my bad luck continues.... 4 quarts low in 2.5K miles :(

[pervo]

one thing after another with this car
now my dealer tells me it was 4 quarts low
best case scenerio its a valve cover and it will cost 1,500!
cant i buy a rebuilt engine for around these $ ?
are any of tthe possible scenerios do it yourself friendly?

[Sap Z]

wat was 4 quarts low?

[theprodigy79]

his oil...

You can get a low mileage engine at a junk yard for dirt cheap and do the swap yourself if you have the time / resources... It's a pain in the ass, but I did it with my Celica and it saved me a ton (only cost $600 total with engine, new fluids, new gaskets, new filters, new plugs, new wires, etc...)

[pervo]

i was quoted 1450 at my door 6 month warrenty
how doable is it to swap this engine myself?
i am sure i can look and find a cheaper engine but i think this is as good as ill get

[theprodigy79]

You'll need someone to work with (three people if you don't know anyone with a substantial amount of strength), a few ramps or a lift, a cherry picker, around 16-18 hours of time to put into it (since you've never done it before), room enough to have both engines and all parts available, and LOTS of patience (I marked EVERY SINGLE hose, nut and bolt). It's doable, but it ain't fun. I did it cuz they wanted another $1,200 to put it in for me...

[pervo]

did you work with a hanes/chiltons manual or did you just match things up

[SleeperSolara]

^^^^

That will help alot man.
Yeah i suggest 3 people and a cherry picker and lots of space to work around.
Good luck.

[Turbosolara]

ok i am not too sure what are you talking about..

your engine oil is 4 quart lower than at begging? what year and engine you have? most likely is your oil pan (if it drips). just check your own engine and see which part is wet. if it is too dirty, just use simple green to clean up all the dirt and check back later

[theprodigy79]

did you work with a hanes/chiltons manual or did you just match things up

Absolutely, the Chiltons was my lord and savior!

[pervo]

ok i am not too sure what are you talking about..

your engine oil is 4 quart lower than at begging? what year and engine you have? most likely is your oil pan (if it drips). just check your own engine and see which part is wet. if it is too dirty, just use simple green to clean up all the dirt and check back later

99 sle v6
from last oil change (2.5k mi) i lost 4 of five quarts

i am fairly certain it is a piston ring as every morning big clouds of smoke come out the exaust
3 weeks ago i had to replace the plugs because one had entirely gummed up and was severely missfiring

i will check the valve seals and compression but i think i am pretty much screwed

still owe for three years on it and my credit card is maxed out thanks to recient rpairs already
it has been a lemon from day one, cant say i will be buying toyota again

[TadS]

I would check the compression before I started dropping any money. You can get a compression tester for 30 – 50 dollars. I had a seal on an oil filter fail, which lead to severe leakage. Make sure that you know what wrong before you pay anybody big cash for work, as with gas prices being high, and that effecting business, some mechanics might be prone to jumping to ideas on what needs to be fixed / replaced, just to make some work.

[Strider327]

Big clouds of smoke huh? Either the rings are bad or the headgasket is gone. If your losing that much oil I would consider looking at the tube seals as well. Under the valve head. Just open it up and check it to see whats wrong. Hopefully it ain't too bad, but it'll probably end up costing you around 400-500 bucks in parts and labor. Good luck

[variant]

my last car did the same thing, cept it wasn't dripping that fast and left a cloud only if I punched it, it was the headgasket or a valve seal

[pervo]

looks like im getting a shortblock rebuild after persuing the dealer for 4 months thanks to a new manager (who doesnt work there anymore! good timing lol)

[Sp33d]

well i got to this post a little to late, but a member on here is actually selling his engine block,

PYTHONJOSH

he has a manual transmission and was selling it for 1500 i think. but i gues since you are getting an engine rebuild, you are good to go.

-mark