Oil change complications

I always stick with the Toyota filter, less than a cup of coffee price difference between cheap and oem.

 

This time I went Mobil-1.

 

I’ll be doing that when I get home tonight. I’ll post some pictures, am I just looking for bits of metal?

 

I have a drain tube attached to the nipple instead of a bottle (either method is fine). More than 20 oil changes so far, only get a small bit of oil through the tubing each time.

 

So it sounds like I’m being over kill? I’m about to cut open the filter and find out.

 

If you waited a while to unscrew the filter then most could have drained back into the engine. Did you do your pan drain plug first?

 

Filter first, about 15 minutes between time when it ran and when I took it off.

 

Alright y’all, ran a magnet through my oil, came back with barely any shavings, cut apart my filter, not one bit of metal. All looks good. There is a bit of carbon in the filter so the seafoam did its job.

 

Does it look too dark?

 

The oil on the paper towel and on the filter part you cut off (upper right of photo) look very clean to me.

 

Nope, it looks the way used oil should look.

Just my opinion, you might be looking for a problem that doesn't exist.
If you're concerned, send an oil sample off for analysis.

 

I would but the seafoam will mess with it. The additives or whatever.
Besides, not worried anymore

 

Occasionally, when I remove my filter, the oil has already drained out of it. It happens sometimes.
Drive it, you're fine.

 

It most definitely is used that way and they advertise it as such in addition to being a fuel additive.

https://seafoamworks.com/help-center/how-to-add-sea-foam-motor-treatment-to-crankcase-oil/

 

They tell you to limit it to 300 miles in the engine, about a tank of gas.

 

Pretty much, that's what you are mainly worried about.

 

If you are doing regular oil changes with a high quality oil (i use penzoil platinum 5w30 synth) there is no need to use seafoam. There should be no sludge buildup at all.

On my previous early 2000's chrysler with the 3.3 v6 I did regular 5000Km oil changes. When i had to replace the valve cover gaskets at 75,000 miles the valve train looked like it was brand new with absolutely no sludge.

I have pointed a flashlight down the oil filler tube on my 2015 tacoma and can see the timing chain and it bright and shiny and its on a 8000KM oil change cycle. I am sure if i ever have to change the valve cover gaskets it will look just as clean.

I helped a fiend who had a 1970's series BMW 735I that obviously hadn't seen regular oil changes. He started running a high quality synthetic. He noticed a valve cover leak and when we went to change the gasket the synthetic had done such a good job that the oil drain back hole in the cylinder head was now plugged with sludge. Used a bronze rifle cleaning brush and rod to clear that out and had him change the oil filter cartridge soon after since it also had collected a lot of sludge. Moral of the story is that a high quality modern day synthetic is all you need.

And in case your thinking it was already clogged it wasn't. I did the valve lash adjustment on it the day after he bought it (since it uses solid lifters) and before he started his first run with the synthetic oil change and it wasn't clogged.