Hey 4runner friends. I need some expert advice on what might have happened. I bought a beauty 2000 4R 4wd SR5 with only 113k mi. on it.

The rig had been sitting for over 8 months after the owner died and the battery was dead. I checked the oil and it was clean and yellow even though it was almost due for an oil change. I jumped the battery and it started right up. After idling for a few minutes, I drove off to home about 45 mi. away. The rig ran great and everything worked perfectly.

The problem is this: After only one tank of gas, I noticed the oil level was down 1/2 qt. I put oil in it and drove it for another tank of gas and noticed it was down again 1/2 a qt of oil.

This 4R was taken very good care of and I had all the service records to show it. This 4R is in beautiful condition and it is obvious that it was never abused. It has the 3.4L engine with auto trans and is S.charged

My question is what could have happened that would cause it to burn so much oil all of a sudden? Did letting it sit for so long let the rings dry up, or maybe the seals? It doesn't smoke at all...even a little bit and there is no sign of leaks under the rig after sitting for 2 days.

I am very bummed out now. I thought I got a great deal on this 4R, but now it look like it has major engine damage from sitting so long and then starting it up. Why else would it burn so much oil? Any ideas?

Thanks for any advice on what caused this and what to do.

Nacho

 

Start off by doing a compression check to rule out cylinder wear as the problem. Some other problems that rob oil, rear main seal bad, setting that long is really hard on rubber components. Could be valve seals, or a head gasket letting oil into the cooling system. I doubt you have a major problem if its still running great. Probley some sort of seal. Park it on concrete after a drive and look for leaks to.

 

And change the oil, time breaks organic oil down to, not just use.

 

Hey! I bought my 4Runner with about 125K miles. I looked underneath, all looked good. Ran smooth. Still does. Anyways... About a week after driving, I realized the fan clutch was bad. While I was replacing this, I dropped a bolt, it landed on the skid plate. I got under the truck, reached in and realized my skid was full of oil- fresh yellow oil. In a teary-eyed panic, I frantically searched... and found that my oil filter was loose by like two turns. No oil in my parking spot. No oil pressure gauge in the dash!

 

Definetly check to see if its leaking before you assume its burning oil.

 

MOD want to merge the two identical thread?

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f123...ng-oil-217100/

 

I checked the skid plates..they were dry. Can't see anywhere oil is leaking, and it
doesn't smoke at all, so that leaves me to think that seals dried up somewhere on it after sitting for so long.

It's hard for me to believe that the seals could dry up that fast on a Toyota, but I guess
anything is possible. Any one else have any ideas? Thanks guys

Nacho

 

Keep driving and see if you lose another 1/2 quart. Every time I get my oil changed, I drive home and check the level. And it always appears to be down a 1/2 quart. Why? I watched them check it... But it never gets any lower, so it's a mystery to me!

 

check your pcv valve make sure its clean and operating properly