'04 xB 1st Gen and excessive engine oil use
 

Hey peeps,

I have an '04 xB and I'm pretty religious when it comes to changing the engine oil regularly. I have only been using Mobil 1 and change it out about every 5K miles. Since the last 2 changes however, I'm noticing the car is using more oil than usual. I had to top it up just recently, before the time I usually replace it. There are no drops on the floor, so I know it's not leaking. It has around 115K miles on it. I change the spark plugs annually.

Has anyone had a similar issue? I am sure it is just normal wear and tear. Just wondering if this is about the time the heads need to get cleaned and new gaskets fitted, or if something else needs looking at, like the timing?

Thanks,

Dave

I've seen these engines last 300K without any exessive oil use (in Toyota Echo).
Timing is not going to have anything to do with oil, besides it's not adjustable anyway.
Try to find out where the oil goes if it's not leakng. Look for signes of it getting into cylinders by checking appearence of spark plugs or even looking inside the cylinders. In case the piston rings are worn out you may have some oil inside the intake manifold because of the blow-by.

have you replaced the PCV valve lately?

I did and you can see it here.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAbGydNgaYk :P

It is easy to pop off the hose going into the intake manifold and the one by the MAF and see if there is a bunch of oil there.

he's got miles on his box to so he would be one to answer ...

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. No, I have not replaced the PCV valve. I will do that next and give you an update. I will check the plugs too, just to be sure I'm not missing any internal leaks.

hey zack, how many miles did you have when you changed pcv? what about the big a$$ hose that goes from the other cam cover, um bump thingy, into the mani. could he excessive blowby from that?

I don't remember maybe 150,000? It still rattled when I shook it and was probably fine but they are only $8 or so. The other hose is just a crankcase vent and goes right from the valve cover to the intake manifold with no check valve at all. Both of my hoses had a good amount of oil in them but I never had a loss on the dipstick between oil changes. BTW other people I have asked with around 50-60K say that those hoses have no oil on them. Lets see how those plugs look.

I ordered the positive crank case ventilation valve today. Should have it by friday. Will replace and check plugs then, as well as the air filter and hoses for oil leaks.

For those new to the blowby term, here is some information on it: http://www.misterfixit.com/blow-by.htm

mine both have oil, with no loss to report either. weird

i replace my pcv every year even though it doesn't need it i still do it anyways

Update:

I'm still waiting for the PCV but in the mean time I did remove the manifold cover and take a look at the existing one. As soon as I removed the PCV hose I noticed oil on the end of the valve. I unscrewed it and shook it and it rattles quite convincingly. I also removed the hose that is positioned on the manifold, forward of the PCV valve hose, and it too has oil in it.

So, do I also need to get the intake manifold cleaned?

Just a side note, a couple of months ago, I removed the plastic hosing that sits forward of the air filter. Could this also be related to the problem?

If this is the one (and even if it's not) that goes from the air box to under the headlight to draw in air it has no effect.that

mine is doing the same. burns a 1/4 every 5K. ill have to do a PCV valve also. Toyota plugs are recommended every 30K. my car stumbles hard after 30K

Well,

I replaced the PCV valve, and I no longer have a problem with the oil.

Good to go!

This goes to show that old myths die hard. Millions of owners think that if a PCV valve rattles when shaken that it is okay. Wrong!

Just because it rattles doesn't mean its calibrated spring is metering correctly. Cleaning the PCV doesn't accomplish any thing either. A PCV valve should never be cleaned and placed back into service. Cleaning a PCV valve will result in a clean PCV valve; not a new PCV valve.

There are contaminants that will remain in the PCV valve that can never be flushed out. Additionally, there is an amount of wear that will be experienced by the spring that cleaning cannot replace.

Great to hear it was something that easy!

i like preventive maintenance

i'm glad it cured your problem :)

Thanks guys,
I'm glad I found this forum to be so helpful with suggestions. You guys rock!

nice, i should check mine out, its about that time i think, and then put a catch can on that line, because the other line people put a can on doesnt put out any oil vapor like hardly at all lol.