Where has my oil & water gone???

[Steve Tyter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Tyter]

I have a 2001 Prado 95 series with a 1kz 3.0 turbo deisel. It has done almost 260000 klm. It is always serviced every 5000ks & has never let me down yet. Recently I took it on a long trip through some pretty rough terrain. Ended up clocking some 1200 ks in all. But, for the first time, I used about a litre of oil & 2 litres of coolant. There is no obvious oil or water leaks. New radiator hoses were fitted only a couple of months ago. There is no rattle in the motor. It starts first time every time. It has never overheated, though it did get hot a few time on the steep hills. The exhaust pipe is a bit " sooty " & there is no sign of water droplets in the exhaust pipe. It must be going somewhere. Anyone got any idea??

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

Hey mate, welcome to Pradopoint.

Everyone jumps to the conclusion of cylinder head problems when talking overheating 1KZs, which is not unfounded, but not always the case. Have you checked the overflow tank? Is there evidence of coolant below the overflow tank on the guard or chassis rail? How old is the radiator? What grade of oil are you using?

Fill us in on as much info as you can about the vehicle. You can start by telling us where you are as well by adding your location to your profile

Reidy

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

When an engine is worked hard it can evaporate some of the water and lighter fractions (fuel etc) in the engine oil, especially if it has only done light work for the last few oil changes. All engines have their oil diluted over time. One of the reasons for regular changes even if the lubricant companies tell you their oil is good for 5 squillion km. It is but what about the carbon, water, fuel and other crap that gets into it? Water is a bit different and a pressure test will see if you have leaks. I suggest keeping an eye on it and not panicking. Yet.

[Steve Tyter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Tyter]

Hi Reidy

I live in Innisfail Qld. The oil I use is Penrite 15w - 40. The overflow tank is a little on the old side as it is still the original. I am going to do a coolant flush out & replace it with some nice fresh stuff. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of any coolant below the overflow but a friend was going to put some dye in the coolant before I change it to see if there is any pinprick holes in the system that leak under pressure. The radiator had been overhauled some 2 yrs ago. The uni's were replaced not so long ago & I had a HD clutch put in for towing. It is fitted with an ARB bullbar & runs on Goodyear Silent Armour. Never had a puncture yet with them yet.

I do a lot of trips along the Bourke Development Rd, Bloomfield Track, Petford - Chillagoe Rd, out the back of Mt Surprise & Innot Hot Springs & most of the national parks around here. Not a fan of taking it on the beach though.

Steve

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

Reidy's post x 2. What happened with your cylinder head there anyway Reidy?
The Roo.

Don't have a clue john. I'm not losing coolant and it's not overheating, so I'll let it go and if it gets warm again I'll investigate. I'm going to do the waterpump and thermostat soon though.

Steve. I'd go ahead and get your radiator rodded and the system flushed and refilled with Toyota genuine coolant. At least then you'll have a base line to start from if it happens again.

Reidy

[Steve Tyter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Tyter]

Got the radiator pressure tested & system flushed today. Found a small pinprick hole in a pipe running behind the turbo. Now it has to be running at least 20 degrees cooler now. Will keep a careful eye on the water & oil. Going to do a service on the Prado as soon as I get paid. Thankfully I can do most of it myself. As for the oil usage, if it continues using too much oil, I will consider overhauling the motor at a later date.

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

Got the radiator pressure tested & system flushed today. Found a small pinprick hole in a pipe running behind the turbo. Now it has to be running at least 20 degrees cooler now. Will keep a careful eye on the water & oil. Going to do a service on the Prado as soon as I get paid. Thankfully I can do most of it myself. As for the oil usage, if it continues using too much oil, I will consider overhauling the motor at a later date.

Good find, let us know how you go.

Reidy

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

I was using 10w50 Penrite for ages and didn't lose any oil. Then I switched to 15w40 Penrite a handful of oil changes ago and I have to top up with a full litre of oil every 5000-6000km approx. Don't know where it's going. Something not quite right there. I took a 5 litre bottle up to Cape York with me too and used approx 2L in 6500km for top ups. Never had that before using the 15w40. I'm changing my oil, etc next weekend and will go back to the 10w50. I'd like to use the 10w40 but can't justify the expense of the bottle.

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

I was using 10w50 Penrite for ages and didn't lose any oil. Then I switched to 15w40 Penrite a handful of oil changes ago and I have to top up with a full litre of oil every 5000-6000km approx. Don't know where it's going. Something not quite right there. I took a 5 litre bottle up to Cape York with me too and used approx 2L in 6500km for top ups. Never had that before using the 15w40. I'm changing my oil, etc next weekend and will go back to the 10w50. I'd like to use the 10w40 but can't justify the expense of the bottle.

How many KMs has your car done?

Reidy's post x 2. What happened with your cylinder head there anyway Reidy?
The Roo.

Sorry to hijack the thread. John, I pulled my boat up Clyde Mt. from the NSW South Coast to Canberra this morning, which is very steep and didn't have any issues at all. No overheating. No pressure in the radiator, no overflow in the bottle. I reckon the radiator joint who cleaned my radiator did the dodgy on the refill of coolant, and losing it all the other weekend and refilling it properly has fixed the problem. I reckon there was an airlock.

Reidy

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

262,000km.

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

262,000km.

You'd probably know if the car was burning it (smoke out the back). Other than that, I notice that a few brands of oil like Castrol have products for older cars that have higher viscosities. I would say that things are a bit lose internally after those sort of K's, so the 15w50 probably works better in that regard and will keep your oil pressure up. I have the opposite problem, the 15w50 was too viscous in my 1KZ, making it sluggish in the cold and taking forever to free up.

Reidy

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

No smoke at all. I see your point regarding the viscosity in older engines and will have a good look at those type of oils when doing my next oil change. Only one way for me to find out. Use a thicker oil and see what happens.