Hi All,
New to the forum here. Just bought a used 2005, V6, 58 k miles. Gave it a pretty good inspection before I bought it and it looked ok. Oil was a little dirty, but nothing drastic. Changed the oil when I got it, Mobil 1 5W30 Synthetic.
Took it on a 700 mile road trip yesterday. Today, decided to check the oil. It looked a little low and not like 700 mile clean oil. Opened the oil fill cap and was shocked to see creamy peanut butter like deposits on the cap. I know that is a classic sign of antifreeze leaking into the oil. Anyone have this problem or hear about it in the V6's? I'm under the 60k powertrain warranty mileage, think Toyota will fix the problem? Any suggestions or ideas? Thanks in advance.
Rest easy, it's been discussed at length here and on other Tacoma boards -- and it's perfectly normal under certain conditions. It won't hurt a thing.
It is simply condensation and you'll get it with synthetic or dino oil. You won't have it if all your driving is longer trips where the engine is up to full operating temps for extended periods of time. But with short trips, especially in cooler weather, moisture will build up under the oil fill cap. As blazze2005 posted, it's more of an issue with your engine than others because of the long plastic filler tube, which further insulates the cap from engine heat.
When you get on the freeway, floor it (let it reach 5k RPM) and the oil pressure will wash the gunk from underneath oil cap. I tend to have an aggressive driving style and don't get the creamy stuff under the oil cap. The 1GR tends to rev very low and can take a while to get up to normal operating temperature if the ambient temps are also low. It's probably because the clutch fan operates all the time.
I noticed it more when gas was nearly $5 and I was a lot more conservative and making short trips. The higher revs will remove any condensation and buildup under the oil cap and will also expel any built up water in the exhaust as well to avoid rust through.
ANY 1970 - 2009 rear wheel drive Toyota engine will reach a 180 degree coolant temperature within 4 miles of a cold start even in zero degree weather because the clutch fan free wheels during engine warmup (aside from a brief spat of fan noise during the first 30 seconds of starting the engine)
I'm at 485,500 miles on the original tailpipe, muffler and engine and my engine has never been revved above 4000 RPM and I drive gently at all times. In other words it is NOT necessary to drive like a teenage boy and stress the engine to 5000 RPM in order to "wash internal gunk" inside the engine or to keep the inside of the tailpipe and muffler from rusting.
I'm at 485,500 miles on the original tailpipe, muffler and engine and my engine has never been revved above 4000 RPM and I drive gently at all times. In other words it is NOT necessary to drive like a teenage boy and stress the engine to 5000 RPM in order to "wash internal gunk" inside the engine or to keep the inside of the tailpipe and muffler from rusting.
Interesting the viewpoints here. My dad's a retired mechanic and he used to remind his parents (back when they were still alive) that they needed to push the engine hard once in a while. He saw it all the time. People that drove their cars completely easy "all the time" would get a buildup of deposits on the valves. That's not to say that driving hard all the time is good on the engine...exactly the opposite. So, maybe the lesson here is the same in eating...everything in moderation.
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Oil pressure forces oil through passages to lubricate all the internal moving parts -- it does not shoot oil up the filler tube.
Open the filler cap and you'll see the pressurized oil lubricating the timing chain. Now tell me it won't spit up the tube when the pressure builds at higher revs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kathyricks
I'm at 485,500 miles on the original tailpipe, muffler and engine and my engine has never been revved above 4000 RPM and I drive gently at all times. In other words it is NOT necessary to drive like a teenage boy and stress the engine to 5000 RPM in order to "wash internal gunk" inside the engine or to keep the inside of the tailpipe and muffler from rusting.
Well there's a reason for an engine's powerband, and that usually means you should use it when necessary. I never said floor it from stop light to stop light like a douchebag. You're probably one of those people who get on the freeway at 40mph when you should be AT freeway speed (65-70mph) when merging. Short on-ramps = necessity, IMO.
And if you've ever used the cruise control, it drives the engine harder than I do normally. When resuming from 40mph to its set 75mph speed, the cruise control will use the entire RPM range to quickly get to speed (it will nearly redline). That should tell you something about Toyota's engineers, and how they view engines as well.
Increased RPM = increased oil pump speed = increased oil flow volume, not increased oil pressure (other than a slight increase in pressure as revs build just above idle speed). Yes, you will notice oil being circulated if you look into the filler tube of a running engine. But it is the engine's heat that will evaporate the condensation and prevent the small accumulation of oil/water emulsion inside the filler cap, and it is heat (not high RPMs) that evaporates water (a normal byproduct of combustion) from the exhaust system.
While a clutch fan does not completely 'free-wheel', it comes as close to that as its viscous coupling will allow. It certainly does not stay engaged at all times; that would totally defeat the purpose of a clutch fan. If yours stays engaged, it needs attention.
As to higher RPM -- within moderation (thanks, Moose) it won't hurt a thing and does provide some benefit. But the benefits are indeed more about combustion chamber deposits, and not about removing any gunky buildup from inside the engine.
Antifreeze in Oil -- 2005 Double Cab, V6
I'll search the topic on the board.
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