What do I do?, Please read. Options

[RabidTRD]

Copied from my project thread

Let me start by saying... ****.

So about 5 days ago after work, I started my car and black smoke came out the exhaust. I looked behind me and went outside to check and see how dark it really was. Got to the rear and it went away...

...Okay. So I figured it was just some crap that got into the cylinder and burned off. I brushed it off and went along for the past 5 days without it happening again or any problems.

Today I got bored, so I decided that I should check the gap on my plugs and, just to make sure, see if there was oil in the cylinders. Took out plug 1, whew, nothing. On to plug 2, again, nothing and gap was perfect just like the first. So then comes plug 3. Again, nothing to worry about. At this point I'm happy and just like, "oh well everything is fine, I just worry too much." Plug 4. ****! I pull the plug out and oil drips off and onto my finger. Plug smells like burnt oil. Wonderful, so I dry the plug off and run a few extensions down into the cylinder to see how much oil is in there. The oil only left residue on the tip of the extension.

I call my boss and ask him his opinion (If you guys haven't already figured out, I work at an autoparts store and the top on in our division at that) on what I should do. My thoughts were that my piston ring is leaking. So I ask how much would labor and all of that cost? His response, "you have to take the whole bottom of the engine apart, so you might as well swap the engine out at that point or replace it." Grrreeeaaat. I can't afford that right now. I don't know how to do that on my own and I don't have a cherry picker or a stand. My friend does, but I doubt he'd want to help me with this. I'm already suffering from depression, I have had a recent breakup with a girl that I devoted myself to for 3.5 years that decided to tell me that we have nothing in common and we should break up. I'm also trying to deal with my mothers death and my father re-marrying...

This damn car is the only thing keeping me sane right now besides my friends and alcohol. I work on it when I feel upset, I tinker and I forget my pain and feel free for just a small amount of time. In that amount of time I feel happy, I know what I'm doing and I know I can fix it. Right now, I'm lost. I don't know if I should rebuild it, replace it, do the 3S-GTE swap that I really wan to do, or make a hybrid engine with a 3S-GTE head and a 5S-FE block... (That one always intrigued me.)

I'm losing my mind and I don't even have enough money to go buy some beer to just calm down. My dad yelled at me after I told him to pray for me because I might need to replace the engine and told me, "You've already spent too much on that piece of junk car." That again crushed me. I hate when people call my cars "junk." I proved with my last one that anything was possible and even the junkiest of cars have life left in them and deserve respect and love. I honestly feel like crying right now because this car is my only love. I can't lose this one too.

Just an example of what my Camry came from when I first got it:


I then turned it into this:

A 160hp BMW killer.

[senick]

Dude, first of all you need to just take it easy. Think about it logically. If you don't have a hoist or the money for a rebuild, how are you going to do a swap? If this is your dd, then just try to mitigate the damage for a while. Get some fuel additive that can help prevent oil leaks for a short time. If it's only one cylinder then you should still be able to drive it - it's a Toyota engine... Meanwhile keep on the lookout for a cheap replacement vehicle. Then, when you have a more reliable car you can take your time and really consider your options with this celi.
If working on cars really makes you happy- and I completely understand that- don't make it something stressful and imminent. Take things slow and easy.
Anyway best of luck man, let us know what you decide to do.

[Neon90424]

theres an oil thickener that helps with bad rings...

[RabidTRD]

Yeah I'm going to start wit the oil additive, I've got some at work.

I have friends with cherry pickers and I'm going to buy an engine stand. What I'm considering at this point is buying a 5S-FE (because I know this engine like the back of my hand at this point) and put it on the stand. Rebuild it and upgrade it at the same time, and then when this engine slowly dies, I should have that one done and ready to put in. I'm talking to a guy now that has experience making a 170+hp 5S-FE NA and am going to see what I can do to make an engine like that.


I just thought about it and someone suggested taking a look at the lower seal on the spark plug tube. He may be right... I don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place!

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jul 8, 2011 - 9:55 PM

[cyberblader1130]

Have you tried Lucas Oil Stabilizer?
Are you using conventional or synthetic oil?

[RabidTRD]

Lucas is too thick. I sell it all the time, but I wouldn't put that through my engine.

I am using Castrol GTX High milage which is a synthetic blend and has the new updated rating for better protection, better fuel mileage and whatever they said it is suppose to do. I also run a Purelator Pure One filter or a Bosch Distance Plus filter. I don't go cheap on oil or pass my 3k mark on oil changes. Both of those filters do 99.9% filtration. The difference is that the Bosch has better capacity and burst protection.

[Smaay]

wait a min, where was the oil on the plug? without seeing it i cant confirm but its possible that oil just got down in the tube. oil burns blue or whiteish, not black! do a compression check. that will tell you if its your rings.

i hink you are jumping to conclusions too fast

[mgnt232]

I was just about to say that lol. My old 7a had a bad ring in cylinder 3, so it burned alot of oil, and its a blueish bad smelling smoke. If you work at the auto store, grab a compression tester. I literally just did that test to my buddys car today, quite simple too.

[malecrod]

Like said above, take it easy. First, this could be as simple as a valve cover gasket leak at spark plug # 4. I had same problem with my plug number 2. I just had to tighten down all the bolts on valve gasket and it stopped. Yours kinda sounds like that, so check that. You may have to replace the gasket.
By the way, sorry about your loss. I lost my mother few years ago just months before graduation. Its one of the hardest things to deal with but time heals everything. You won't realize it now but be thankful for your now ex girlfriend because u don't want to find this out after marriage with and with kids involved.

This post has been edited by malecrod: Jul 10, 2011 - 7:33 PM

[Galcobar]

5SFE? The engine uses screwed-in spark plug tubes, which have sealant on the threads. Over time, this sealant can break down and allow oil to leak into the combustion chamber/spark plug tip.

I suggest doing this as part of a valve cover replacement. You can use FIPG on the tube threads, but the BGB recommends high-temperature blue thread locker. A pipe wrench or using two nuts on the upper threads will let you remove the tubes.

[RabidTRD]

Going to take a strap wrench to the tube on sat. Too lazy today

I'm hoping that's all it is.

The smoke is blueish black. It's def an oil burning smoke.

[Neon90424]

you will have oil in your exhaust aswell mine was wet with it

[stephen_lee]

my 7a has low compression on one cyl by maybe 30 psi.. doesnt burm oil. but it still gets me 600 miles a week for the last year i knew of the compression issue.. but def check the tube seals. oil will burn blue, not black.

also if u burn oil it will coat the back of your car in soot.. like diesel trucks are

[Galcobar]

Hate to rain on the parade, but if you're producing a lot of blue smoke it's unlikely to be the spark plug tube sealant. It may well be in need of replacing, but even if it's gone there shouldn't be much in the way of oil getting into the combustion chamber -- there's just not much room for oil to creep up the threads.

I'd still do it, but be prepared for your original concern over piston rings or valve seals to be valid. At that point a compression test is your best bet.

[RabidTRD]

I'm pretty sure it's valve seals. It only smokes for a few seconds when the car starts up after it's been sitting for a long time on hot days then the smoke goes away. Fixed the tube and got the valve cover snug. Things are feeling normal again and no smoke yet. Inside of the cylinder was clean this time round too.

I'm going to keep an eye on it. I'm almost thinking it could be the valves on the exhaust side and it burns off right after ignition.