Hi Scotty,
I bought an Avalon that seemed to run fine with no major problems from my neighbor whose late husband had owned it. After looking at it in more detail, I noticed the oil dip stick was showing a low level and the oil was thick and gummy. I changed the oil and it now smokes when accelerating from stop, with slight knocking. It billowed a lot of smoke starting in the morning.
I put some Rislone in the oil and now it has stopped smoking. I only spent about $1500 for it, and it is in otherwise well-kept condition. I assume that the Rislone effectiveness indicates piston ring problems, not a PVC valve issue. I now think the gummy oil I removed had a thickening agent in it.
So would a car with a low mileage engine be a good candidate for an engine repair, or used engine transplant? How long will it last with thickening agents used regularly?
Unfortunately, there are no clear past maintenance records to show why such a youthful Toyota engine would have bad rings. My late neighbor bought the car from a used car dealer.
Thank you for any advice
Rebuilding the engine for that car, if done correctly, costs a lot of money and I don't think it worth it. Putting a used engine might be a more viable option. You can drive the car and add oil as needed, although this damages your catalytic convertor in long run. You decide what to do.
@yaser
Thanks, after watching some videos, I'm thinking the problem could possibly be valves, not piston rings. Because the overnight parking allows oil to drain then billow out when starting car in morning. The additive had no effect on that, but did subdue the general smoking when accelerating from a stop at traffic signals.
@yaser
The other thing I notice is that the smoke has a strong gas smell even though it's white-blue. So gas vapor is definitely coming thru.