First of all, please dont flame me cuz im not the one that was doing this.
So i just found out that my fiance's father was putting only 4 quarts per oil change. i will be doing the changes from now on and will be putting 6.5 quarts from now on.
Here's my question. My future father-in-law had been doing this for about 2.5 years now and roughly 30K miles. What problems can i expect in the future for the lack of oil the engine has had?
The resulting low oil pressure would probably increase the connecting rod bearing wear as well as cam journal surfaces, since these get the least amount of oil volume being further down the line in the oiling system. I would imagine the oil light was coming on around sharp corners if it was always 2.5 qts low.
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2007 Tundra 5.7 4x2 RCSB slate metallic
2005 Corolla - all stock, cause it's the wifes
1986 Mustang GT - the stereo is under the hood
1995 Mercury Villager - the man van
Did it show low pressure on the dash guage (I can't even remember if there's a guage in my seq, I think there is)? Did the oil light actually come on sometimes? You may actually have no problem at all, it may depend most on the driving style over the last 30K and how often the oil was changed. Hard cornering, towing, constant hard acceleration, high angles, 4wheeling etc may all be a factor. I even know in some engines racers have in the past use less oil to reduce windage. It is possible it did no damage at all, if it lasted 30K I think it is quite possible you are ok, hopefully you are!
the oil light has NOT come on at any time during the past 2 years.
i usually drive the truck when im with my girl and i dont abuse it by anymeans, and neither does she. We dont have a "heavy foot", dont tow anything, no sharp turns, no off-roading, etc... the only time we "push it" is when we drive to Las Vegas or Yuma AZ from Los Angeles. but i normally put the cruise control at around 70-80 mph. we've made about 10 trips between both places but we alternate my truck (GMC Sierra) and the sequioa. other than that it just drive it normal.
When you start it cold does the oil gauge steadily climb to the highest marker (around 3/4)? Does pressure increase as engine speed increases?
If the light never came on and you have good pressure, you should be okay. My dad ran my Sequoia without oil for about 10 seconds because he was retarded and too lazy and didn't want to get oil on himself after an oil change so he started it, backed it up, put the drain plug on, and filled it up. Runs great to this day.
You're probably in the clear.
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2004 Marlin Blue Pearl Sequoia SR5 2WD; 60k miles
1991 Isuzu Trooper 2.6L 5spd 4x4; 103k miles
1993 BMW 525i M50TUB25 auto; 286,500 miles
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When you start it cold does the oil gauge steadily climb to the highest marker (around 3/4)? Does pressure increase as engine speed increases?
If the light never came on and you have good pressure, you should be okay. My dad ran my Sequoia without oil for about 10 seconds because he was retarded and too lazy and didn't want to get oil on himself after an oil change so he started it, backed it up, put the drain plug on, and filled it up. Runs great to this day.
You're probably in the clear.
it doesnt climb up to the 3/4 mark when its warming up but it does go up to maybe 1/4 or 1/2 when im speeding up. when the truck is idleing (spl?) or has a steady speed the guage is below the 1/4 mark.
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Originally Posted by cheepyankee
what was he thinking? Id guess its like adding another 30k miles of wear & tear.
Your guage may not go as high as other's since you live in such a warm climate, also a factory guage is not likely to be perfectly accurate to compare to other seq's. I'd place a bet your engine is fine, possibly ever so slightly more worn had it had the correct amount of oil in it, but otherwise fine.
Using only 4 quarts of oil in 03 Sequoia?
, but otherwise fine.
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