Lunachk

Took my car in to 2 places because it sounded like it had an exhaust leak. Loud on start-up, quieter when warm, but louder when accelerating. I thought exhaust manifold gasket or even flange gasket. Shop just called & said they find no exhaust leak, but there was hardly any oil registering on the dipstick. I had nearly the entire lower half of the engine rebuilt while still under warranty about a year ago. Where could this oil be going? I don't see it being burned because I see no blue smoke & there are no leak spots on my driveway. Car has 113,000 & I never want to give it up!

Brian R.

Who filled your engine with oil the last time you had it serviced? Did you double check whoever did it?

Lunachk

I took it to Firestone because they were inspecting the car anyway. When I got the car home, it was leaking a little oil, so I brought it back. They CLAIMED there was a bad seal on the filter they put in, so he changed it. (I watched him do this through their service window, so it was definitely changed.) After that I saw no more oil in the driveway.

Lunachk

As far as my engine noise, it's still there. It's definitely not as loud as it was, but it's still there. Especially on acceleration. The guy at Midas (since I figured exhaust leak, I figured Midas) told me he has a Camry & they all make that noise. I don't know...my car was never this loud before about 6 months ago. But, I can't recall anything significant about when I noticed the noise. I had a few loose plugs, so I tightended them & even replaced the wires because it was not only loud, it was hesitating ever so slightly. Hesitation gone after new plugs/wires, but still noisy.
Noise is definitely more prominent on passenger side. And mostly noticeable upon acceleration. Midas AND Speedy Muffler checked all exhaust components & see no need to replace anything, including gaskets. Could I just be overly sensitive about this now? Or is it possible this noise is some kind of damage I did driving this poor thing around w/very little oil? (Just had most of lower end rebuilt about a year or more ago while still under warranty at Toyota.)