Sounds like a bad Pulley - Wish it was

05Taco, best of luck and please let us know what it turns out to be.

LEBM, thats exactly the thoughts I didn't expect to have from owning a Toyota. Depending on how this problem pans out, I may remove my name from the All-Pro group buy list, sell the lift parts I have, and just keep my truck stock until its time to let it go.

I know this may seem like an overreaction to what appears to be an isolated case but I also expect my motor to last well over 100K with proper maintenance and reasonable care in its use.

 

I hear you. And as I have said in other posts, I got a rid of a 1st Gen. to avoid the rotting frame issue (and mine was looking fairly bad). I love having the double cab now, and the 4WD here in the rugged terrain of WV is beautiful, but I'm second guessing my purchase a little bit.

But... I'm going to try to remain positive. Hopefully this problem is isolated.

 

Do either of you wheel or do anything else that puts the truck at high angles? And/or fill up with 5 qts instead of 5.5 when changing oil? Trying to think of outside things that might cause this.

 

I have my oil changed at Tire Kingdom the last four times... Free oil change thingy, christmas present the girlfriend got last year.

I haven't taken my truck off road in nearly 9 months.

 

My 2wd, non trd diff, D-Cab was wheelin-intolerant. Daily commute is void of high angles. Oil changes Mobile1 Synthetic done by me. FRAM filter (I've recently learned that the FRAM is junk) was usually the filter I used. I did only give it the 5qts, never went 5.5.

Bottom line for me is, Toyota flat out said, they have seen this before, other documented cases, and they determined the oil pump being faulty/inefficient was the cuase. These are their words and diagnosis.

Its been 3 days since I sent a 5 page letter to Toyota Corp via online form. I will be escalating through consumer and govt agencies tomorrow.

 

What a bunch of BS. I hope it all works out for you guys. It's crazy to think that we spend so much money on these trucks to NOT have to go through this crap. Keep us informed...if this happens to me, I will be selling and getting a Honda Ridgeline. (or maybe a Civic)

 

[speechless]

.

 

I wonder if not putting the extra .5 quart's of oil could cause this much damage. I wouldnt think so, but then again it seem's possible.

 

There is some tolerance with oil levels. Its reasonable to assume that the motor may burn a half-quart between oil changes so the motor should be able to function fine with 5 quarts initially. But if you only put in 5 quarts to begin with you'll have less than that when its time to change the oil again.

I asked about high vehicle angles because this can cause the oil pump to scavenge in some vehicles, especially if oil is low.

Do either of you have the tow package with the supplemental engine oil cooler? Do you tow with the truck?

 

Wow, crazy, I didn't know this was going on at all. I'll keep an extra ear out for any noises out of the ordinary. I've been lucky so far, the only issue's I've had are pulley replacements, but the noise has been different, and I had to get the rear seal replaced. Other than than the seal, I can blame anything that I've had to fix on me, whether its from wheeling, or otherwise.

Good luck guys!

 

Comment on FRAM filter ----- DO NOT USE IT> There are cases where FRAM filter falls apart and pieces clog/restrict oil passages in the engine.

 

So were they sure it was the pump? Im sure the oil passeges could be clogged like said above..

 

Fram oil filters have been known to clog and go into by-pass mode. This means the dirty oil won't pass through the filter media and instead dirty oil gets pumped directly back into the engine with out passing through the filter media.

This could explain the burned up oil residue on his internal engine parts in his photos

Also all that dirty oil not passing through the filter media could burn the oil pump up....

Buy a good quality oil filter and change oil and filter frequently...and read this story below:

I obtained great satisfaction from reading your oil filter survey.

I worked for two years as the oil-filter production line engineer in
an Allied-Signal FRAM facility and I can confirm every bad thing you
have said about FRAM automotive filters. That's from the horse's
mouth, as it were.

I'm also a quality engineer and can confirm that FRAM applies no
quality control whatsoever to any of the characteristics for which we
buy oil filters. I frequently saw filter designs which were barely
capable of meeting J806. Many of FRAM's designs will block and go to
bypass after trying to filter very little contamination. There were
often leakage paths at the paper end discs when these were not
properly centered on the elements. Some designs had the pleats so
tightly packed against the center tube that they would block off in no
time. I had discovered that the FRAM HP1 that I had been buying for
about $20 Cdn was EXACTLY the same as a PH8 inside - the only
difference being a heavier can - no advantages in flow capacity. The
paper filtration media was of apparently poor quality and the process
of curing the paper resin was very inconsistent - elements would range
from visibly burnt to white. FRAM's marketers admitted that there was
just about no way the public could ever prove that an oil filter
contributed, or did not prevent, engine damage. The only thing FRAM
tested for was can burst strength. Another problem that they have from
time to time is in threading the filter base - often there are strands
of metal left behind on a poorly formed thread.

I have not used a FRAM filter since I started working there. Their
claims are entirely and completely marketing bullshit.

If people really want to protect their engines, a good air filter is
vital (which excludes FRAM from that list as well) and a combination
of one depth and one full-flow hydraulic filter, together in parallel,
will do the job of filtration to perfection.

Thanks for doing a great job in trying to get the truth out! You can
quote me anytime.

 

You may be on to something here. I'll post a picture of the inside surface of the timing cover. The area nearest the filter is black....

 

I too stay away from Fram. I only use Mobil 1, Napa Gold, or OEM. However, OP said that Toyota said there is a history with the oil pumps being faullty. Lord knows that if Toyota thought it was a filter, they would blame OP.

 

Does this view indicate extended periods of unfiltered oil passing by, or was this a hot spot...

 

I have a similar problem but only at idle.. it sounds exactly like a bad pulley.. and my entire truck has some vibs at idle or when slowing down. and at a complete stop there's more vibrations and more noise from the driver side of my truck..

any thoughts?

 

What is everyone's thought on this one? Related? Its a post from around 5 weeks ago...

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/67328-extended-tacoma-warranty-not-so-good.html

I know of one 4.0 V6 engine locally that has blown - but do not know the diagnosis on it.

 

Nice fine. I wouldnt say its related to the oil pump not being able to pump oil to the driver's side drive train. But this is getting sad Toyota come on..

 

x3 on the quality of filter comments.

Do yourself a favor and prove it to yourself. Go buy some common filters from discount stores and carefully cut them open to see how they are put together. Look at the types of drain back valves (VERY important on the 4.0 due to inverted high mount placement) and the material used. Look at the amount of filter media (think surface area) and look at the way the filter media is capped or sealed on the ends.

Some filter media may be excellent in the ability to filter on a single pass (single pass efficiency will be noted in marketing material with great hype). The thing to remember is that we ask filters to do this over and over again. Running synthetic oil, people tend to run longer change intervals. If there is not much area to the filter, it can become restricted and start to bypass around the filter element. This is a safety to prevent oil starvation but does nothing to take out contamination. We have NO WAY of knowing when this happens from the driver's seat. A quality filter with capacity is a must.

For those worried about wear, I suggest an oil analysis to be done on occasion. You can track levels of contamination in oil and any abnormal wear will show up. If you want to run any type of oil over an extended period, this is a good thing to do while you are deciding on a change interval. Do not take marketing information to make these decisions. You can take several samples at increasing mileage intervals to see how the oil and filter you have chosen actually perform in YOUR vehicle the way YOU drive.

This may sound like extra costs, but 7K for an engine buys a lot of oil, filters and samples.