Hey guys. I search through the forum for a couple of hours and found some similiar to my issue but not exactly. I bought a 2001 4runner 42 days ago. 30 days after I bought it I started noticing puffy thick white/light light blue smoke for roughly 10-20 seconds, then it would clear up. I went and got the oil changed. It's only been roughly 200 miles and I barely have any oil left ALREADY. Also notcied it doesnt have the power it should when you accelerate (like passing) but it has perfect power when you lightly use the gas or halfway use the gas... anything pass that it feels like it just doesnt have the power it should.
This truck is so beautiful, engine so clean, idle so pretty and smooth. I find it hard to believe I bought a lemon. I bought this truck because of my old 1998 Ford Explorer had an infamous timing chain nightmare, bought this truck because of toyatos reputation.

Also no coolant usage (stays perfect). Other thing i noticed before i bought it was a brand new catalytic converter and another piece looking like the catty right next to it brand new too. Man I hope you guys can steer me in the right direction of things to check and look into, I just had a baby daughter and this is supposed to be our faamily car =(

I hate to say it, but it sounds like the rings are bad and that's why you're burning up your oil. You'll probably need to bring it to a shop to confirm. The only other thing I could think of is if the oil filter was loose and you lost your oil that way, but it wouldn't really explain the smoke (unless your engine was siezing from lack of oil).

Thanks for the quick reply Brain, I'm at work hawkeying this thread due to my worry. So what does replacing the rings entail? Or having someone check it for that matter?

Thanks again guys for any replies, like i said big bummer here.

Replacing the rings is an engine rebuild. The cylinders need to be tested by a shop to confirm. Hopefully that's not it, but it does sound like a likely possibility. Put your location in your profile page and then we can see where you're at. This helps other members recommend good shops or if another member lives close, you may get some free help (or maybe a "will work for pizza and beer kinda thing").

Ograyray,

Brian is referring to the piston rings, which are a thin metal collar that fit into a circumferential groove around the pistons, forming a seal between the pistons and the cylinder walls. These are interal engine parts, and if they are the problem, replacing them would require an engine rebuild/replacement. Probably the best way to check for bad rings would be to take it to your mechanic and have them perform a compression/leakdown test. That entails placing each cylinder at top dead center (all intake/exhaut valves closed) removing the spark plug on each cylinder, then pressurizing the cylinder and monitoring it to see if it will retain the pressure. If the cylinder will not retain pressure, it would be an indicator of worn rings/cylinder walls.

Another possiblity would be valve stem oil seals, which can deteriorate/harden over time and allow oil into the combustion chamber via the valvetrain. This would also explain the smoky startups, but not the lack of power.

While you're at the mechanic, you could also ask them to perform a UV dye test. They will put an additive in your oil that contains a dye that is reactive to UV light. They will then run the engine for a few minutes, shut it off, and take a UV light and shine it around any spots that may be leaking (front/rear camshaft/crankshaft seals, oil filter, valve covers, etc). If there is an oil leak, the dye will glow under the UV light and they will be able to easily pinpoint a leak.

Thank you BigFishAllDay for your reply, I now have some direction. I'm going to bring it by a shop that can do a dye test and have that checked. About the valve stem oil seal: could this be why i have brand new exhaust components underneath? The seals are shot and the exhaust is ruining the catty? Thats why they were replaced right before i bought the thing. I started to ask the dealer why it had brand ew components underneath but didn't.

So let's just say it's the valve stem oil seals... is that a rebuild also?

Valve stem oil seals do not require an engine rebuild. The procedure that is used depends on the shop. In order to replace the seals you have to take off the retainers, shims, and valve springs that sit on each valve within the cylinder head. When you remove the retainer/shims/spring, the valve will try to drop down into the combustion chamber. For this reason, alot of shops will remove the cylinder heads to replace valve stem seals. Other guys will just remove the cams, which allows all the valves to pop closed, then pressurize the cylinder the same way you would if you were doing a compression/leakdown test. Pressurizing the cylinder prevents the valves from dropping down into the combustion chamber, and you can then remove the retainers/shims/springs and replace the seals without worry of the valves dropping.

Regarding the replacement of your catalytic converter and o2 sensors (which I assume are the "other components" that look new), if your engine is burning a lot of oil, that can foul the sensors and the cats, especially if some of that oil is making it into the exhaust stream un-burned.

The heads will have to come off and be reubilt

Just stopping in with an update for future yota peeps with same issue. This turned out to be fried rings. Had the 162k mile engine replaced with a 100k engine and eveything has been perfect since then.

Hope these posts help someone else.

Hi,

How much was the engine swap total?

Thanks

Brian

Local mechanic charged 2500 total parts and labor.