it gets greasy again ;)

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It's just a pain to get to, that's why I was wondering what I could take apart around it?

[sotal]

Well I haven't had chance to clean it up yet (bought some Gunk - Engine Degreasant the other day to try on it)

But I have noticed the oil dissapearing has slowed down and the oil seems to be getting darker than ever! It almost looks like used oil now!

I'll keep my eye on it but it still leaves me unsure as to what it is:

It could be that doing some of the things suggested has helped??

It could be the cold weather making the oil thicker??

It could be my imagination!

Any comments?

[cookci]

your piston rings could of just needed freeing up?

maybe the dirty oil has clogged up the leak?

maybe its your imagination?

maybe it uses less oil in the colder weather - no idea why that could be though

[sotal]

maybe it uses less oil in the colder weather - no idea why that could be though

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Only thing I could think is that it's thicker when it's sitting still, so it wouldn't go past seals as easily and wouldn't leak out of holes as easily??

I don't really know enough about engines, but I haven't seen the oil get as dirty as this yet so I've got my fingers crossed! I hadn't checked it for over a week and I expected it to be really far down, but it was still near the top, could even be possible that nothing has come out?? Will keep an eye on it this week and post my results.

Could still do with any tips on cleaning the back of the engine as it seems a hard place to get to

[daktari]

Could still do with any tips on cleaning the back of the engine as it seems a hard place to get to

The best way i`ve found so far is to give it a liberal dose of Jizer or Gunk when it`s warm, leave it for ten minutes or so then i use one of those pump up garden sprays with a flexible hose (Killaspray) to wash it down. Works ok. Not that i`ve done it for ages. Engine looks filthy. (Walks away head hung in shame) :D

[sotal]

Thanks Daktari, I'll give it a go.

I'll brush the gunk on as best I can from above and leave it for a while then give it a quick rinse with the hose (daren't use the pressure washer incase it shifts something!)

I'm just a bit worried about cleaning it incase it makes it leak worse? If it is the back of the engine that is leaking and I clean all the crap off it, then maybe it will leak worse?? :(

If it was leaking there how much (and what seal is it) would it be to repair approx?? Any ideas?

[GT4 BOOSTER]

you can buy gunk in aerosols for hard to reach areas . the best thing to happen is that you find the leak , then you can sort it out , it wont cost that much to fix whatever it is behind there.

[sotal]

well I still haven't had chance to clean the engine off - weather has been too cold and I have spent the weekends decorating and xmas shopping, but anyway...

it is still disapearing somewhere and I've now run out of oil and just wanted a few points confirming before I went out and purchased some new oil:

a) can you mix semi-synth with mineral or fully synth??

B) which of the above should be best??

c) is high mileage oil worth while and can I mix that with the current stuff??

d) I believe from what I have read 10w 40 is the best weight to use do you agree?

e) I haven't checked yet but the filter may not be a toyota one, so may not have the one way valve I have seen mentioned - would this affect my oil loss (or be the reason? can't see how it could but...)??

f) Any other thoughts??

[mikeb]

Semi synthetic is supposed to be a mixture of mineral and synthetic components. Whilst it is generally regarded as not best practice to mix any different oils at all (even the same weight and type), in reality it should not do any short term damage. Some people say not to mix mineral with synthetic oils, but I don't think there is any conclusive proof that it will do harm to your engine.

Fully synthetic has the best lubrication/protection performance, but due to your rate of losing oil, I can't see that it is worth the extra expense. Again, for this reason, I don't see the point in you using high mileage oil. You're going to lose it before it needs changing.

The non return valve in the filter will not affect your oil consumption.

[sotal]

mikeb - are you sugesting just putting cheap stuff through again? Tesco have some for about a fiver a gallon - semi synthetic 10w 40 I was going to buy that and put it through. As you said it's not getting chance to get old so it shouldn't make any difference.

[daktari]

Cant see any point putting decent oil in until you`ve found the problem. It`s not going to stay in there long enough to lose it`s viscosity.

Cant wait for you to find out what the problem is. Got me really puzzled. :(

[sotal]

I can't wait to find the problem myself! (aslong as it isn't expensive!)

I've been kind of putting off cleaning the back of the engine just incase it is that and it all comes out too fast. I need the car everyday at the moment and what with xmas - I can't really afford to pay to fix anything!

I still can't see that it is leaking because I'm sure I would see a lot more oil everywhere.

It still runs smoothly - I'm as puzzled as you are!

[daktari]

Its a pity i dont live near staffs cos i`d be doing it for you.

You dont have to worry about dislodging anything really. Oil has very good cleaning properties. (I use a gallon of 20/50 to clean my bikes chain every now and then!)

If you did have a serious leak the area around it would probably look quite oily but clean. But you would need to have a constant trickle of oil running over it to get it clean, if you get my drift. I`m assuming you`ve checked under the car with the engine running (I`m sure we`ve been through this before) And after it`s been stationary with the engine running for a while. :)

[sotal]

yeah no signs of oil - thought it should show up in a puddle of water after washing the car but nothing!

I will give it a go cleaning - but I can't really see that it is that - It must be burning the oil somewhere or something like that?

[daktari]

Yep. Thats what i reckon too. Going off to scratch my head now. Tum te tum.

[Keano]

HEY,

i know this sounds wierd but just forget about it!!! i have a 97 celica ST and it has 160k on the clock(alot of milage for the year) and i go through about 5L every 2K........sounds alot, yea. i have a friend workin in a toyota dealers so i asked him to check it out! he took the car for a day(into the toyota dealer garage and set 2 fully qualified mech's on it and they came up with.......... wait for it............ 'average oil consumption for the milage'. to be honest i didn't believe them until i went for my nct (irish mot) and passed with NOTHING wrong with the car.It went through with flying colours.the tester even complemented the car!! im still confused about where it all goes cus its the exact same story as yours. oh and as for red lining it now and then i do that a bit more often and hasn't made a differance(except the smile on my face he he). To be honest im more worried about my insurance than the car, e3,634 (im only 21) thats about £2000 sterling! it hurts!

oh and thank's alot i read through all, and i mean ALL the posts and got alot of questions answered that i was wondering about, like what the hell the second rad was for!! cheers to you and everyone that was helping.

my advise is to just chill out, you don't do alot of milage and my car's on 160K so you have a long time before it might need replacing.

p.s. toyota recomends 10w40 for that engine. sorry i wrote so much u'll be after you read it all!! c-ya

[sotal]

Thanks for the info Keano what type of oil do you use? I am thinking of getting the tesco 10w 40 (gallon for a fiver).

I can't find anywhere that the oil is going so I can only presume I would be told the same, but I will check everything I can out first.

£2000 That's a bit tough on the insurance! I'm 22 and mines about £650 which I thought was steep for TPFT - When I first got the car I was only 21 though. That's just with Direct Line - It was about £1200 for fully comp. That's with the missus on as well and she's 20.

[daktari]

Sotal.... This`ll cheer you up! Just got back from my mates house where i`ve had to endure him rattling on for the last hour about his cars appaling oil consumption.

He`s using just under a litre of very expensive (Hondas own recomended)oil every 1000 miles. His car is a 53 reg Civic TypeR. (Apparently its one of the peculiarities of them)

Went out for a run in it. For a NA car it goes like greased weasel sh*t (Not quite as quick as mine tho. Har de har) So i think provided your not dumping gallons on the queens highway you may as well carry on regardless.

[sotal]

Yeah I read about them, honda tell you to top up the oil every time you top up the petrol! Apparantley it's a "feature" of the cars powerful engine *cough*b@ll@cks*cough*.

I think it was the new Audi Diesel Engine which was causing problems as it also drinks the stuff and Reps weren't told before doing high mileage up and down the motorway!

I read quite a bit about it first, but can only find others which are supposed to do it. Mine isn't supposed to drink any ever!

Is there any advice from Honda about when to do an Oil change? I basically alwasy have clean oil in - so should I ever to a full change??

[daktari]

Dont know what Honda recomend with regard to oil changes,

Even though your topping up with fresh oil frequently, I personally would still change the filter on a regular basis.... Toyota recomend every 6000 miles.

[Keano]

hey.

I use Toyota brand 10 w 40 semi-sentetic engine oil. it costs someplace between £10 and £15 for 5 litres and you should be able to get it at any toyota dealer!

yea the insurance is high but only one insurance company in ireland would insure me and they gave me a quote by accident (its acctually an insurance company for farmers but i don't care :D ). im hoping it will go down this year.........as long as that cop didn't catch me speedin oon sunday!! ops

anyway good luck and ill drop in now and then to see if you come up with anything!!!

P.S. you wouldn't have a pic of the underside of a celica 1.8 st 1995-1999, just i wanted to check something? cheers c-ya