How To Spot The 140 Oil Issue ?

April 2, 2012

well ive sold my beloved 140 because of the oil burning issue, i was honest and upfront with the buyer and he was ok with it, so now i need another celica, but how can i spot another oil burner when i go to check one out ? a test drive is'nt really going to show anything wrong, mine only had a short burst of the more than usual exhaust smoke once in a blue moon

also, does the 190 suffer this problem ? .. if i can see a 190 in my price range is there any issues to also look out for with these ? thankyou

April 4, 2012

Alrighty, well the answer is simples, I also have a 140bhp vvti with the usual oil burning issue and its a bit of a pain in the a*?., its not something you can really look for on a test drive unless the car is smoking profusely, this is a common problem due to the factory piston rings just not holding up to the job, toyota realised the problem and changed the metal composite after 2001, so if you go for a 2002 190bhp (which is actually around 182-185bhp on the dyno) version you will not have the oil burning issue, HOWEVER the 190´s have a bit of a different set up, as well as having variable valve timing intelligence (vvti) they also have the "lift" factor hence "vvtli", what you have to watch out for on these is that the "lift rods" wear down at around 60k miles and can make the engine sound tappety, if your a bit savvy you can do this job easy, the bolts are about 10quid each and take about half an hour to install, it aint that bad if you´re confident, if not, dont chance it and get a mechanic to do it! it can go all pear shaped if you´re guessing as you go.

The one thing that is important to check with all vvtli engines is that the lift should engage at 6200rpm,(you should feel the extra pulling power at this point, if you dont physically feel the extra power this means that the lift rods are worn and are not lifting and holding the valves open.)

Another common problem is the pcv valves in the head, simples to check (these control the intake and output of oil from the rocker set up, otherwise known in other cars as the vacuum piipes.), start the car, while the car is running, pull out the dipstick, if the pcv´s are blocked the engine will cut out when you remove the dipstick and just to be sure, repeat process but remove the oil fill cap, again if it cuts out etc..... its the pcv valves, those bad boys are about 120 quid each! so this is a must!, common sense too mate and check the oil fill cap for white or grey sludge as this would indicate oil mixing with water,(broken head gasket) which will cost you alot of the old spondoolies to fix.

dont be scared or put off by bad examples out there, make sure its been maintained, 190bhp version after 2002 is best option for you bro. oh and dont get that horrid green colour, when you put the foot down it looks like someone just sneezed and shot a snotter.LOL

hope that helps you out a bit mate, keep us updated. :driving:

April 4, 2012

thanks very very muchly indeed, well hopefully ive found a 2003 140 in my budget to look at tomorrow, would love a 190 but its just not happening, so i would settle for a 140 and hopefully being a 2003 i should skip the oil issue .. thanks again