83k miles. CarFax & Toyota service records are spotty on oil changes. Supposedly under warranty from a Lithia motors dealership for another 45 days, but they're slimeballs. Feeling a bit worried...
Under the oil cap (damn, I didn't check, I only checked the dipstick), there was a smooth, milk chocolate film. I smelled what I think is gas under the oil cap last night too.
I planned on a new PCV anyway, so I pulled it... Here's the two clearest photos:
I wish I had Scotty to look at it. All pre-purchase inspections from "reputable" mechanics that I've searched out are on 1-2 week backlogs.
I plan on using a stiction remover (Hot Shot's green stuff) too. I ordered an endoscope and I'll go in on the passenger side spark plugs to look for bad signs of piston ring failure. I've used Hot Shot's gasoline extreme already and the thing has been getting 21.6-23 MPG combined driving. (I live up a hill and will be getting 23.8 my entire 20-mile trip and then drop to 22 on my way up the hill...)
I cannot go losing money on a bunch of stuff, I want to discover all the problems now and go back to them under their warranty so I have some recourse.
By the way, I can speculate that it was a family vehicle based on toys and makeup found under the seats, etc. It was in Los Angeles. Probably a lot of short trips.
I would have rejected this car if I saw what was under the oil cap BUT (after the fact) I see BMWs have this occur a lot and those owners don't sweat it saying that it is a sign of a lot of short trips and in need of an Italian TuneUp.
I had a Toyota dealership do a visual inspection and they found a seeping shock in the front. I'll pursue that under their "warranty" as well.
Thanks @idriveumall!
Some foam under the oil cap can be normal due to condensation depending on ambient temperature and humidity and how the vehicle was driven and maintained. (Really you should not have purchased a vehicle from known slimeballs - which includes most dealers, especially used car dealers - however that ship has sailed in this case.)
I would change the PCV valve and use a coolant test kit to check for head gasket leaks. Dry and wet compression tests would be good to do as well to get a picture of the engine's overall health, but that's a pain on a lot of V6 engines because the intake has to be removed to get at one bank of cylinders. Also scan for any codes and check live data for potential issues.
Thanks for the reply.
In SoCal, the "private party" sales were worse, lots of unanswered questions. Not exaggerating, a lot of dinked-with Odometers, etc. (Toyota's owner's portal is SOOOO very helpful and the Takata recalls led to a lot of odometer readings being taken!). This is a new car dealership (a Hyundai in Los Angeles) and I figured if there was anything catastrophically wrong, I had better protection with a big business. I bought a used Prius V that had a blown head gasket and the dealership (Kearney Mesa Hyundai) was squirrelly BUT they refunded my purchase price when it came down to it.
I don't know where I'd do the combustion gas/block tester. The radiator cap has the over flow circulator at the neck that goes over to the overflow tank. I guess I could pump out a pint or two of coolant to get it low enough... The overflow tank is sometimes helpful (Scotty recently did a block test on one), but this one has the feeder line integrated into the cap.
I was thinking of using a loaner tool compression test on my three easy-access cylinders along with an endoscope. Ahmed/A Car Care Nut on YouTube shows the damage of too few oil changes on a 2011 Camry. The marring of the cylinder wall was quite obvious. If I can see it in one of those, I know to go in swinging at the dealership. The drivetrain is under warranty and they'd probably try to do a refund instead of messing with me demanding a new engine 🙂
I've got no codes but I have tons of OBD data. I've been thinking to ask Scotty to do a long form video on how to read that stuff. My fuel mix moves around, but often I get a 0% short term fuel trim. No misfires temperatures are good for the engine (185F). The U750E transmission runs cooler than my 6-speed U760E from my "fleet" of three Rav4s.
If this link works, the screenshot was taken while I was driving. I believe going up a slight incline over a long onramp to get on a freeway
https://imgur.com/fmxOxeh
By the way, my OBD II interface is a Panlong and the OBD app is Car Scanner Pro was a user-selected price of $2.49. I have ended up using the Car Scanner Pro a ton more than the others (Torque, Dr. Prius/Hybrid Assistant, etc...)
A leak down test would probably be a good idea too. The PCV valve you are showing is clearly shot.
But it still sounds good shaking it 🙂
I have a PCV from a Rav4/2AR-FE engine with 100k and, while stained, was clean compared to this. I'm a big PCV fan and shared A Car Care Nut's 1/2 hour PCV change video with my favorite Toyota dealership's quality control manager. All their techs are taught disassemble.
The Car Care Nut recently did a video of him inspecting the cylinder walls of a 2011 Camry (I think). Might be helpful to you.
Thank you for your reply.
I saw that video days ago and have since bought that very scope ($132 on Amazon as of this writing). I'll pull my passenger side plugs first and, if I find damage, I will be on the seller's ass faster than sailors on a Thai prostitute... Oh, hold it, that's a bad analogy... Faster than flies to honey. That better??? 🙂
I really want this 4Runner to work out but I want it to last and I don't have buyer's regret as much as dealership regret right now.
I would be very careful about trying to clean the inside of the motor too heavily. Between the poor oil changes, the sludge,and the heavy film that sludge and dirty oil can leave behind, by using a high detergent oil or gunk flush and such, Those tiny or not so tiny particles can easily create oil clot in a much needed orifice. Been there done that... Took pictures even. Good luck with the car though. I've seen sludged up motors top 300,000 miles and better.
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Thanks Daywalker, I'm a newby.
By the way, I've posted videos on another thread using the A Car Care Nut-used video scope. I think it's a bit dicey in the three cylinders I've videoed so far.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNIsvzkt_En0zUmtO3QdQErXuB4BfRuzp