Excessive Oil Consumption Gen 5 3S-GTE

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So for those 3k rpm in neutral cycles, do you have a video to watch to pass the time? Or do you have a Ferris & Cameron type setup for the throttle?
I will be watching the oil pressure gauge closely. I will just set a 10lb dumbell on the floor to hold the pedal in place. I can kick it out of the way if needed to drop the revs.
 
BG Dynamic Engine Restoration Service:

I started the process at 7:45am, gathering tools and supplies. I added the can of 44K to the tank, then I went and disposed of my used oil so I would have plenty of capacity for the three drains I would need doing. I then found an out of the way spot to do the process. Thankfully there are lots of inactive residential construction sites with finished public roads around so I won’t be bothering the neighbors. As we plan to live here for the rest of our lives that’s a good idea. Sadly, by the couple of cat beds I saw tucked inside a little niche where I picked was also the site of some cat abandonment…

First I drained the motor oil, then changed the filter. The last time I changed the oil was 2093km ago. So now is a good time to do this based on my accelerated oil change schedule.

I dropped about 4 quarts of the 6 quart Dynamic Engine Cleaner into the engine. This leaves me another 2 quarts to try a half program later on if I want.

Then I fired up the motor and set it to run at 3000rpms for 45 minutes, setting a dumbbell on the floor to brace the pedal. But I found that impractical and resorted to the old foot. I monitored oil pressure closely throughout. 56 psi to start, dropping as temperatures rose. 50psi at 5 minutes, 45psi at 10 minutes, 42psi at 15 minutes and staying near there until the 45 minute cycle was done. Revs varied a bit, oscillating between 3200 and 2800rpm, every 4-6 seconds and discharging a puff of blue smoke out the tailpipe—evidence that carbon was being scavenged? Dropped the AFM to full lean with each puff. Coolant and cylinder head temps were good under the circumstances moving up and down around 200F and finishing around 210F. I was glad it was a cold day as I had no fan to blow into the radiator. I shut the motor down and let the fan cool the motor for about 5 minutes.

I dropped the dynamic engine cleaner out of the motor and filled it with rinse oil—a pretty thin formulation looking rather like mineral oil. I ran it for 20 minutes at 3000rpm, monitoring temps and oil pressure. 66psi to start, dropping to 50psi at 5 minutes and 42 psi at 10 minutes, where it stayed for the remainder of the 20 minutes cycle. No dropouts this time—just steady running at stoich. Temps were about the same as the dynamic engine cleaner cycle but finished at 205F. I shut the motor down and let the motor cool for about 5 minutes then drained the rinse oil. It didn’t come out the same clear color as it went in. But not too dark. Distinct odor too, just as the tech on the video said. I let it drain completely over the course of about ten minutes. I just wanted it all out.

About this time a truck pulled up. I was like welp this will be someone from the construction company. I was ready to tell them I was on a public road (because I was). But nope. Just some home theatre techs that had done an install on a model home nearby. Someone at the warehouse had slipped a digit and they had been sent out with two when only one had been installed. They saw me working and thought I’d be just the kinda guy to buy the extra unit that wouldn’t be missed. I waved the offer off and they told me I had a badass car.

Realizing I had been at the job long enough to attract attention I (quickly) changed the filter to the K&N and filled the motor with Castrol Edge High Mileage 5W-30. I degreased and sopped up the inevitable small spills on the pavement (lots of recycled motor oil in the pavement in any case) and took it home. Got home and everything put away at 12:45pm.

Total time: 5 hours.
Total cost: About $350.
Benefit: Eh, who knows? Is there ever a situation where you go “wow things are so much better because of preventive maintenance!” ?

But I’ll continue to monitor oil consumption. The hope is that this process ungummed the oil control rings and that this was the problem. If high oil consumption continues, I’ll have to try something else.
 

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BG Dynamic Engine Restoration Service:

I started the process at 7:45am, gathering tools and supplies. I added the can of 44K to the tank, then I went and disposed of my used oil so I would have plenty of capacity for the three drains I would need doing. I then found an out of the way spot to do the process. Thankfully there are lots of inactive residential construction sites with finished public roads around so I won’t be bothering the neighbors. As we plan to live here for the rest of our lives that’s a good idea. Sadly, by the couple of cat beds I saw tucked inside a little niche where I picked was also the site of some cat abandonment…

First I drained the motor oil, then changed the filter. The last time I changed the oil was 2093km ago. So now is a good time to do this based on my accelerated oil change schedule.

I dropped about 4 quarts of the 6 quart Dynamic Engine Cleaner into the engine. This leaves me another 2 quarts to try a half program later on if I want.

Then I fired up the motor and set it to run at 3000rpms for 45 minutes, setting a dumbbell on the floor to brace the pedal. But I found that impractical and resorted to the old foot. I monitored oil pressure closely throughout. 56 psi to start, dropping as temperatures rose. 50psi at 5 minutes, 45psi at 10 minutes, 42psi at 15 minutes and staying near there until the 45 minute cycle was done. Revs varied a bit, oscillating between 3200 and 2800rpm, every 4-6 seconds and discharging a puff of blue smoke out the tailpipe—evidence that carbon was being scavenged? Dropped the AFM to full lean with each puff. Coolant and cylinder head temps were good under the circumstances moving up and down around 200F and finishing around 210F. I was glad it was a cold day as I had no fan to blow into the radiator. I shut the motor down and let the fan cool the motor for about 5 minutes.

I dropped the dynamic engine cleaner out of the motor and filled it with rinse oil—a pretty thin formulation looking rather like mineral oil. I ran it for 20 minutes at 3000rpm, monitoring temps and oil pressure. 66psi to start, dropping to 50psi at 5 minutes and 42 psi at 10 minutes, where it stayed for the remainder of the 20 minutes cycle. No dropouts this time—just steady running at stoich. Temps were about the same as the dynamic engine cleaner cycle but finished at 205F. I shut the motor down and let the motor cool for about 5 minutes then drained the rinse oil. It didn’t come out the same clear color as it went in. But not too dark. Distinct odor too, just as the tech on the video said. I let it drain completely over the course of about ten minutes. I just wanted it all out.

About this time a truck pulled up. I was like welp this will be someone from the construction company. I was ready to tell them I was on a public road (because I was). But nope. Just some home theatre techs that had done an install on a model home nearby. Someone at the warehouse had slipped a digit and they had been sent out with two when only one had been installed. They saw me working and thought I’d be just the kinda guy to buy the extra unit that wouldn’t be missed. I waved the offer off and they told me I had a badass car.

Realizing I had been at the job long enough to attract attention I (quickly) changed the filter to the K&N and filled the motor with Castrol Edge High Mileage 5W-30. I degreased and sopped up the inevitable small spills on the pavement (lots of recycled motor oil in the pavement in any case) and took it home. Got home and everything put away at 12:45pm.

Total time: 5 hours.
Total cost: About $350.
Benefit: Eh, who knows? Is there ever a situation where you go “wow things are so much better because of preventive maintenance!” ?

But I’ll continue to monitor oil consumption. The hope is that this process ungummed the oil control rings and that this was the problem. If high oil consumption continues, I’ll have to try something else.
Thank you for the detailed report. Interested to see if it improved the oil consumption.
 
Reading through this my first thought (actually my second thought, my first was, isn't TCS supposed to be Toyota experts?) was oil control rings.

Something that always stuck with me from school was how much oil an engine will go through if it burns just half a drop per power stroke at "average" RPM. Say 3000 RPM. Something like 50 quarts in 500 miles. That's spread around the entire cylinder wall.
This gives you an idea how little oil makes it past the oil control rings when an engine is working correctly. I think it's less than 1/1000 of a DROP of oil per power stroke.

*Those are rough numbers, I don't know if I'll be able to dig up my old school books and dig it out.*
 
Reading through this my first thought (actually my second thought, my first was, isn't TCS supposed to be Toyota experts?) was oil control rings.

Something that always stuck with me from school was how much oil an engine will go through if it burns just half a drop per power stroke at "average" RPM. Say 3000 RPM. Something like 50 quarts in 500 miles. That's spread around the entire cylinder wall.
This gives you an idea how little oil makes it past the oil control rings when an engine is working correctly. I think it's less than 1/1000 of a DROP of oil per power stroke.

*Those are rough numbers, I don't know if I'll be able to dig up my old school books and dig it out.*
Good points. So, here’s my thoughts:

1. TCS does a lot of business. This is a double edged sword. On the one hand, they should have it down to a science. On the other hand, it does mean they are operating under time constraints.

2. The Celica is NOT their normal business. Ordinarily they are doing MR2s, and even then, the 2GR-FE has supplanted the 3S-GTE as the engine of choice. I would have loved loved LOVED a 2-GR-FE swap into the GT-Four. Would have been beastly. But that was not on offer.

My assessment is that there is no real way that anyone can warrantee a good situation with an at least 17 year old motor that has been sitting still for years unless you add $2000 for a teardown and rebuild ($2000 because it’s easier on an engine stand). I will never recommend a 3S-GTE swap without rebuild work.

TCS did an okay job for the money they charged. It was obviously not a turnkey project, as my oil consumption issues indicate. Turbo? Oil control rings? Valve stem seals? These are all possibles. Ty Saxon at TCS said turbo. That has been changed out to an ATS Sweet 16. I suspected valve stem seals. But I am narrowing down to oil control rings having been the issue.

The reason is this: After the BG Dynamic Engine Restoration, which I specifically aimed at degunking the oil control rings, I have driven 400km and the oil level has dropped one line of ten that I etched on my dipstick. I figure that is 4000km (2500 miles) before I hit the bottom of the dipstick. I think that is one quart. Acceptable. I am still seeing some dipstick pop. Not as much as before.

I have also been adding AT-205 Re-Seal to the oil to recondition any seals that might be brittle. So that might have been be a second factor.

Mrs. Roreri says I do not return from a long (or short!) drive smelling of oil and exhaust. This is a solid proof that something has changed.
 

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At 800km I pulled the dipstick and the oil level was at the last half inch, below the low dot. I also drained the PCV side catch can, draining about a fifth of a quart of used oil. I added 1 quart of oil which brought the oil level back to the high dot on the dipstick. That is 1 quart per 500 miles, of which 20% is going out the PCV loop into the catch can.

Not great, not terrible.
 

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