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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Valve Stem Oil Seals


juanchan
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I can't seem to find anything on here about the rate of oil burn with this issue.

 

My stem seals have definitely seen better days, but I've never really noticed my oil level dropping a significant amount. Until just recently:

 

On long sweeping left hand corners on motorways/dual carriageways, the oil level warning light sometimes came on. When I checked the level, it was almost exactly half way between the min and max on the dipstick. Anyone know what the volume difference is between min and max? About a litre? When I changed the oil it was almost up to the max level.

 

Is anyone here able to notice the oil level drop due to their valve stem seals?

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worn valve stem seals will not consume a noticable amount of oil, if your oil consumption has gone up dramatically i would start looking elsewhere, and quick:(

 

I don't think it's suddenly gone up (no oil patches left after being parked up for a couple of days at a time) suddenly as such.

 

I did find it odd that the level is halfway up the dipstick yet the oil level light can come on under certain driving conditions. It has however fallen by that top half of the dipstick over the last 6 months or so. If that amounts to half a litre or so, I'm assuming that it's not something to get worked up over.

 

I've booked her in for a service in a couple of weeks, so if I notice it falling again between now and then, I'll ask for a closer inspection.

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Worn stem seals will cause blue smoke at start up. If it is using a lot of oil, check for leaks underneath.

 

She smokes a bit on startup, particularly if she's been sat for a few days, which I've always believed to be the stem seals, and nothing too major to worry about.

 

turbo seals maybe? if you have a cat still in place, take it off, you'll soon know if your turbo seals are on the way out ;)

 

She's mechanically stock, so they're both still in there somewhere. First or second cat are you meaning? I'm assuming first as that sits right behind the turbos. Isn't that one a bit of a PITA to remove?

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So its half a litre (half way between max & min) in 4K miles??

 

Nothing to worry about. Just over 100ml/1k miles is nothing worrying. Its around the upper limit of normal.

 

:thumbs:

 

That's pretty much the response I was hoping to hear! Was I right then on the 1 litre between max and min? That I didn't search for and just stabbed in the dark at.

 

If I'm honest, I believe there is a very very slow oil leak somewhere - the sort that leaves oil at the bottom of the engine bay, but isn't fast enough to actually drip and show you where it's coming from.

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Juanchan,

 

If you've checked you engine thoroughly and cant not see any sigh of oil leaks in the engine bay. Then it might be worth unscrewing your intercooler pipe and check inside to see if there is any oil in the pipe. If there is, then there could a an oil leak in your turbos.

 

I noticed the same thing on Dragonball, my valve stem seals was worn and used to puff blue smoke on start up. But it clear after 30 seconds. Then I noticed it was loosing oil. It was the turbo seals that has gone, and the old turbos was swamped in oil.

 

But then again 4k miles is quite a bit, so I would not worry, but just to be the safe side, check pipe that leads from the turbos to the intercooler?

 

Fingers X its nothing serious mate.

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Juanchan,

 

If you've checked you engine thoroughly and cant not see any sigh of oil leaks in the engine bay. Then it might be worth unscrewing your intercooler pipe and check inside to see if there is any oil in the pipe. If there is, then there could a an oil leak in your turbos.

 

I noticed the same thing on Dragonball, my valve stem seals was worn and used to puff blue smoke on start up. But it clear after 30 seconds. Then I noticed it was loosing oil. It was the turbo seals that has gone, and the old turbos was swamped in oil.

 

But then again 4k miles is quite a bit, so I would not worry, but just to be the safe side, check pipe that leads from the turbos to the intercooler?

 

Fingers X its nothing serious mate.

 

No major leaks, no (touch wood)! As you guys have pointed out, it's not a large volume over a reasonable mileage and time span. It was the warning light coming on while on the motorway that brought my attention to it (the light was only on for less than 5 seconds), so just thought I'd ask around.

 

I'll keep a close eye on things for now. She's heading over to Matt at AFR in a couple of weeks, so I might get them to have a quick look after some of the suggestions you've all given me.

 

Thanks for your replies guys, much appreciated! :thumbs:

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