Potential damage from low oil in a 22RE...?

[NorthernWoodsman]

Okay, so don't judge me. It's been a very difficult past year for me and I have slacked off on maintenance on my truck. Apparently, I let the last oil change go way too far.

Last night after work I checked my oil and it didn't even register! I had to add about 2.5-3 qts. Add to that, that about 2 days prior I started to hear a weird noise in my motor, top end, maybe lifters? The truck only leaks the tiniest bit of oil from the timing chain cover and there is no oil coming out of the exhaust. Still scratching my head on where the oil went???

I added oil and the sound of the motor definitely changed....for the better. But, I'm wondering how bad I might have damaged the engine now? What should I be thinking of/telling my mechanic to consider?

Thanks!

 

[v_man]

Was it your valves clickity clacking away ? If you've not changed your oil in awhile it's doubtful you've checked your valve clearances ... Mine can get pretty loud , but then again you tend to get some pretty good hearing when you're worried about something in your motor .... Honestly I doubt you've damaged that engine from the low oil...

... The other issue I was thinking of is maybe your timing chain guides are going . When the little plastic guides are worn out , the timing chain rubs against the timing chain cover ... So there in would cause an unfamiliar noise . You can actually see the timing chain guides if you remove the valve cover to assess if they're getting eaten up , might be worth a look :ylsmoke:

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Thanks v_man. The valves were adjusted in February and the guides have been checked twice in the past year and half- good to go with only about 40k on them as the motor was rebuilt shortly before I bought it in 2009.

So far it runs fine, just a little noisier than it used to be until it warms up to operating temp.

 

[Arktikos]

The truck only leaks the tiniest bit of oil from the timing chain cover and there is no oil coming out of the exhaust. Still scratching my head on where the oil went???!

Probably burning it. Doesn't have to be blue smoke coming out the exhaust for that to be happening.

 

[Quest4ADV]

Check this out

Might be NSFW due to language!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89AxuhEHc3o

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Probably burning it. Doesn't have to be blue smoke coming out the exhaust for that to be happening.

I've smelled the exhaust and I don't notice any smell of oil at all. Until recently, I've never had an issue with the oil disappearing.

Could a bad valve adjustment have caused the motor to start burning oil?

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

The amount of oil it is burning is probably so small that it is not noticeable while running. Engines that use oil, burn it at a faster rate as the oil breaks down when due for a change. The 22R engines are capable of being abused beyond belief but it is time you check your oil at every fill up. Keep ignoring it and you will blow it up. Make it a routine and run it.

 

[java]

Mt old 85 PU got stolen with a bad oil pump and bad oil leak. They put 3k miles on it with 0 oil pressure, it threw a rod bearing and the police found it. And it was similarly empty when I got it back. I think you will be ok.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

The amount of oil it is burning is probably so small that it is not noticeable while running. Engines that use oil, burn it at a faster rate as the oil breaks down when due for a change. The 22R engines are capable of being abused beyond belief but it is time you check your oil at every fill up. Keep ignoring it and you will blow it up. Make it a routine and run it.

Hmm, still, prior to now, I have never burned a drop of oil, ever. It's only been since the valves were adjusted. Wondering if the mechanic did something to cause the motor to burn oil....

Mt old 85 PU got stolen with a bad oil pump and bad oil leak. They put 3k miles on it with 0 oil pressure, it threw a rod bearing and the police found it. And it was similarly empty when I got it back. I think you will be ok.

True, it will be okay I'm sure. But, on the way home for lunch today my temp spiked super high for a moment which has me wondering what the heck is going on exactly...

 

[AxleIke]

Obviously everyone's experience is different, and I never had an issue with forgetting to check the oil, but one of two issues sprang to mind, reading the posts:

1. The temp gauge on my 22re did that same thing ALL the time. Spike up, then settle in. Though usually in cold weather, less than in hot.

2. When the engine blew a head gasket, the leak started VERY slowly. It also didn't really push much coolant into the oil, oddly, and thus didn't have the characteristic white smoke. Just loss of oil.

Again, I've never come across anyone else having this issue, but you said the motor was rebuilt. My thought was if they used something other than a Toyota gasket, you could have some issues. Something to check on, but probably not something to be too worried about.

 

[Simons]

"Hmm, still, prior to now, I have never burned a drop of oil, ever. It's only been since the valves were adjusted. Wondering if the mechanic did something to cause the motor to burn oil...."

STOP! I know it's easy to blame whomever worked on it last, but I'm pretty sure the problem is that you didn't change your oil and didn't think to check the oil level until it was noisy. I can't really believe that your engine never burned any oil before this because I'm pretty sure you never routinely checked it, as evidenced by your current situation. If you were over 2.5 quarts low and it was clickity clacking away you may have caused some cam bearing damage which would explain your continued/increased oil consumption and noise problems.
Pour a jug of Lucas engine oil treatment in there and drive it. Chalk it up to a hard lesson learned.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

"Hmm, still, prior to now, I have never burned a drop of oil, ever. It's only been since the valves were adjusted. Wondering if the mechanic did something to cause the motor to burn oil...."

STOP! I know it's easy to blame whomever worked on it last, but I'm pretty sure the problem is that you didn't change your oil and didn't think to check the oil level until it was noisy. I can't really believe that your engine never burned any oil before this because I'm pretty sure you never routinely checked it, as evidenced by your current situation. If you were over 2.5 quarts low and it was clickity clacking away you may have caused some cam bearing damage which would explain your continued/increased oil consumption and noise problems.
Pour a jug of Lucas engine oil treatment in there and drive it. Chalk it up to a hard lesson learned.

Well, like I said originally, don't judge me, it's been a hard year. I have always checked my oil frequently and stayed on top of maintenance. Prior to this, and frankly I don't give a ******** if you believe me or not, the truck never burned a drop of oil. In fact, it was perfectly fine until the last mechanic worked on it. I'm not blaming him, but I was wondering aloud if what he did could have affected things.

In the future, if you have zero to actually contribute to a thread, maybe it's best you stay a quiet lurker...

 

[Simons]

Here's the helpful contribution part

"If you were over 2.5 quarts low and it was clickity clacking away you may have caused some cam bearing damage which would explain your continued/increased oil consumption and noise problems.
Pour a jug of Lucas engine oil treatment in there and drive it. Chalk it up to a hard lesson learned."[/QUOTE]

Didn't intend to hurt your feelings chum, just not a fan of mechanic bashing. Very sorry for your misfortunes.

Sincerely, Lurker.

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

Well, you have heard our opinions. With that and a $5 bill you can get a pretty good cup of coffee. Good luck.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk