Metal Shavings on Dipstick

[Rosary911]

Hello, Ive got my 2006 Lexus GX470 at 204,800 miles giving me a bit of a heart attack. Its got a small oil leak that I haven’t gotten around to addressing yet, so I check my oil fairly regularly. Recently, I’ve been noticing on the tip of the dipstick there are very very very small metal shavings in the oil, no bigger than dust particles. Oil is at about half capacity, and I hadnt refilled because I’m 200 miles away from my oil change interval (every 5000 miles). No signs of weird noises minus my exhaust manifolds being cracked. Waiting on my headers to come in still. No signs of lost power either. Cold start goes to about 2000rpms, settles back at 1500, and drops back to 600-800. Any advice?

 

[Rednexus]

I'd collect an oil sample and send it off to Blackstone for analysis. The test will check for wear metals and other signs of engine issues.

I will say that's it's unusual for a 2UZ to burn any amount of oil. Losing half the capacity between oil changes is quite strange and would either indicate a sizeable leak or that the engine is consuming lots of oil. None of those things usually occur on UZ engines.

 

[Rosary911]

I'd collect an oil sample and send it off to Blackstone for analysis. The test will check for wear metals and other signs of engine issues.

I will say that's it's unusual for a 2UZ to burn any amount of oil. Losing half the capacity between oil changes is quite strange and would either indicate a sizeable leak or that the engine is consuming lots of oil. None of those things usually occur on UZ engines.

I do have a leak from the driver side front of the motor that hasn’t been addressed yet, but will be in the near future as I’ve been going through replacing parts as I go. Here’s a picture of the dipstick when I checked it on a hill the other day to see if I could get any particles on it. You can see the color of the oil, doesn’t seem to be a darker burnt color, especially for it to be 4600 miles old.

I’ve been told blackstone is hit or miss on analysis timeframes, so that has been my biggest concern with using them.

 

[CarGuyCarl]

I don't see anything on that dipstick. Usually use a bright flashlight on it once you blot some on a paper or shop towel.

 

[Rednexus]

Agreed, looks fine to me. An oil analysis will definitely tell you if there is an issue with the motor. Other companies also offer motor oil analysis (other than Blackstone).

 

[Rosary911]

I don't see anything on that dipstick. Usually use a bright flashlight on it once you blot some on a paper or shop towel.

Sometimes it has something on it, sometimes it doesnt. When it does, its very minimal but still noticeable. Its made me wonder if it might be the inner lining of the dipstick tube. Its a bitch and a half to put the dipstick in sometimes without hearing it scrape pretty good.

 

[Hardazclay]

I've used speed diagnostix once and was happy with the report. I think their reports are easy to read and the standard turn around time is only 1 week. It might be more expensive but I would recommend if your looking for another option.

SPEEDiagnostix

www.speediagnostix.com

 

[white_lx]

Cut open your oil filter and check for particles. This will give you a much better idea about the amount of metal flakes than using the dipstick to inspect.