cranswick

thankyou,  do you think the dipstick going from full to half way after 2,500 km is mostly likely typical oil burn for such an old car rather then an oil leak . or if there is an oil leak would it most likely not be a big leak with that amount of oil use. l next get it serviced in 3 months l guess they can check then

5 hours ago, campbeam said:

Sound like you have a decent quality engine from the earlier generations of the 2AZ-FE engine which presumably was manufactured in Japan. However after 340,000 kms it is worn, so can expect some oil consumption. Main aspect is regular maintenance and avoid extended oil change intervals.

What you should consider is using the recommended oil viscosity suitable for the engine of your specific vehicle and driving conditions. Best reference source is your owners manual and then the lube guides from recognised engine oil brands.

https://penriteoil.com.au/forums/topic/1/Car Engine Oil/thread/2682/2003 toyota camry whats best engine oil?page=1

https://penriteoil.com.au/product-selector#/recommendations

https://www.nulon.com.au/vehicle-lube-guide-menu/manual-vehicle-search/TOYOTA/CAMRY/2003/91027300

I have recently been doing some online research on Liqui Moly Cera Tec so got it under consideration as a future purchase.

In your situation, I would consider using this product and keep monitoring the oil level.

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/liqui-moly-liqui-moly-cera-tec-300ml/649235.html

Thanks , its the original engine, never been rebuilt and it auto .  l think its 2.4 2az-fel engine 20 years old and done 340,000 km's did have a leak a year ago but they fixed it and when they changed the oil 3 months ago they checked it and said its fine with no leaks. Past 3 months l have done about 2,500 kms and oil gone from full to half way on the dipstick ., Would that be fairly normal oil use for such an old car  and if it is a leak would it sound like a just a small leak? If l just keep checking the oil and keeping it topped up should l have nothing to worry about until my next service in a few months or should l get it checked

Hi l have a 2003 camry done 340,000 km. Had oil change 3 months ago and they said all was normal then no sign of leak  . PAst 3 months l have done 2,500 Km's and oil on the dipstick has gone from Full to half way, does that mean theres an oil leak and l should take it in to be checked or is that fairly normal oil use for such an old car. lm using 5w 30 synthetic oil

Hi l just had four new tyres put on my 2003 camry today,  since then whenever l put my brakes on and the car comes to a complete stop it makes a grinding noise, l spoke to the guy who put the tyres on and he said its caused by the lubticant and its normal and will go away in a few days, do they put lubricant in when they change tyres, l am worried they might have damged something and just said its caused by lubricant to get rid of meshould l take my car to my mechanic to get checked

Hi my Air conditioning on my 2003 camry broke, It doesnt work at all on the lower settings it only works on the setting marked " HIGH" it works normally on high except it makes a strange noise. wHAT do you think the problem is , as its an old car its not worth spending much money fixing it, do you think its a serious expensive  problem or something that could be fixed cheaply. ALso where do l take it to be fixed, would a regular mechanic where l get my car serviced do the job or would l need to take it to some sort of A/C sepecialist 

On 9/6/2023 at 6:29 PM, ozieagle said:

Yes, basically that is correct, however, I meant to put the additives in now, not at the next change.

 

Herb

thanks, Do you recommend a particular additive l could ask them to put in, just worried the wrong additive could do damage

2 hours ago, ozieagle said:

Hi,

 

Not being able to read the dipstick can be quite normal, with a fresh lot of oil. I find that looking on the back of the stick often shows a trace of oil, that can be referenced to the markings.

Oil thickness, 5W - 30 sounds a bit light to me, particularly for a well used engine. I would go for 15W - 40 or even 20W - 50. Leave it for now, but check your level often. Maybe consider adding some  stuff to reduce oil burning, google this "reduce engine oil consumption" for inspiration.

 

Herb

thanks, so its OK to leave it until the  next oil change or service ask for a thicker oil and additives then. So the thiner 5w 30 oil wont damage the engine or cause problems but it will be used up more quickly so l need to keep an eye on the levels, is that correct

Hi l took my camry in for the service yesterday they said the smoke on startup and the high oil use is normal for a high milage car 340,000 and nothing to worry about . Last time they put in a thicker oil 15W 40 to reduce oil use but this time they put in a thinner oil 5W 30 . l was worried 5w 30 might be too thin for an old engine with high oil use or is that OK ?  should l ask them to go back to a thicker oil. ALso since they put in the 5W 30 oil yesterday l have trouble reading the dipstick, the dipstick looks like theres no oil on it, is that normal because its a thin oil

15 hours ago, CONROD said:

How longs a piece of string, some might charge you the cost of new valve stem seals + hrly rate, others might just give you a price for the job.

What you need to price is a VRS kit, It has all the gaskets you will need inc Head Gasket, as well as the Valve Stem Seals,

Beware of Chinese rubbish, such as the attached Ebay link below which I used to show you whats in the kit, personally I wouldnt use it 

Engine Gasket Set + Head Bolts for Camry RAV4 2AZ-FE 2.4L Avensis Verso Previa 313041891842 | eBay

The Valve stem seals are # 10 & # 11 to give some perspective as to what they are.

Below is an Aust Seller, Permaseal is a Good Brand 

PERMASEAL VRS GASKET KIT FOR TOYOTA Avensis Camry Estima RAV4 Tarago 2AZ-FE | eBay

 

thanks , so its really going to come down to the cost of the labor, can some cars still last a long time with leaking stem seals

Thanks my coolant level seems the same as it was a couple of months ago and the car seems normal at idle and drives normally, so does that mean its probably not a blown head gasket. So its probably the stem cells, if l want to get them replaced what sort of cost is it

On 8/6/2023 at 7:25 PM, Towtruck_73 said:

 

Thanks tow truck , so does the valve stem seals explain both the high oil use and smoke on start up, how expensive do you think it would be to fix, l read there are additives like Rislone vlave seal you can use ,are they any use? Apart from the high ooil use and smoke it drives perfectly, if l dont get it repaired how much longer do you think the engine will last

On 8/4/2023 at 5:49 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

It will be fine. Just keep the oil topped up mate.

yes the oil past 1,000 km has gone from full dipstick to half way , is that normal for a 20 year old car 340,000km or excessive? ,also l noticed past few days theres alot less smoke from the exhaust on start up, l would say about half as much smoke as before , l wonder why that is

l dont know if they checked pcv at the garage last time, im taking it back in september for a  service and ask them to look into the oil burn and smoke,burn, blow by  problem, it seems to be running totally well now apart from that, just hope its stays that way until l take it in september

hi l just removed the oil cap like you said and there was heaps of air pressure coming out, how serious a problem is the blow back , is it an urgent problem and l should l take it to the garage right away ,n could it be blocked pcv valve , how do they fix it, is it a engine flush,l read some blow by is normal how do l tell if its normal level or too much

thanks if its just the stem seals then does that mean its not a serious problem.  What does a blow by issue mean? Regarding monitoring the oil level when should l top  up the oil , should l wait until its at the bottom low notch of the dipstick or should l top it up once it gets below the half way point between the top and bottom notch.

59 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Stem seals are easy to do and not a major cost. That would explain the oil loss. The engine can burn oil to a lesser degree over a given distance and not exhibit the tell tail blue smoke during the journey.

The worst is, of course, on start up because the oil tends to collect around the valve stems, and when the engine has been stationary, the residual oil will run down the stem, past the seal and collect in the inside of the valve waiting to be burnt.

I think we're getting somewhere here now.

thanks yes before l thought it was white smoke but l think theres a slight blue tint and l showed the smoke to a guy from the RACV and he said he thought it was oil burn. l am using more oil then normal , past 800 KM l have gone from near full on dipstick to half way. the smoke only started after the oil change when he put in the thicker 15w-40 mineral oil instead of the usual 5w 30 but they said that has nothing to do with the smoke, Do you think its most likely fault stem seal valves or could it be something else. so if it is the stem seals is that not a serious or expensive problem? THe garage said not to take it back until l have driven another 1500 km or two months , maybe they want to see how much oil l have used, Do you think lf l keep driving another 2 months  it it will be OK as long as l check the oil levels  or should l ask to get it fixed now

l only get the smoke from the exhaust after l have left the car sitting overnight, from what l read over night oil leaks from the seals and when l you start the car in the morning the oil burns off as smoke for a few minutes, lm guessing but l think that means faulty seals. l rang my garage and told them about the smoke and they said they think its oil burn and to drive another 1500 km and then take it into the garage, so if l keep driving with faulty seals and keep the oil level topped up do you thn 

l think the smoke is slighlty blue, l only get it on the first start up for the day in the morning and after drive a few minutes it goes away, if l start the car again later in the day when the engine is still warm l dont get the smoke. After doing research l think the problem is faulty valve  stem seals. How long can l keep driving before l get serious problems,what is the cost of replacing stem seals . Does additives like rislone valv seal work

Thanks, yes l am thinking of a MG 3 or MG ZS, with my $20,000 budget, the main reason is compared to a used camry l will get a  new car warrnaty. l have read some good reviews and bad reviews of MG cars so l am unsure, Even though it has a long warranty l dont want to have to deal with breakdowns and problems in a few years, do you think it will be fairly mechanically relaible

My budget is $20,000 l am looking to replace my old camry at the end of the year my budget is $20,000. l was planning on getting a used camry under ten years old and under 120,000 kms. But then l saw you can buy a brand new car a MG3 core for $19,500 with a 7 year warranty. My main aim is to have a reliable car that will last around ten years without serious problems , with the MG core l am guaranteed for 7 years with the warranty., l have been driving a camry for the past 20 years, how different would the MG core be to drive, will it seem alot smaller? Do you think l should get a used camry or a MG core

l spoke to the mechanic he thinks the white smoke on start up is a little bit of oil burn but he said its not too serious and to be expected with such an old car

Hi just to update l got a mechanic to check he said he thinks it was caused by mice eating it and he put some fresh insulation on it

l know little about car engines, l have a 20 year old camry  l noticed the plastic/rubber round top insulation on my alternator l think its called the " lug insulator  is worn and cracked in half,could somthing have caused it or is it old age and wear,l attached a similar photo of mine l found on the internet and the insulation on the wires underneath was worn off, l replaced that insualtion by covering those wires with silicone insualtion  tape , l hope that wasnt a mistake. But should l take my car into the mechanics to replace the lug insulator , how imortant is it. 

8 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

If it's burning that much oil, then you should be leaving a trail of blue smoke behind and your exhaust tip should be heavily sooted and the side your exhaust pipe is on, the whole area will be darkened with soot. Discounting oil leaks and what we now know the "white smoke" to be condensation on a cold start, the oil has to be burning rather than leaking, so technically, you should have blue smoke.

Have you done a compression test and cooling system pressure test ?

 

Thanks, no definently no blue smoke. there was a little bit of wet black soot in the exhaust . Maybe there could still be a leak they didnt find. l dont know if they did a compression and cooling test last time l took it in to ask them to look for a leak,l might take it back to the garage, but apart from the oil use it seems to be running perfectly