Strange -- Engine Seems to be "Synthesizing" Oil

[river_rat]

I would drain it into a clean, volume marked pail.
You can still draw the sample, but I would be interested to really see and smell the oil condition in mass, and see if there really is measuarably more oil (plus something) than you put in.
That would help me sleep until the UOA comes back.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
This is one of the rare times that a UOA is required.


Now this is one of the smartest things I've heard in some time.

Engines never create oil, they consume it.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: river_rat
I would drain it into a clean, volume marked pail.
You can still draw the sample, but I would be interested to really see and smell the oil condition in mass, and see if there really is measuarably more oil (plus something) than you put in.
That would help me sleep until the UOA comes back.
Good point. I'll try that. I'm going to have to delay the change to the weekend, so I'll have some time.


Originally Posted By: tig1
...

Engines never create oil, they consume it.

I do hope you understand that the subject line was NOT intended seriously (humor?)... That said, engines distinctly CAN increase the volume of what's in their crankcases, usually by adding fuel, coolant, or perhaps both.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Originally Posted By: river_rat
I would drain it into a clean, volume marked pail.
You can still draw the sample, but I would be interested to really see and smell the oil condition in mass, and see if there really is measuarably more oil (plus something) than you put in.
That would help me sleep until the UOA comes back.
Good point. I'll try that. I'm going to have to delay the change to the weekend, so I'll have some time.


Originally Posted By: tig1
...

Engines never create oil, they consume it.

I do hope you understand that the subject line was NOT intended seriously (humor?)... That said, engines distinctly CAN increase the volume of what's in their crankcases, usually by adding fuel, coolant, or perhaps both.


Yes, of course. My remark was intended to point to outside fluids intering the engine. My own humor, sort of.

 

[Pablo]

My guess is that the first time you checked it, the new oil was not done draining all the way to the pan. Hence, you now appear to be slightly overfilled.

IF it keeps climbing, well then you have issues....

 

[Craig in Canada]

Did you change the oil to GC hot or cold? I'm thinking along the lines of Pablo:

1/ if cold, maybe you didn't get all of the old oil out or at least not as much as you're accustomed to in the drain time you allowed

2/ when you filled, the thicker-than-you're-used-to GC took longer to get to the pan

3/ if the engine was cold, this would make #2 even worse than you usually experience.


This is me thinking "positive"

 

[AMRoberts]

How confident are you about the Mobil 1 drain?

My 1995 E320's manual has (ahem) precision instructions for checking oil level ... Stop level, at full operating temperature, wait 3-5 minutes, check level, never exceed upper limit (yeah, kinda makes me feel like I should snap to attention while checking the oil).

When I mentioned that in another thread, folks replied that I might be getting an erroneous reading and overfilling using that procedure with Mobil 1 oils. I believe at least one poster argued that M1 is very clingy, slow to drain back to the pan.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'd pressue test it to be certain and rule the head gasket out. It could be a leaking injector, but that would be one bad injector. Here is a great case for a UOA.


And I'd cringe at what the cylinder walls looked like under that shower-head -- er, ahh -- fuel injector. . .


Yikes! I'm wondering if after a long drive the level dips down, and then after some short trip use goes up again? That would be interesting, and could possibly point to a bad injector/injectors if the coolant level remains the same. Your oil would stink of gas though. I think a UOA is a solid investment, and would be in your best interest when you go back to the dealer with the car.


Two observations:

1) If you did go to the Thicker Oil as you say you did, perhaps it is simply Oil "Expanding" Seems nobody mentioned this.. unless you are checking the Oil after car Sits for hours, enough to cool down. I seem to recall it is best to check oil First thing in the Morning, not when Oil is still in the Head.

2) As for mechanical issues, Gas and Coolant will show in the Oil. If Oil is saturated with Gas, that means something happened there, if there is so much the long trip didnt burn it off. Head Gasket means you may see "Water" in the Oil, it has to get very Bad before you see Mustard on Caps of Oil or Coolant.

Does the Coolant level go down?
Do you need to Add way too much, as in the car is "Drinking" the Coolant?
Either of the above two are not good.

As to Gas.. Mileage? Hesitation?

If there was a Leak you may notice Hesitation as the head Gasket, if was blown, affects one or more Cylinders.

 

[GMorg]

Is there any way that the oil level has been constant but the dipstick is somehow going deeper into the fluid each time? I have seen felt seats in the dipstick slowly compress such that the the dipstick goes into the crankcase deeper over time. However, those cases were very slow. I have also seen the dipstick sheath work its way out of the block a little so that the oil appears low when it is actually OK. Some lawn mower engines are really bad about this. When you push the unit back to its correct position, the oil appears to have increased in level.

 

[wolfc70]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Guys, thanks for the feedback. A couple thoughts in response. First, this is the Camry hybrid I'm talking about. While I didn't say it, it can probably be inferred from the sig line, which I need to change.

I wondered about coolant, but the coolant level is dead on, and the oil has, by appearance and smell, no signs of contamination. Still, it's worth checking, and I will. EDIT: I have not heard of this engine having coolant leaking problems. Still it could be. Perhaps it's not a bad thing that I'm using a 12+ cSt oil at the moment...



While the hybrid 2az-fe is different than the normal non-Atkinson cycle engine, the basics are still there. I know (personally) three people who had the stripped head bolt issues on the 2az-fe engines ('03 Camry, '05 Camry, 06 RAV4). Supposedly it was fixed in late 06, as there were not enough threads in the block to hold the head bolts in place. Usually it is on the intake side, middle three bolts are stripped, which cause the leaky head gasket. So while it might not be very likely, a failed head gasket might be possible.