Waited too long to change oil—how to check engine for issues?

Hello all,

(First post! Excited to be here!)

A friend of mine has a 2001 Tacoma (4WD, 4-cyl, 2.7 EFI, 5 speed, regular cab) with about 170K and is looking to sell it.

I'm looking to buy it, but I'm worried about the state of the engine. My friend hasn't owned the truck for very long (probably only about a year and about 7K worth of miles), but in that year they have neglected to change the oil. I got it changed for them recently, but when I did I forgot to ask the mechanic to look at the old oil to see if there were any issues with it (metal shavings, etc.).

Now I'm wondering, should I be worried about it? Should I get the engine checked out to see if it's OK? What should I ask the mechanic to check for? Engine compression...?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

One blown oil change (assuming 7000 miles, 2000 over) won’t destroy an engine. Is it burning oil? Any coolent leaks. Transmission? If it runs well and is a good deal go for it. Caveat car and truck prices are falling. Don’t pay top dollar.

 

If it's been 7k miles and you've neglected one oil change in the span of the life of the vehicle that's really not anything that's going to hurt anything in the grand scheme of things. Also a year for an oil change might be long but in all reality you did the right thing and changed the oil which needed to be done. You'll probably be all right.

 

Curious as to why you had it 'changed for them'. Was this in anticipation of buying the truck? Normally people selling a truck have that done as a selling point.

 

There are a couple of things that you can do yourself… pull the oil dipstick and look at the dipstick itself, if it is varnished up, that is what the insides of the motor look like. Take the oil fill cap off slowly while she is running and see if there is pressure or a slight vacuum, this a ghetto check for blow by, leave the cap just sitting on top of the valve cover and rev the motor, does the cap dance due to blow by? The orifice in the PCV is only so big and if there is more blow by than the PCV can handle the excess has to go somewhere.

The 4 cyl Tacoma motors are tough, very tough and like mentioned above, if you can get a discount and the truck is in good shape, i.e. lower ball joints and frame isn't rusted through, you just might have a decent runner.

 

Yeah. I mean, they use it, I just think they would prefer something with more seats and that their younguns can drive (is a regular cab, is a 5 speed). I use it every now and then for "truck stuff" (moving furniture, etc.), and that most recent time, when I had the oil change, had it for a couple days so I figured I'd go ahead and do it. It was sort of in anticipation for buying it (they've expressed it being not right for them before) and also just because I like to take care of things. Oh, and it was idling rough. I was like, "I guess that's what happens when you don't change the oil for a year!"

 

Thanks @Glamisman ! These are great tips. I think other than the oil concern I mentioned it looks pretty good. I took a look underneath and, as far as I can tell, this is the only rusty spot, under the driver-side rear wheel well. Hard to tell the depth of the rust because the frame sort of looks coated in something(?); what do y'all think?

Also, I've noticed that it can sometimes shift into gear sort of hard, especially 5th gear. If I'm not revving when it goes into gear and I let the clutch out slow, I don't hear a thud. But if I am revving a little as I go into 5th gear, I'll hear a slight thud. Thoughts on that? Thanks again!

 

Rust is like cockroaches, one means there is more. Get under the truck with a hammer and check if you can punch more holes in the frame.

 

I'd just pass on this truck. That rust can't possibly be the only rusty spot, it's simply the only one you saw (or can see).

And you mentioned a rough idle, and thinking that was due to it needing an oil change. I'd bet my bottom dollar that wasn't the cause.

Unless you're getting an absolutely smoking deal and love to fix old trucks, and dump a bunch of money into them along the way, pass on this one.

 

Yeah that's a very considerable amount of rust...

 

Pass

 

Neglected and rusty? Are you sure he’s your friend since he would sell it to you?

 

Haha the onslaught of "passes" was funny and make sense! Thanks for looking out, everyone! Guess I won't become a Tacoma guy this time around!

 

If he would give it to you....i would still have to think about it

 

If you want to "become a Tacoma guy" take your time and find the right one.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". This especially applies to older vehicles (even Toyotas).

The extra couple thousand bucks (in price) that separate the well-maintained from the neglected trucks, can save you tens of thousands of dollars (and many a headaches too) down the road.

 

The truck may be a dog, but it isn't because of a 7000 mile oil change. The guy in NC who died recently drove his 08 with the 4cyl for 1.6 million miles and changed the oil every 8000-10,000 miles. He died before his truck. The dealer bought it back from his widow and has it in their showroom.

I'm at 243,000 and have used 10,000 mile or 6 month oil changes whichever came 1st since new. The truck still runs like new and I've never added oil other than when changing it.

 

I wouldn't worry about a missed or extended oil-change on this truck. Assuming it's a 4cyl, and if so, it's just getting broken in. That said, First: I would worry about that rusted section in the frame. Fair bet there are more under there. But more important, think long and hard about buying any truck from a friend: Especially this one (the truck). It doesn't look like a happy conclusion.

I wish you the best here and welcome to the forum!

 

hey rust guys......
just for my information/learning.......

is that a 'typical' place that rust starts on these frames?
pix is kinda close but appears frame kickup b4 LR wheel?

or are there additional 'hot spots' to inspect for our frames?
thanks

 

AC drip line rust spot on top of frame, passenger side engine bay.

where your top rear shock mount is on the rear.