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96'Camry LE Sedan oil consumption problems

Sent to Car Experts August 22 2005 at 11:35 AM
   

Ok - I'll try this again. I'm not real sure I understand all the rules --- but if a fee is required - we will be glad to pay it.
We bought a 96' 4 cyl., Camry, LE sedan in May from a private party. It had 76K on it and was in tip top shape, inside and out. Or, appeared to be so. We did not take it to a mechanic to have it checked out or run a CARFAX report on it, cause, honestly, we didn't know companies existed like them to give info. on cars.
Anyhow - we signed a form with the seller, but we did NOT write "as is" on the form. We paid $ 4,700 for it. Seller's were given many opportunities to tell us what was wrong with vehicle, but over and over, they said "nothing is wrong with it".
Well, we took car to Toyota Dealership to have it looked over and analyzed, after we licensed and titled it, and spent quite a bit of $$ on various repairs. Technician told us then he felt we had a Stage I sludged engine --- which was a term we had never heard before, etc. Told us to chg. oil every 2,000 mi., and perhaps sludging problem would clear up. We are using Valvoline Max Life oil, 5W30 & Toyota oil filters.
After awhile, we started having blue smoke come out of the tailpipe, usually after the car had run awhile and was shut off, and restarted. Was told this was probably oil pooling and sometimes was indicative of bad valve guides. Also, recently, we notice at stop signs and red lights, some smoke upon acceleration, but nothing like when the car sits for an hr. or so and the initial restart up process. Makes us think bad rings, too?? All of this makes my heart sick.
We have probably put close to $2,000 in it since May and feel we are in a catch 22 situation. A new motor or refurbished one costs a lot. We are seriously thinking about taking previous owners to small claims court. Runs like a dream car for a 4 cylinder, but the oil consumption and blue smoke is driving us crazy. No pun intended!!! What would you do if you were in our shoes? We are people of integrity and don't believe in pawning off our problem on another trusting person. If we told our sad story to TOYOTA, do you think they would help us??
Thanks for your time...
P.Page
ewe_r_paged@alltel.net

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $30
Answer
August 22 2005 at 11:57 AM (22 minutes and 42 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark

Sorry but they probably won’t. It sounds like bad guides and seals, also maby worn or broken rings.Unless you got a warranty, you probably won’t be able to do anything with them.

Good luck,



If more information is needed, please ask me.

Hope this helps, an accept would be appreciated.
Firsthogman
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Firsthogman -- Auto Service Technician -- 96% Positive Feedback on 300 Car Accepts
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August 22 2005 at 12:14 PM (16 minutes and 47 seconds later)
         
Reply to Firsthogman's Post: Thanks for responding so quickly but I still need more input, please. Will a Leak down test be beneficial in establishing if the problem is bad valve guides?
If you were in our shoes, with this dilemma, what would you do??
Wouldn't a ring problem be more likely if the car had bad conpression?

If we put a refurbished motor into this vehicle, would sludging/gelling occur again? We have become paranoid about changing oil on time. Always did before, on any vehicle we owned, but especially now after learning about Toyota sludging forums, etc.

Thanks,

ewe_r_paged@alltel.net
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Reply
August 22 2005 at 12:19 PM (4 minutes and 55 seconds later)
         
Question #2 is a continuation of first question, which had to do with trying to figure out why we have an oil consumption problem. Is it because of stage I sludged motor or is it due to valve guides, seals or possibly rings. Or perhaps all the concerns mentioned are causing the blue smoke out of tailpipe.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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August 22 2005 at 12:35 PM (15 minutes and 29 seconds later)
         
I'm not understanding how I can reply and have it accepted w/o having to post another question.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
August 22 2005 at 2:49 PM (2 hours and 14 minutes and 28 seconds later)
         
ACCEPTEDCheck Mark

A dry and wet comression check can tell if it is the rings or not.From your discription it sounds like the guides and definately the seals are bad . There are two different kinds of rings on pistons. Top rings are for compression and the bottom set is to stop oil blow by. Have you replaced the PVC valve? This can cause oil consumption also. If the compression tests are good the valve stem seals on most engines can be changed without removing the head. It usually runs a couple hundred on most four bangers. At 76k with very poor up keep I would be concerned about continuing to put money in it.

The sludge was caused by neglect or using cheap oil. With proper oil changes an engine won't build up like that. It isn't just Toyotas.

I hope this helps clear things up.



Edited by FirstHogman on August 22 2005 at 2:51 PM

If more information is needed, please ask me.

Hope this helps, an accept would be appreciated.
Firsthogman
Love them Harley's
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Firsthogman -- Auto Service Technician -- 96% Positive Feedback on 300 Car Accepts
40 years as a mechanic on all type equipment.
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August 27 2005 at 5:55 PM (5 days and 3 hours later)
         
firsthogman answered the second time with a longer answer, but I can't seem to find where he posted it for me to re-read, over and over again. Am I correct in believing I can go back and re-read his answers at my discretion?
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Info Request
August 27 2005 at 5:57 PM (1 minute and 16 seconds later)
         
At the bottom of the page, click on "View full details"
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Hammer Time -- L1 Master Technician -- 98% Positive Feedback on 2718 Car Accepts
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August 27 2005 at 6:03 PM (6 minutes and 2 seconds later)
         
No sooner had I posted the question then his answer I was in question about, popped up. Thankyou - no need to get back to me. You and about three other mechanics, I have asked, pretty much have said the same thing.

Thanks!
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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August 27 2005 at 6:38 PM (34 minutes and 54 seconds later)
         
Ok - Hammer Time

Where does one find "view full details", so I can read what you had to say. This was very nice of you, to answer, and not make money. This says something about you, as a human being, not answering only for the money. thanks, much.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Info Request
August 28 2005 at 3:03 AM (8 hours and 25 minutes and 34 seconds later)
         
REPLIED to Info RequestCheck Mark

I don't want to interfere with Firsthogman's answer. I just wanted to help you navigate the site.

At the bottom of the page you can toggle between "Simple View" and "View all details". The simple view removes everything you have already read. The "View all details" modes shows all previous answers.

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Hammer Time -- L1 Master Technician -- 98% Positive Feedback on 2718 Car Accepts
ASE Mastertech with Adv level Engine performance cert.
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August 28 2005 at 3:38 AM (34 minutes and 47 seconds later)
         
Reply to Hammer Time's Post: Dear Hammer Time:

Ok - I see your answer and right below the box in blue letters is Simple View, but I sure don't see view all details anywhere. I must be blind, but I see you are online right now, so perhaps you can answer back. I'm getting ready to go to Church.

Also - Can the public answer people's concerns too?

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Info Request
August 28 2005 at 4:12 AM (34 minutes and 3 seconds later)
         

If you see simple view, then you are already in "View all details" mode. It will only appear if you are in simple view at the time. It toggles back and forth.

You have to be a registered specialist on the site to answer questions.

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Hammer Time -- L1 Master Technician -- 98% Positive Feedback on 2718 Car Accepts
ASE Mastertech with Adv level Engine performance cert.
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August 28 2005 at 9:51 AM (5 hours and 39 minutes and 18 seconds later)
         
Everybody told us that the pcv valve could possibly be the culprit in our oil consumption woes; so we did have it changed and it was cheap. Only $ 10.00 at O'Reilly's. However, the longer the engine stays sludged, does that affect the pcv valve and if we get the engine fixed, should we buy another one, just to be on the safe side?
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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