Glitter in oil

I just did an oil change on my 2011 Tacoma at 133,xxx miles. I was surprised to find what looks like glitter in the bottom of my oil. I changed my oil 8k miles ago. I am concerned and worried I’ll get stranded somewhere.

 

Understandable

Any pics of the glittery oil?

 

Any abnormal engine noises?

 

it has the Tacoma tick. I’ve read a lot of forms about it, and it seems pretty common. It also sounds like it’s coming from the valves. I was worried, but noticed even my buddies brand new taco has it

 

8K????

 

Here’s a photo of the catch pan after I drained it

 

It’s supposed to sound like a pail of hammers? Or maybe something I was given in the second grade as a musical instrument, 2 blocks of wood with sandpaper attached.

 

Who knows?
All you can do at this point is drive it.
Worrying about it won’t help.

Seriously, if the “glitter” was in fact produced by the engine.
The engine is coming apart one way or another.
I say drive it until it comes apart. Unless you plan to rebuild the engine.
Then you might reconsider that option.

Personally, I’m driving it with the hope it “stays together” for a good while.

 

8K with full synthetic high mileage

 

Yup. Drive it til it’s dead.

Make plans for the future. Replace dead vehicle. Or get a replacement engine installed.

Perhaps donate it to a local trade school or a high school with an auto shop class.

 

If you are referring to the little pimple like things at to bottom and sides of the pan, those are leftover artifacts from the aluminum casting process. The are not suspended in the oil but part of the pan itself.

 

You can submit an oil sample to Blackstone or similar. Also, cut open your old oil filter and pull open the pleats to see what crap is in there. If you do find a lot of material in there, consider installing a larger oil filter to prevent the relief valve from opening. One size up is Wix 51085/Denso 1502062. If you have tow package, you can go larger - Wix 51068, which is what I use, or Wix 51515, which is what I used to use, but it is tall and I got tired of removing the engine cover. Denso sizes: 150-2065 and 150-2066; you can cross reference to other brands. I have used Fram TG’s and Purolator Boss.

 

Might be considered normal is it was the first oil change. This has 130k on it. And there appears to be a sliver of metal there too. That’s not normal at all

 

Is it aluminum or steel? Run a magnet through it. If it's steel it's your bearings. If it's aluminum chances are you have an oil pressure or oil pump issue.

 

OP before stressing about anything, I would clean that pan out, drive the truck for another 5k, do another oil change with a full synthetic, drive for another 5k, drain all oil for an oil change and then inspect to see what’s what.
Best of luck, keep us posted.