Excessive oil consumption on Toyota 22RE motor finally solved?

In this video, I relate what I have learned while tracking down excessive oil consumption on my 1990 Toyota pickup w/ a 22RE motor. My truck was using 1 quart of oil every 400-600 miles and I think I finally tracked it down to the PCV system sucking all the oil into the intake manifold. Below are some of links mentioned in this video:
Amazon catch can: www.amazon.com/dp/B07RGNTF5Z
PCV baffle vs. oil consumption test: mewagner.com/?p=1221
Clear valve cover demonstration: • Clear engine valve cov...
Timing chain slinging oil around (skip to 8:50 in video): • Transparent rocker cov...
LCE dual row timing chain conversion kit: www.lceperformance.com/22R-RE...
Napa Auto 5/16" ID PCV vacuum hose: part # H-176

[@davidbracken7756]

Good to see your progress and the video

[@tonycricelli6180]

Great video and explanation of what was happening!

[@senate2042]

Lol... wow I upgraded to the dual row timing chain myself and noticed almost the exact same amount of oil consumption and the same plug issues being fouled out with oil.. I'm so glad I stumbled across this... thanks for the video!

[@ray5961]

You're welcome... and that's very interesting. I'm starting to think it might have something to do with the higher volume/pressure (?) oil pump that comes in the LCE dual row kit. Is that the one you used as well?

[@emporium597]

Way to work the problem my man! 👍🏾

[@ericrodriguez8556]

I been so excited for your next videos! Keep up too good work!

[@ray5961]

Thanks!

[@ray5961]

@UCcv9CXj1RuJ7LumMgEio7LA I feel your pain. It's definitely not a good idea to allow any engine to sit for 2 years, because cast iron rings can rust into the cylinder walls. You could use a bore camera to inspect the walls, however, to see if that is the case or not. Beyond that, sitting shouldn't be a major issue to the guides, etc, etc. Based on my experience with the 22RE (which is somewhat limited), it doesn't seem like a great motor for performance based modifications. My motor maybe puts out 135 HP at the flywheel, but it's pushing the limits of what the stock ECU likes. You can certainly check to see if oil is coming into the intake system; there are several ways. First off, pull the spark plugs - if oil is getting sucked in, they should have a pretty distinctive low black sheen coating all over them; that's a dead giveaway that it's sucking / burning oil. You can also drive up a big / long hill and see if the motor starts blowing smoke out the back around 1/4 or 1/2 mile up. The reason is because any oil sucked into the intake will roll off the ledge in there and pool into the #4 intake runner (assuming a stock intake manifold setup of course). This oil will be blown out #4 spark plug and yes, it will look like a 2 stroke basically (or worse). Anyway, I'd say run a compression check on the motor and see what's up. The oil catch can will also really help you diagnose stuff. You can also just block off the PCV valve and run a breather for a bit for testing (make sure to also cap off both sides of the fresh air breather line that goes to the front of the valve cover, since that can allow air into the system (and if you have a breather, it will end up being un-metered air). Let me know if I can help with any other info. Good luck!

[@pitchforkpeasant6219]

Interesting solution👍👍. Scotchbrite pad in the 3/4 hose. Awesome 😁

[@ray5961]

:)

[@gabrielguadarrama8701]

That motor is so beautiful. Toyota flagship. I’m a proud owner of a 22re 1991 pickup that I drive 150 every day with out issues

[@ray5961]

Thanks! Yeah, I love mine. I drive it every day also. I just did 1000 mile road trip and it ran like a top

[@madmod]

My factory 81 engine comes equipped with a double roller timing setup snd The baffle on the early valve covers is completely different than the later ones.

[@davidcorbit3931]

Good job

[@dustywrex6643]

That's a very interesting problem. I think I have about 3000 miles on the fresh build on my 1985 turbo truck. I do have LC's dual row upgrade with an adjustable timing gear and I did the modification to my baffle like they have you do. I have not had any noticeable oil consumption. The only things that are different is that I think I actually drilled all the way through the welds and have holes in the front and mine is maybe barely bent down. I also have a factory 90 degree PCV valve. Even with 13psi of boost, I have not had any oil consumption that is even noticeable.

[@ray5961]

Good to know, thanks! I've wondered if the 90 degree PCV might have some impact on things also. That's interesting about the welds and drilling clear through (and having extra holes). I was thinking about drilling a drain hole or two in the baffle just as a test.

[@854XTOY]

Very nice and clean engine bay! Nice work man

[@ray5961]

Thanks!

[@mikesnyder2335]

Well it might simply be a bad pcv valve ,no blowby it liturally sucks the oil cap down when placed over the hole. Btw that is such a clean looking engine bay ,the shine on that valve cover looks great.

[@ray5961]

Thanks! Yeah, I was real pleased with how the valve cover turned out. I block sanded it and used some HTV wrinkle finish black in there around the lettering. On my truck, I have a suction gauge out of an old airplane, which I use to measure the actual crankcase vacuum draw. That helps a lot. It's setup just after the PCV valve. You might also want to check your fresh air breather. I'd check the PCV valve of course also. On my truck, I'm running the dual adjustable PCV valve and it's been a life saver. I have things setup so there is a constant 1/2 to 1 in/Hg draw across the crankcase. Keep in mind, with the fresh air breather hose, the PCV can never really obtain its true vacuum level. It's sort of a constant cross wind for the motor. I might do a video on that soon, once I confirm how much oil is being used through driving. Keep in mind that too much vacuum on the crankcase is just as bad as not enough. You have to strike a balance. I'd also recommend running one of those little $25 oil catch cans off amazon. Those things help a lot and really allow you to monitor what is going on w/ the PCV system.

[@mikesnyder2335]

I have a 90 4x xc . It has started consuming oil . I need to check for blowby if not ill check the baffle . Its a single row chain still . I have had Toyota trucks since 83 .I built a 22re that is in my rock crawler 86 4R sas . It is the strongest 22re Ive had mild ported 3 angle valve job ,eng builder 268 cam advanced 4*,decked block to where pistons where out .014 ,stock ex to the cat . It gets 19-20 mpg pushing 37" tires and pulls mountain roads pretty good . Anyway thanks for the vid and explanation . I am hoping the 90 4x is a simple valve cover baffle issue .

[@ray5961]

The baffle modifications I made to the valve cover didn't have any impact either way. My issue was related to the PCV and breath stuff as near as I can figure.

[@cbh148]

Excellent stuff. Love the simplicity of even just spacing up the valve higher off the cover. I bet that dual row chain slings loads of oil, as I ran my Nissan SR20 engine with the valve cover off years ago and its single row chain basically made a rooster tail haha

[@ray5961]

Yeah, there's a lot of oil flying around under there for sure. I'm experimenting around with different size/design filters off the valve cover in order to allow any oil to drain back down into the engine. I'm testing out an Edelbrock 8157 40 micron fuel filter now and have another filter coming this weekend to test out. It will be interesting to see how it affects oil consumption

[@nielsenl4171]

What radiator is that you in there do you havd part number or link where you got from thsnks and nice looking build love them old 22re

[@ray5961]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZ_QaqB_qKakr9U - the link where I bought it is in the description there.

[@Dejaelvicio507]

I have a 22r 1988 and that car are stock i dont like the time of acceleration i think to install a little turbo but the block can survive?.

[@ray5961]

You might want to order a few books on forced induction theory and turbo / supercharging. There are some good ones on amazon. A lot changes when you turbo charge a motor, so you really have to be fully aware of what you are doing. As to your specific question, yes the block and crank could handle it, but probably not much more than 8 to 12 PSI of boost without some form of water and/or methanol injection setup. If your truck is carb, then a draw through turbo setup might actually work decent. I'm not sure what the stock compression ratio is on the older 20R, but you could probably find it. Anything around 8:1 to 9:1 will work, as long as you retard the timing and limit boost, etc. Usually what takes a hit are the pistons, not the block. Again, you should do a lot of reading about forced induction; there are a lot of good books out there. But yeah, a small turbo with moderate boost usually will work. It's a lot of re-design for not too much HP. If you just want a bit more power for cruising, usually LCE header and better exhaust (and maybe a mild cam) would be a lot easier. There is a guy on KZbin running a big turbo on his 20R as I recall. He's not running the motor in a Toyota, but I think it's a 20R if I remember. Try searching KZbin for "Turbo Toyota 20R motor" and maybe you can find it.

[@mathewhernandez979]

I have a single chain but I my 89 is also hiring a lot of oil but I did just buy a new head an timing cover kit an just bought a new cam an rocker arms from lce. But I feel like it might be a bad head head

[@ray5961]

Usually a bad head gasket will manifest in either oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil (your oil will look kinda like a milk shake). You can also run a compression check on all the cylinders and see if there is any low pressure and/or leak down. Usually when a head gasket starts going, you know something is way wrong. Generally oil consumption isn't a head gasket, since there are only two passages where the oil goes and only one is under pressure. It can be, but typically that passage is sealed pretty well because it's pressurized. Usually the issue is poor oil control ring, or as mentioned in this video, oil being sucked into the intake system via a faulty PCV system. You can try putting an oil catch can on the PCV vacuum line; that will really show up how much oil (if any) is being drawn in.

[@andrewhardcastle7982]

Where is your oil return line going from the catch can ? Thanks

[@ray5961]

Vacuum port in the intake plenum

[@Micky121uk]

I have the same vehicle. I’m not sure if my oil pressure is too high because it pushes the seal out of the oil filter the moment I start it up. I thought maybe I had the wrong oil filter but after fitting 3 different oil filters I’ve come to the conclusion I have a high oil pressure problem. I’ve also noticed when I take the oil filler cap off while it’s running there is a lot of oil comes out. Anyone have any ideas what the problem might be ?

[@ray5961]

Could be a blockage in the oil galley or the passage between the block on the head. The oil flows up into the cylinder head / valve train via a very small passage around one of the head bolts - if the engine has sludge inside it, that could be inhibiting oil flow. What oil filter are you using exactly? Sounds like something is very out of whack. Also what weight oil are you running? You might consider using Motor Medic Engine flush to see if you can clear out some of the sludge inside motor perhaps.

[@CNAEVR]

After replacing my head gasket due to an external leak, smoke on start up, and coolant disappearing, I must report that although I fixed the external leak, I'm still smoking on startup and consuming oil and coolant. Any ideas?

[@ray5961]

hard to say. I'd run a compression check. Are you getting coolant into the oil? When you say coolant is disappearing, how much are we talking about? Also how much oil is being consumed. Check your plugs also to see if they have any signs of oil or water on them. See my videos on oil in the water and also the recent one (a few months ago) talking about the intake gasket leaking. You could have an internal coolant leak across the intake to head manifold if you did not seal that area with RTV. Some of the modern gaskets are very slick on the surface and do not do a good job sealing. If the failure is near the intake runners, the induction system can draw coolant in there and burn it right out through the intake valves.

[@CNAEVR]

@@ray5961 OK, I'm burning about a quart every 100 miles, and coolant was full about 400 miles ago, now empty. I'll do a compression test and report back. The gasket I used was a Felpro (the one that you mentioned), and I only applied RTV at the front on the timing cover, per the manual.

[@ray5961]

@@CNAEVR Yeah, something is very wrong. one quart every 100 miles is way too high. Even when my motor had cracked rings, it was managing 350-400 miles per quart. Did you do anything with the pistons on your motor or only just new head gasket? Also, did you check to make sure the head and block were both perfectly flat? Even the best head gasket can only compensate for around .002. Also, did you replace the front timing cover or anything? It almost sounds like your head isn't totally down on the block; if you don't trim down the gaskets on the front cover (where the manual says to put RTV) it can tend to hold the head gasket up a tiny bit. But something sounds way off. How well did you prep the block surface as far as removing the old gasket material, etc? And did the motor ever overheat, because that can warp the head and prevent proper sealing. If you look at my video regarding hand scraping the 22RE cast iron block and flattening my cylinder head from LCE, you an see how delicate a process it can be. It almost sounds like something is between the head/block and causing it to be held up slightly, which could produce a failure around the oil passage in front and also the water jacket. I'm wondering if maybe there is too much RTV around the timing cover or something? It's hard to say for sure. Also, did you chase all the bolt holes w/ a tap to clean the head bolt holes/threads in the block? And finally, did you put a bunch of oil on the bolts when you installed them? If you oil up the head bolt threads too much, what can happen is you can end up with too much oil in the hole and when you go to torque down the head bolts, it will create a mini hydro-lock situation under the head bolt end - this can cause the head bolts to not torque down correctly and/or in extreme cases it can fracture the block itself. I usually chase the holes in the block with a bottoming tap and test thread in all the bolts or studs and take measurements against the thickness of the head to ensure I'm getting full clamping.. also I usually do not use oil on the head bolts, but rather a tiny bit of ARP lube. What torque are you running on the head bolts?

[@karzanrazaq]

what is the suitable oil SAE please?? for this car

[@ray5961]

It depends on the outside temp. The manual lists either 10W30 or 10W40 depending on outside temps. What's your weather like where you live? Like how low does the temp get out side in degrees F

[@randomeshorts453]

Nice looking motor! How do you keep it that clean

[@ray5961]

Thanks.. just a lot of cleaning with gasoline and making sure no dirt builds up

[@alvenparody]

what is that on the air intake?

[@ray5961]

Oh I was testing an external baffle kinda thing. I ended up refining it more in later videos. It helps prevent too much oil getting up into the catch can and has some green paint stripping material in there which gives the oil vapors some place to coagulate and drip back down into the valve cover.

[@backyardmowerracing492]

That’s all. Mine leaks that in 3 days 😂😂. I need to get it fixed

[@josemagana6792]

Would you still recommend lce performance head

[@ray5961]

Yes, absolutely. It's a nice upgrade from stock

[@josemagana6792]

@@ray5961 thinking of doing this upgrade , what cam do you recommend, do you enjoy the chop. What else did you upgrade to your engine for this setup

[@ray5961]

@@josemagana6792 I used cylinder head part #1021024 w/ pro efi cam. I also installed their rocker arm shaft with the extra holes, as well as their dual row timing chain conversion. I'm running their LCE ceramic coated header and then I welded up a full 2.25" stainless exhaust.

[@clayton203]

Interesting

[@ray5961]

It was quite the learning experience. Ultimately, it turned out whoever rebuilt the short block before me used the wrong size rings. But I definitely learned a lot about oil consumption this year haha

[@clayton203]

@@ray5961 well glad you got it figured out, nice truck too

[@ray5961]

@@clayton203Thanks man!

[@filthyheathen1504]

What break in oil and procedure did you use?

[@ray5961]

I believe I used Lucas break in oil #10063 (either that or the comp cams cam break in additive). And then whatever the cam company recommended. I believe it was 20 minutes at 1000-1200 RPM's. But I didn't rebuild the lower end, so that could be a factor here also. No idea what the previous owner(s) did to the lower end, except it does have .020" over pistons in there.

[@filthyheathen1504]

@@ray5961 sorry if you said so in the video, I watched it a while ago and this has been bugging me, but did you check/replace the PCV valve?

[@ray5961]

@@filthyheathen1504 Oh yeah... I'm like a PCV valve expert now lol. Currently, I have an airplane suction gauge which monitors the crankcase vacuum levels at the PCV valve in real time... so yeah lol. Like seriously, for an entire month I fell asleep contemplating the positive crankcase ventilation system and design on my truck. It's been quite a journey haha :-)

[@filthyheathen1504]

@@ray5961 well I wish you luck man, I'm so curious what it is, really like your videos so please keep making them!

[@ray5961]

@@filthyheathen1504 Thanks!

[@4estfloor]

There are higher quality catch can kits as well. You'll have to do some research.

[@ray5961]

Yeah, I saw some real nice ones at Summit Racing for a few hundred dollars. I wanted to start with this $30 amazon one just to test the concept. However, now that it's proven to be the source of at least part of my oil consumption problems, I might look into upgrading to one of the nicer race looking catch cans.

[@TheGarnerjustin73]

Hell, it's a Toyota, They take 200k miles before the rings and valves finally seat.

[@ray5961]

haha I hope you are right! :-)