91 Tercel burning oil, how to slow process down?

[trdehmer]

I have a 1991 Toyota Tercel (winter beater) with a little 4 cyclinder that burns quite a bit of oil. Car has 163,XXX miles on it. Runs decent and always starts, I don't want to do a rebuild - adding oil is much cheaper. I'm just wondering if there is any product out there that I can add to the oil every oil change that might help slow down the process of burning oil?? Would Marvel Mystery Oil help?? Anything anyone else has tried and had some success with?? It blows out a puff of smoke at start-up but not while driving.

[Monster-Mat]

puff of oil on start up............

Valve stem oil seals,for the cost of repair,get it done,you could possibly do it yourself,its false economy thinking that putting of the seals is ok.......the burning oil will be clogging and collecting.

not to mention fouling your plugs,(injectors)and putting a thick carbon deposit on your piston crowns

[trdehmer]

Seems to me that it would be more then seals?? It burns a quart of oil every 1000 miles or less....

[Monster-Mat]

wow.......but if it was rings,you would be able to see that qt burning off.....

is it diesel of petrol(gas)

[trdehmer]

Its petrol.......

[Monster-Mat]

im still quite sure doing the Valve stem seals

if the seals are now not there anymore its possible that that much oil can be consumed,some is lost through overnight drain through the valve stems.....the remainder..will be forced down the valve stems under pressure.........however not as much as would be if Piston rings were failing or if worn

if you are mechanically minded i would suggest doing the seals,as if anything else is worn..you can bet that the stem seals are.

is there any visible external leaks....even into the bell housing

[trdehmer]

Mechanically minded?? I guess I am. I've done plenty of minor stuff on my cars, boat, and snowmobiles - bust mostly the basics - common sense type stuff. Wheres the bell housing? No visible leaks (no puddles on garage floor), I changed the gasket under the top metal cover of the engine last year to stop a small leak. But, I have no idea how to change valve stem seals? Any special tools required?

[Monster-Mat]

if theres no visable leak onto the floor,that illiminates the crank seals...bell housing is the domed part of a gearbox that is around the flywheel.

as for specific tools for your engine,i dont know,however there are some special tricks that can be done to illiminate removing the cylinderhead.

and aslong as its a simplified head design it should be a simple process to change the seals.....does the engine sit transvers or lenthways....(front-back)

[trdehmer]

transverse (left/right).

[Monster-Mat]

ok....that would make it a dam sight easier....

do you know the engine type/code

lol...changing valve seals by forum chat should be fun,aslong as i dont get oil on my keyboard;)

[trdehmer]

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/re...#specifications

See above website - I have the 5 speed DX model.

What am I getting myself into here! My snombiles aren't even ready for the winter ;)

[trdehmer]

I don't think I'll be doing the job myself. I just talked to one of my local garages and they said they made a special tool to get to the springs on the valves, he said its not a fun job as the valves are down into the heads a bit - they charge $630 US to do it. Thats half what I paid for the car.......

[Monster-Mat]

i take it you saw this part of that site...........

Trouble Spots

)

Excessive Oil consumption:

Oil consumption due to worn valve stem seals may be eliminated by installing improved seals. (1991)

ok i really need to know the engine designation,it doesnt really tell me here.......i will dig around

[Hellaslow]

think about it ...a quart of oil is about $1.00. And if you add a quart of oil every month for the next 630 months thats means you will have that car for the next 52 years. i add a quart every 2 months and i have very little smoke and no spots on my driveway. I wouldn't fix it until the problem gets worse... $630 is alot of money for a little oil leak

[cmptths]

Hello,

I have a simular problem with my 91 tercel. I was told that changing the oil weight from 10w30 to 10w40, and adding Marvel Mystery Oil would slow dowm the process. Has anyone out there trued this and did it help?

Thanks