Hey whats up

Been gone for awhile and theres been an issue that came about recently with the 4runner. I've been commutting more this year than last year (I took NYC transit) and found that the truck has been using alittle oil. Also, as if that wasn't enough, I had an oil cooler leak. So, when I did my oil change myself last week, I was scared to death when only a quart and a half (i filled the empty bottles with the old oil) came out!! I don't know how this happend. The oil didn't smell burnt and had the same color that it as when its new. The oil pressure guage stayed the same. The oil light didn't come on. Whats the deal? Oh ya, I had the man replace the oil cooler seal and he stated that some oil came out and he had to put some in.

The Facts: Its a 1994 with 92,300 miles. I work in Brooklyn. Its 64 miles round trip. I'm using 10w-30 Mobil high mileage oil. I drive in bumper to bumper, stop and go, NYC 5PM trafftic, with the a/c on.Its 85 degress right now. My pops said that this normal but you have to stay on top it because its an older truck. I am guilty of not checking the oil as much as I should. I know, i know For Shame!!!!!! All other fluids are new if that means anything. No smoke what-so-ever.

Should I change to a heavier weight oil? I don't want to loose MPG.

Should I try another brand of high mileage oil or should I stick with Mobil.

What else could this be?

I drove about 300 miles and I had to add almost a quart of oil yesterday. My friend and I are baffled.

I do have a leaky valve cover gasekt on the right hand side, I think thats the term. But I dont find any oil on the garage floor.

Another Rant : Oh ya, I took off the skid plate when I did the oil change and there was unpleasentness when i attempted to put it back on. Some how, by forces that I could'nt control, the bolts got cross threaded from the last person who took it off and now theres only two bolts match up. PISSED! Well, I don't need it as I don't go off roading. I have to go to a machine shop and have them retap it. So its just sitting in my garage.

Since you are not finding oil on the ground then that means the engine is burning it. Worn piston rings, excessive cylinder wear and worn valve seals are three likely causes that immediately come to mind. At this mileage a well-maintained engine shouldn't be burning this much oil so perhaps the previous owner didn't stay on top of checking his fluids.

1st: get a used oil analysis done. I use Blackstone Labs myself. For about $20, this will give you a good idea of what's going on with the inside of your engine.

2nd: in the meantime, switch to a heavier oil and see how this works. I'd recommend you use a good 10W40 dino oil like Motorcraft or Havoline. If that works then you will be fine but if you have to go to say a 20W50 I'd get the problem fixed immediately. There are also crankcase additives that will thicken your oil and reduce consumption. Of course these recommendations do not solve the cause of your excessive oil consumption and as you suspect, will lead to slightly lower mileage.

The good news is that at this mileage, you are probably not looking at an engine rebuild, but if it is any of the three things I mentioned, plan on spending about $500 to $1000 depending on how much of the work you can do yourself and local machine shop prices. Once fixed, you should easily be able to put an additional 100,000 miles on the engine with few, if any, issues.

Good luck.