I checked my oil level today and it didn’t even register on my dipstick...

Just get a longer dip stick.... problem solved I saw that once on a TV show

 

Well, here’s the first pics, figured your all’s advice along the way can’t hurt.

First pic: Engine idled for 25 min. in driveway, measurement taken 7 min. after engine shut off. Kinda hard to pick a line, I chose the much “clearer and definitive” line there, tho much thinner...I dunno


Second pic (below): 2 hours after engine shut off, outer engine block at 105*F



So, I like where it’s at (directly in middle of points) on the cold engine (bottom pic). I thought it would be at a higher level after nearly 30 min at idle and a couple min with me throttling her to around 3k rpm (top pic)...I’ll post more pics when she gets some mileage under her...

 

JR I personally think you are looking for a tempest in a teapot. I had a similar issue with mine and coolant. But it was a big ass air bubble that took awhile. It was me booger hunting and cost me a ton of money after I had to wonder if the dog drank any.

Engines these days and always have burned oil. Yours may be a little high but not much you can do about it. Drive your truck more. Hell 0W oil is about like sewing machine oil. I've had hot rods LS and LT engines but I've never seen an engine that was so cool as the 5.7 Tundra as far as the raw performance. Shit I wonder about some pistons and such. Drop one into a old pick up

My cars when I knew I better add a quart was when the low level light comes on. I'm trying to be kinder to the Tundy though. So will be following mine and watching your thread

 

I get what you’re sayin, but a bone dry dip-stick is nothing I’ve ever seen nor want to see again. It takes 1.6qt to get from dipstick bottom dot to top dot, I had to add 1.3qt. to get to mid point between them, visually looking at a pic of my dipstick, imagine my level was about 3/4” below the bottom dot. After 2,300 miles.

 

Understood. I would be watching too. I'm guessing you'll be fine if you drive it more and reseat the rings and stuff. Heck check into those BG additives if you think it would help. They warrant the engine if it's below a certain mileage and keep using it. FWIW.

 

This is an interesting read, tho for a 4.6, it crosses into my territory when it describes oil loss and carbon and sludge clogging tundra piston rings (unexplained oil loss w/out smoke or other symptoms)...I did just use chevron Techron fuel system cleaner about 1,000 miles ago...and about 2000 miles before that...

87 or higher has always been run in mine with the occasional top tier 91, shell mostly. Truck has never had flex fuel in its fuel system in its life. Can’t imagine the previous owner would have lied to me about that, I didn’t ask.

https://www.motor.com/magazine-summary/trouble-shooter-december-2015/

 

Hey guys, wanted to keep this thread alive since all the other low oil posts ended with no resolution.

It’s been about 3 weeks with no noticeable oil loss. I have swapped out the spark plugs and pcv valve as preventative maintenance. I also performed a BG engine/fuel system clean, using BG EPR, MOA and 44K during my oil change yesterday. Although I was only around 3k miles since last oil change, I wanted a fresh start and it’s necessary when using BG EPR.

I learned that my engine takes exactly 8.5 qts to get to the top dot on my dip-stick (after starting the truck and letting the oil filter housing fill up). This is new, I’ve always put 8 qts to get to the middle, but in my circumstances, the more oil the better.

The truck is now running and sounding better than ever before (it’s suuuuper quiet), and I’ve noticed a boost in mpg too.

I did come across an interesting observation on my oil filter housing though...it seems to have been “weeping”...upwards? There was a TRD oil filter in there, which was a first, I’ve always ran OEM Toyota but changed it up last time. Anyways, this appears to be where, at least a small portion of my missing oil went. There was absolutely no oil on my skid plate an inch below and none even on the aluminum filter housing below where it was weeping, not sure why gravity didn’t do it’s thing here. My best guess is that there is an updraft from the skid plate and it “blew” the weeping oil upwards...it was a very minor amount of oil fuzz, I cleaned it off and will monitor but am still confused how it escaped.

Anybody have any ideas about this weeping? Yes, both gaskets were correctly installed...

 

not exactly the same here, as my 07 has never budged on the dipstick between oil changes. However, my 09 Scion loses about 2.5 quarts between oil changes. Same as you, there are no leaks, no smoke from the tail pipe, not odors, nothing in the water, etc. It just mysteriously goes away. I keep expecting the CATs to fail if it is burning it. Strangely, it started kind of spontaneously about 10K miles ago, before that it used zero oil. odd. That engine has 140K on it, which is pretty close to end of life, so it is not a huge surprise.
I know this doesn't really help, but misery loves company, right?

 

Nah...there's no oil there. That probably represents a quarter teaspoon or less. Only possible cause for that seepage is the oil filter housing O-ring is leaking.

You said the O-ring was installed properly, and the housing contacting the adapter indicates the O-ring is positioned properly. Possible reasons for leakage are (1) you didn't lubricate the O-ring before installing the housing (friction during installation has damaged the O-ring), or (2) the O-ring was slightly undersized in sectional diameter (TRD filters are likely provided by a different supplier). It wouldn't take much reduction in cross-section (maybe -0.002") for that design configuration to leak (face sealing is best). O-ring compression is never more than a few thousandths to seal perfectly. It's nothing to worry about unless you hate oil leaks.

 

Appreciate the detailed response. Definitely slobber my o-rings in the new oil I’m throwing in, so that shouldn’t be it. This info is all good to know, I’ll be sticking with the OEM normal ones from now on...I do question the “bling” on the trd oil filter and wonder if it sacrifices a tiny bit of inefficiency for looks. What I mean, is that the top of the TRD one is shiny chrome with “trd” stamped on it, but my OEM is just void of that chrome “cap” and all filter. I know it prolly doesn’t make much difference, but it must inhibit some oil flow compared to OEM...even if extremely minimal...or trap a bit more heat...

 

Actually, if I understand correctly, there is no oil flow through the ends, only through the pleated surfaces. I believe the pleats are sealed on the ends of the filter with adhesive. The caps on the ends of the TRD filter are bling, but posters have said the filter media is more efficient. I have no opinion; if the standard OEM filter is good enough for Toyota, it is good enough for me...not to mention being cheaper.

 

Just to keep this thread updated, I’m currently 3 months and 1,300 miles into a fresh oil change (to the top dot). I’m now sitting at halfway between the dots...it’s going somewhere...

 

75k is High Mileage Oil territory...
Perhaps a thicker oil?

 

In the "old days" I would say check your vacuum break booster tank for collected oil. Oil would collect in the tank from failing PVC valves and piston ring "blow-by" However, I'm pretty positive this is not your case (enigma) but something to check as part of performing a process of elimination.

I'm sure some others on this forum remember those days...

 

I'm currently sitting in this situation right now..... 07 5.7l 225k I've assigned secondary duties to my truck, which I sorta kinda stopped driving it.... so I check it rarely, since it sits mostly on an incline driveway... I just checked my oil on a level surface today, and there was no oil on the dip stick. I'm not sure exactly where it's going... I recently changed my oil since I tandem changed with my car and I'm about 1000 on my truck... and I'm sure I've checked my oil and its been fine before on 0w20, but I had to add 2.5 qts today.... and I just checked a couple hours ago, and appears to be gone again. I'm going to double check some areas as mentioned here... Worst case I'll do an oil change now on 5w20 and re-observe... I did try the wix oil filter this time around, not sure if it might be the culprit... I do have what appears to be a leak at the rear main seal... no driveway stains though.

 

Somehow, after many decades of observing what this world has to offer, I am compelled to believe that for your story to be true, extreme headspace, trickery, or witchcraft is involved.

 

LOL.... I agree.... I'm at work right now.... and I can't tinker with it until much later on today.... I know there is an oil slick on the bell housing, so I can assume rear main seal..... but there is no stains on the driveway.... Never mind the arrows... that is for a crankshaft position sensor. But last oil change that stain wasn't there.

 

The bell housing has a vent/drain opening at the six o'clock position, as seen by the slight wetness there. If your engine leaked 2.5 quarts you would have a puddle on your garage floor about 3' to 4' in diameter. (An estimate, not a measurement...but I have spilled some oil before.) Anyway, it's theoretically impossible through the rear main seal with engine stopped, since static oil level is below rear main seal. And, the brand of filter you use also has no effect on engine oil level.

 

Agreed... I know all that, but I'm trying to make sense of where it can possibly be going.... I'm not burning either...

 

Me. And no, I'm not worried in the least. I can't remember a car that I've had that doesn't consume oil (maybe one, an old Toyota Camry). I do a lot of stop and go driving, city driving, the hardest type of driving you can do in a vehicle. I checked the oil about a month ago and it was low. I went and bought 1 quart of Mobil 1 full synthetic 5-20w, and added it and the dipstick showed the oil to be right where it should be. No, my oil was not sludgy, in fact, the oil looked good on the dipstick, it was just a little low.

I think it's these new synthetic oils. They are so darn light that the engines just burn them off. It's not an engine problem IMHO, it's just the nature of these new, super lightweight synthetic oils. They work great, but they do tend to burn off a little bit.

 

Yep

 

Update 6/11/20.
Switched to Mobil 1 5w-30 a couple months back. Have almost 1,000 miles with new oil in engine, city driving 600 miles and towing 3,000 lb. boat the other 400 miles. Not a drop of oil is missing, still sitting at the very top of the dipstick dot, just where I left her after the last oil change (8.5qts). If I were using 0w-20, I’d be at least to the middle of the dipstick points after 1,000 miles.
Hope this easy fix helps somebody out in the future, I’ll update if anything ever changes.

 

Not sure if this is true anymore, but back in the day, if you wanted to stop oil consumption of even leaks, just use a heavier oil, and vice versa, that is, if you want to know if you have a leak, run a lighter oil and it will show up. It makes sense that running a lighter oil will lead to some oil consumption

 

Funny little story about oil. When I was a teenager my job was to mow the yard with a push mower. I would say it took 3 hours. One day while at the dump a guy was getting rid of a 8hp riding mower. I asked him why and he said it burnt oil and now was at the point that the smoke bothered him. So I took it home. With no spare money to speak off I had to come up with ideas to make it work. The tires were dry rotted but with some bike inner tubes rapped around the wheel multiple times I was able to get them to hold air. For the oil burning problem I bought some 80w gear oil. Worked like a charm. But that engine seamed hot enough to fry an egg on and the aluminum on that poor Briggs would snap crackle and pop after shutting it off. But it ran for years. When I moved out my father used it long enough to realize that a push mower sucks so replaced it with a new Sears.

 

I drive a 2014 freight shaker with 490,000 plus miles on the ticker for work. Up and down thru West Virginia I can burn a good gallon of 15Wt diesel heavy duty oil a WEEK. Freight liner says that is within specs. I am glad it's not my truck.

 

Nice, happy to see you found a solution.

 

So after a oil change if your oil level continues get low , and you can not see a visible leak. What does your oil smell like? Is their any color to exuast ? Does your antifreeze still look like antifreeze? ...

One thing ill also mention that i can't explain is for some reason Toyota engines love Castrol Full synthetic. Iv had Toyotas that would burn or drink oil within 3 days and switching castrol would make the problem nonexistent.