Hi Scotty,
I have a 2002 Camry 2.4 with 234,000 miles. It’s been using a lot of oil between oil changes. I change my oil every 3000 miles and have to add atleast 5-6 quarts between oil changes. What would cause the main problem and what cheap fixes can I do to atleast slow it down some?
While those engines were good engines overall, they were unfortunately well known for burning oil. The cause was inferior piston rings. Unfortunately there is no cheap fix. The only fix would be to replace the piston rings. Your best option would probably be to frequently check and refill the oil. Aside from burning oil they are reliable engines.
Yeah, unfortunately with that many miles, once those engines start consuming so much oil there's no easy or cheap solution. Rebuild what you have or get a low mileage engine from Japan from one of the dealers that get those here in the states.
The piston kit I think is 250.00 it comes with proper size rings and oil return holes. 700 or so to put them in. Quart of oil is cheap if it's not plugging up converter I would drive it until it's really a big problem, then dump it.
If it was on quart no big deal, but the OP states 5 to 6 quarts between oil changes. Adding in more oil during driving between oil changes than the oil capacity I'd say is a big problem, imho.
There is no cheap fix. All you can do is keep adding oil unless you want to fix the piston rings.
