Metal shavings on oil dip stick

I believe the process exists, I just don't believe one oil change gets rid of all the particles before it is installed.

 

This thread makes my head hurt.

Looking at the picture, I'm not sure that's metal shavings. It's not shiny. It's in oil, so it should be shiny. Looks like some other foreign material that the filter will catch.

Tell you what I'd do. If it's only 8,000 miles on the clock, you got plenty of time to investigate under warranty. The dealer probably won't do anything at the moment anyways. I might ask them and get them to actually record your concern though.

Take a sample every 10K before the oil is changed and send it to Blackstone and keep the results. Look at the results to determine what the particles are. Track for a few oil changes and see if you have a real problem. You should have enough ammo after a few to make a determination. If there is a real concern, then talk to Toyota again.

 

Not on Toyota but on my 2014, 2017 Odysseys and 2016 MDX I sent in a samples to Blackstone and the Moly content was extremely high (over 600ppm). I am planning on sending a sample from my Tacoma when I hit 5k but that will probably take me a year, lol. As far as Toyota, I just go by what other people posted on BITOG and some other sites. Here is one for example.

 

Yeah Honda runs a breakin oil that is high in moly. As far as I know Toyotas dont leave the factory with anything special. Only ones I know for certain are 2nd gen tundra(2010) and FJ(2014) as I bought both new and tested them pretty quickly. And moly levels were comparable to standard toy branded 0w-20.

I will be testing a 2019 Tundra early next year and will see how its initial fill matches my other tests.

 

I change my own oil. I try to buy he Mobil 0-20W when it is on sale at Costco and I order the filters on Amazon. I take the used oil to Auto Zone. I buy my extra stuff at Auto Zone, gloves, tools and whatnots. I still enjoy being around the stuff, I just don't want to live my whole life turning wrenches etc.

 

I made a living turning wrenches when I was young. I was modding in the late 70's. I am fine paying for service now.

 

I would be more worried about the filtration of your lungs over your truck engine.

 

I wouldn't be concerned about small metal shavings. You ha e an engine made of metal that contacts metal operated under extremely high pressure, you're going to have that from time to time. If you have small chunks of metal then you know something is coming apart.

I have been an aircrafts mechanic for 15 years and whether it's a 30 million dollar aircraft or a cheap 250k aircraft, it's normal for metal shavings. Most aircraft manufacturers say that metal deposits smaller than 1/16th of an inch should be ignored. Those shavings are super small and won't cause any harm.

For what it's worth, the only thing that breaks in on an engine is the Piston rings when they seat to the cylinder walls. Odds are the shavings are just from that.

My bet, the dealer will say it's fine.

 

Woodrow has a good point, and now that I look at it, I wonder if your filter paper blew up and those are the remaining parts. The remaining bits of the filter paper that is.

 

Does the flow of oil go sump, pump, filter, engine, then back to sump?

 

I wondered that too. Almost looked like paper filter particles like from when I change our home humidifier filter. But they do look magnetized to the dip stick, so I didn't mention it.

 

It should.

OP can get a magnet to test.

 

All the info on that and more:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-new-features-document.522447/

See the attachment to the first post.

 

Thanks. Looking at that document, there is a strainer in the sump that will protect the pump, then the filter that will protect the engine. If there’s a lot of shavings when the oil is drained, I’d want to have a look at that strainer, but both the oil pump and the engine should be protected.

 

You're welcome.

It looks like the strainer is on the pickup. So, any particles large enough to get on it should come off when the oil drains back down. Those particles should come out of the pan when you drain the oil?

My guess is that the strainer is non-ferrous and fine mesh. There is one on my bike that gets pulled and checked during every oil change. Usually nothing exciting to see except for a chrome flake or two from the rockers. That sucka was loaded with main bearing bits when they got chewed up. Sparkly copper colors stuff all through the bottom end.

 

***
Those are Vitamin C.

 

Should, yes, but you never know. To check the strainer you’d have to drop the oil pan, where you could make sure everything came out when the oil was drained.

 

Well . . .

I don't think you can drop the pan without raising the motor or at least pulling the front diff. My guess is that it has a liquid gasket on it, so probably not something to do casually. Also consider that there is going to be a lot of agitation in the pan to knock larger particles off.

My real guess is that the strainer is large enough that if it were to get truly blocked, either there would be significant problems being reported here as a group or the that something deadly wrong is happening to a motor for an individual.

 

Josh,
When your engine was manufactured, there was residual metal shavings left in all of the nooks an crannys of the motor. This is a common occurrence. To rectify this issue, get an oil change; filter included, put 1,000 miles on your Taco, get another oil change. This should flush out the balance of the metal shavings. Then you can change your oil at scheduled intervals. By the way, the dipstick is made of a softer metal than your engine block. It will not scratch off metal shavings.

Good luck.

 

So what is the right answer then?