The Junk Drawer Off Topic Threads
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 538
Likes: 151
From: Warsaw KY
Hi all. This is the off topic thread so I hope I am good. My wife's cousin passed and we were gifted a 2005 Toyota Tacoma pickup with a v-6. From initial examination it looks to be severely under maintained(~145,000 miles). I checked the oil and the dipstick is stained brown( at least not black). Anyway , I scrubbed the dipstick clean and reinserted( and by the way the dipstick refused to come out of its tube!,). The stain immediately returned. It didnt take scrubbing to get it off this time. My question finally is- any suggestions for an internal engine cleaner. I have always run maintained vehicles so I haven't had to get one back from the brink before. I just don't want to waste resources on crap that is probably out there. Thanks for reading.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,097
Likes: 23
From: Kissimmee,Fla
Was never a fan of internal engine cleaned as they tend to more harm than good.buy a cheap oil and filter and do a 100 mile dump,then put a quality filter and good dino oil like Delo in and change it in 2000 mile intervals. It will be better on your pocket and the motor.
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 538
Likes: 151
From: Warsaw KY
Was never a fan of internal engine cleaned as they tend to more harm than good.buy a cheap oil and filter and do a 100 mile dump,then put a quality filter and good dino oil like Delo in and change it in 2000 mile intervals. It will be better on your pocket and the motor.
Thanks for the advice. Sounds good. I ordered some Toyota filters but I like the idea of using a store brand for the first couple of dumps. Sad motors get treated this way. Spark plugs are on a 30,000 mile interval and I can almost guarantee looking at the oil that they haven't been touched.
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 538
Likes: 151
From: Warsaw KY
Will do. Thanks. Yeah this is my auto forum home. Not ready to join a Taco forum. I plan to get it cleaned up for my daughter in Nursing school. She's commuting and the 4x4 gives me at least a little piece of mind.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 7,834
Likes: 96
From: Manteca,Ca
we have a Taco Forum ,lol, well here’s my Advise, dump the Toy , buy a Ford Platnum 6.7 Diesel and give the kid your 06 orrrrrr wait till she’s rich and have her buy you a new 6.7 platnum , save the 06 and let her buy her own Rig ,lol
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,777
Likes: 1,590
From: France
Originally Posted by Brotherbillstruck
Hi all. This is the off topic thread so I hope I am good. My wife's cousin passed and we were gifted a 2005 Toyota Tacoma pickup with a v-6. From initial examination it looks to be severely under maintained(~145,000 miles). I checked the oil and the dipstick is stained brown( at least not black). Anyway , I scrubbed the dipstick clean and reinserted( and by the way the dipstick refused to come out of its tube!,). The stain immediately returned. It didnt take scrubbing to get it off this time. My question finally is- any suggestions for an internal engine cleaner. I have always run maintained vehicles so I haven't had to get one back from the brink before. I just don't want to waste resources on crap that is probably out there. Thanks for reading.
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 538
Likes: 151
From: Warsaw KY
What I do, and it's not often, is put synthetic in, change the filter after a short while and see what it looks like, then change both out after another short while. Only danger is it frees up the crud but might also open up some seals and cause a leak. Certainly cleans everything up.
Thanks for the advice. I just hate to see all that varnish sticking to the internals. I did pick up some dino oil for the first 2 oil changes and some full synthetic to finish it off. Doing the front calipers first as the wife could barely keep it straight on the way home. We stopped and I checked the heat and the drivers front was pretty hot but just headed for the house anyway. Some great guys here. Where else can you ask a Toyota question and just get a gentle ribbing. I admit I did wonder what the answers might be. Nice place we have here.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,951
Likes: 512
From: Foothills, CA
Thanks for the advice. I just hate to see all that varnish sticking to the internals. I did pick up some dino oil for the first 2 oil changes and some full synthetic to finish it off. Doing the front calipers first as the wife could barely keep it straight on the way home. We stopped and I checked the heat and the drivers front was pretty hot but just headed for the house anyway. Some great guys here. Where else can you ask a Toyota question and just get a gentle ribbing. I admit I did wonder what the answers might be. Nice place we have here.
I had asked about just going full synth right off the bat, but John told me the synthetic is actually a very good solvent and too much too quick and we might get globs of sludge and stop up some tiny passages -- he said be patient and it is the best way short of tearing the engine apart...
That's what worked for me...
Good luck,
Scott
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,777
Likes: 1,590
From: France
Good info if the oil is really bad - got to say if I checked and saw that sort of horror I would be unlikely to buy. If I still did buy it seems like a good logical way to clean the motor gradually.
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 538
Likes: 151
From: Warsaw KY
So we bought an off lease Chevy Lumina from a large dealer in Houston when we moved there in the early '90s. I made the mistake of trusting them and their 180 point inspection - car had like 32K miles on it and a week of so after buying it checked the oil and found the horror you did, but worse I could see in the filler cap and the entire top end was one big glob of sludge. I worked for Chevron and had a good friend there that was lead Chemical Physicist in our Lubricant Additives Research division. So I call John and ask him if I should just pour in some diesel or the like and he said NO !!! Told me essentially the advice Per4mance gave you with a twist. Said you want to slowly clean the engine and to get some HDEO (Delo) in 10W 30 and some Mobil 1 synthetic, and start changing the oil every couple thousand miles and replace 1 qt with the M1 each change. Eventually I went to 3K changes. Engine ran great at 145K when we sold it - better yet the top end looked almost like new!
I had asked about just going full synth right off the bat, but John told me the synthetic is actually a very good solvent and too much too quick and we might get globs of sludge and stop up some tiny passages -- he said be patient and it is the best way short of tearing the engine apart...
That's what worked for me...
Good luck,
Scott
I had asked about just going full synth right off the bat, but John told me the synthetic is actually a very good solvent and too much too quick and we might get globs of sludge and stop up some tiny passages -- he said be patient and it is the best way short of tearing the engine apart...
That's what worked for me...
Good luck,
Scott