Rod knocking after pulling trailer up steep hill

I know our transmissions operates at higher temperatures for increased efficiency and i cant help but wonder if our engine temp is elevated to the point where it could cause this type of sludge build up in the engine. I would expect to see some of this for an engine past 150k miles but this looks a little extreme in some areas for a well maintained engine.

I can only compare it to a warranty short block replacement in my 12' subaru and the pictures of the defective block at 77k miles with self performed oil changes at 5k miles was drastically different. My block had almost no signs of sludge and grime.

Also working in the cold on gravel sucks. i dont blame you for the slow progress

 

Thank you for posting these pics [OP]: both the removal process, and the internals. If I was only shown those pictures, and was asked to guess what kind of vehicle I thought the engine had come out of, my likely response would be a Police or municipal vehicle that spent it's life idling all day and/or making short trips.

Good luck with the project. I has been a real education already. Looking forward to seeing how it looks under the valve covers.

 

So assuming we change parts and run it, is there something you can add to the oil that will "clean" the sludge in all the little nooks and crannies that might be left over, sort of a "Seafoam for oil"?

The knock was clearly in the bottom end, so we're not pulling the valve covers and looking there, just the front cover to replace the timing chain as a precaution since we're in there and changing the oil pump.

 

If you've gone through all this trouble why wouldn't you take the extra time to pull the valve covers and look? If the bottom end starved for oil what makes you think the valvetrain didn't too? And can you even change the timing chain without pulling the valve covers?

Really seems like a junkyard engine is the better option here.

 

I'm not an enthusiast of using any kind of solvent or flush product.

Solvents or flushes are like taking a laxative -- they cut loose a lot of stuff right now with unpredictable results -- that stuff is now floating around in the engine, again with unpredictable results.

Instead, change the oil and filter frequently, use any oil that meets specifications and a decent filter.

This is more like improving your diet -- you should see gradual, predictable results.

 

You need to remove valve covers to get timing chain cover off.
And with the state of your engine, you may need to look under valve covers.

 

It depends on the weight of the vehicle and the trailer. Small to midsize autos on an aluminum car trailer are no big deal just so you don't make demands climbing the mountains.

 

It would have been interesting if you’d sent out a sample of the oil for analysis.

 

agree on skipping the solvents. Probably not a popular answer but I'd run a diesel oil for a few intervals, they have more detergents

 

ive used it as directed before. Never noticed any gains or negative issues. But i never tore engine down after using it either.

 

Unfortunately the amount of tarnish on the inside of the block screams bad maintenance and or extended OCIs. Looks to me like who ever was maintaining this truck ripped you off a few times tbh. Definitely sucks but it's a good thing to see that you're quite mechanically adept and up for the challenge.

 

that does not look like mobil1 full syn, unless the oil change intervals were way longer than it needed. That appears as sludge, from thermal break down. Guessing the dealer did not change it with full syn oil. Ski

 

The sludge looks like oil that hasn't been changed in 50k, and the engine should be treated as such. Pull valve covers and clean up everything there. Remove the VVTi spools and clean up everything there. I don't know how gummed up the cam phasers will be.

No need to use any kind of special flushing oil since 0W30 is already quite thin. You can do a few short-interval oil changes (like every 1k) and see if any additional sludge drains out.

 

The lube shop at the Toyota dealer did all the filters, oil, checks, and then my mechanic did the serpentine belt, etc.

So while I was sitting in the truck watching Toyota do oil/filter changes I think it would've been difficult to sneak some other oil in there besides what they have/recommend.

I agree that I've seen engines that have like 25K+ between oil changes with standard oil get sludgy, but 100% Mobil 1 full synthetic since new?

Anyone know where I can send an oil sample to see if they can determine anything?

Just talked to the mechanic, he thinks we'll wind up taking off the valve covers to remove the front cover to get the oil pump out to get the crank out, etc. etc. etc. That means we'll be able to clean up the valve train if there's sludge there. But again, it ran perfect, just rod noise, so I don't think the valvetrain was affected.

 

When you said 0W-30 earlier, did you mean 0W-20? I would be surprised to see a dealer put in 0W-30.

 

The 4.0 dies quicker if you neglect oil changes:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2008-tundra-1grfe-v6-engine-dead-at-98k.232540/

Plus you'd have to worry about head gasket leaks which are becoming more frequent on higher-mileage 1GRs.

 

Yeah, going from memory, you might be right, either way it's just what Toyota recommends. Normally I'd walk out and check their stickers, but uh, <engine-ectomy>

How many miles are people getting out of these motors, I have an FZJ80 Land Cruiser with close to 300K, runs great, never been in the motor.

 

What the window sticker says?

 

I see. That would be 0W-20.

 

Did you do a lot and i mean a lot of really short distance driving. Another cause of sludge is if the engine doesn't get hot enough to boil off the moisture that naturally condenses when the engine cools down.

This is a picture i took of the valve train on my 3.0 Chrysler v6 valve train when I changed the valve covers gaskets at 75,000 miles. And i was using mobil 1 a the time. 5000 mile changes. No sludge at all and you could read the specs on all the bolt heads.




My current 4.0 V6 has also had 5000 mile oil changes with pennzoil platinum synthetic 5W30 and i have peaked inside with a cheap boroscope and its just as clean.