[rtg20]

Hi, I have a 98 Rav4 with 326K miles. It's consuming a quart of oil every 2000 miles or so. It's for sure being burned - my mechanic said he could see the evidence on the spark plugs.

What should I do? Seafoam plus a heavier oil? Right now I use 5W30.

Thanks

Richard

 

[Blogson]

I had a Saturn which burned a quart of oil each 1000 miles from the time I had put 5000 miles on it from new, and Saturn said that was within their criterion of being normal, so if you are using a quart each 2000 miles with the number of miles you have on your RAV, I wouldn't be too concerned. You might switch to a heavier weight oil, but that could reduce your gas mileage somewhat and you still probably would be burning at least some oil. Another remedy would be to have the engine rebuilt, but if it's otherwise in good condition you can delay having that expensive repair done.

 

[pico]

Hi, I have a 98 Rav4 with 326K miles. It's consuming a quart of oil every 2000 miles or so.

Consider it one very cheap expense considering the mileage!

Gawd, are there any other Olde Phartes here who remember when 50,000 miles without a complete failure was a miracle?

 

[LugNut]

Gawd, are there any other Olde Phartes here who remember when 50,000 miles without a complete failure was a miracle?

Yes. And you were risking your life if you didn't change your tires every two years. Similarly, all the hoses and belts.

 

[SlimJim16v]

It's worth trying a heavier oil. You should be able to find one for high mileage engines, 10W60 or similar.

 

[LugNut]

Hi, I have a 98 Rav4 with 326K miles. It's consuming a quart of oil every 2000 miles or so. It's for sure being burned - my mechanic said he could see the evidence on the spark plugs.

Are you getting the 3SFE's bad-valve-stem-seals cloud of smoke on many cold start-ups? Could just be that. But with 326K miles, if the engine hasn't already been rebuilt, it's time if you plan to keep it for another 100+K or so. If not, check the spark plugs every ~15,000 miles, and watch for performance degradation if the O2 sensor or cat go bad.

 

[skwerl406]

OK, I'm gonna get grief for this suggestion... Wet test/compression test to see if the compression is even. If it is, a can of Engine Restore for the bottom end and a valve job for the top may buy you some more time before you need to rebuild or swap engines. That assumes the wet test shows that the valve seals are bad. Otherwise, heavier weight hi-milage oil with Lucas is your best bet. If the compression's bad, rebuild it.

 

[RAV4outnbout]

Mine just turned over 322,000 and I use about one quart every 3500-4000 miles. I consider this normal for my engine, considering it has not been rebuilt yet. This has also been a gradual consumption. Oil levels started dropping off after 150,000 when I started noticing smoke on cold starts from the valve guides. Smoke hasn't increased, but consumption has slightly. I switched from Toyota 5W-30 to Penzoil High Mileage 5W-30. Seems to help get it closer to 4000 before needing a quart, so it is helping some. Just need it to hold out for another year until I finish nursing school, then I can get the motor and trans rebuilt, along with a new clutch! Lol

 

[kikemt]

Mine just turned over 322,000 and I use about one quart every 3500-4000 miles. I consider this normal for my engine, considering it has not been rebuilt yet. This has also been a gradual consumption. Oil levels started dropping off after 150,000 when I started noticing smoke on cold starts from the valve guides. Smoke hasn't increased, but consumption has slightly. I switched from Toyota 5W-30 to Penzoil High Mileage 5W-30. Seems to help get it closer to 4000 before needing a quart, so it is helping some. Just need it to hold out for another year until I finish nursing school, then I can get the motor and trans rebuilt, along with a new clutch! Lol

I like to hear that you would consider in rebuilding the engine and transmission , for a second i thought you would write when you finish nursing school you will get rid of your well built reliable rav 4, mine have 327, 500 and i pour a quart every 1800 miles, although i have been doing oil changes every 2500 miles since about 10 years ago, i know i could go longer in between oil changes but it became a habit in this vehicle, i learned the more i drive on highway above 70 i will burn oil faster than normal, i do not notice any blue smoke or anything like that, sometimes the white puffs when cold.

 

[kikemt]

have you experience any issues with your abs system or noisy suspension from the front? im not talking about the struts but in general with bushing etc?

 

[RAV4outnbout]

have you experience any issues with your abs system or noisy suspension from the front? im not talking about the struts but in general with bushing etc?

ABS/VSC is all working as it should (knock on wood!) I did have some knocking creep up around 260,000ish miles. Both ball joints had busted dust boots. Passenger's side joint was dry and driver's side was beginning to leak. After replacement, front suspension is tight with no slack and perfect alignment! Strut mounts are shot, any significant wheel drop makes a loud clunk on both sides. Struts themselves aren't all that bad though! A little jittery over bad freeway expansion joints and improper road repairs, but no excessive bounce at all.

 

[JuneBug]

Strut mounts are shot, any significant wheel drop makes a loud clunk on both sides. Struts themselves aren't all that bad though! A little jittery over bad freeway expansion joints and improper road repairs, but no excessive bounce at all.

Can the strut mounts be replaced by themselves? What do you do if you've got perfectly good struts but worn strut mounts? This is a problem on the passenger side of another car I own.

 

[RAV4outnbout]

Can the strut mounts be replaced by themselves? What do you do if you've got perfectly good struts but worn strut mounts? This is a problem on the passenger side of another car I own.

Yes, they can. The mounts aren't all too expensive, if you do aftermarket. You just remove the strut, compress the spring, unbolt the top mount, remove, and install the replacement in reverse order. Since I'm still riding on OEM struts, I'm waiting to replace them when I'm ready to do the struts too.