PLEASE HELP - 1997 LX450 208k Miles - MAGNETIC METAL IN OIL

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mcbs

mcbs

Joined
Feb 13, 2024
Threads
4
Messages
105
Location
cortez, co
97 LX450 - 208k miles on it. Routine Oil Change.

IMG_3745.webp


It is magnetic.

Only symptom I have had is occasional rough starts, and I have noticed the oil light random and temporarily come on when cold. When she heats up it kicks off but I think i have an oilpan gasket seeper so I tend to add a half liter every now and again.

Grabbed some oil to send into Blackstone, not sure it's gonna matter.

Will this grenade as soon as I turn her on?
 
At this point turning it on again isn't really an option. That amount of glitter coupled with the ignored warning signs indicate a checking account drain on the horizon.
 
Batameez said:
At this point turning it on again isn't really an option. That amount of glitter coupled with the ignored warning signs indicate a checking account drain on the horizon.
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You must be the lurker, waiting for these types of threads just waiting to kick a guy when he’s down. Gtfo - don’t need your pedestal preaching.
 
Good plan to send a sample to Blackstone. Analysis may be able to point you in a proper direction. Composition of the solids could let you know if this is bearing material or not. Presence of coolant could also factor in to figuring out the source of failure.
Oil level light coming on is pretty common as the float level is sensitive to changes. The more important indicator is the oil pressure. How has that been? The stock gauge can be inaccurate, but if it is consistently low that could indicate trouble.
The next steps I would take would be to run a compression test and listen with a stethoscope for any tapping sounds.
 
Shipwreck said:
Good plan to send a sample to Blackstone. Analysis may be able to point you in a proper direction. Composition of the solids could let you know if this is bearing material or not. Presence of coolant could also factor in to figuring out the source of failure.
Oil level light coming on is pretty common as the float level is sensitive to changes. The more important indicator is the oil pressure. How has that been? The stock gauge can be inaccurate, but if it is consistently low that could indicate trouble.
The next steps I would take would be to run a compression test and listen with a stethoscope for any tapping sounds.
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Thanks for your thoughts. The oil pressure has never been an issue, once the engine gets up to temp of course. Was just reviewing my notes and I would add about 500ml every 3k miles or so. Have never had a hint of coolant in the oil

The one thing that is stuck in my head is that Blackstone had advised me to do a longer oil change interval on this round to see how it held up. I went 8k miles which felt very long to me but the car has not been driven super hard, albeit over some long mtn passes 1hr each way for commuting.

The metals have never stood out in the report. A bit of a novice here but was starting to wonder if I was having some issues with the oil pump due to the light kicking on.

I will work on compression and stetho. Have done a compression test on another engine never on this one. Never used a true stethoscope, do they make a big difference?
 
mcbs said:
Thanks for your thoughts. The oil pressure has never been an issue, once the engine gets up to temp of course. Was just reviewing my notes and I would add about 500ml every 3k miles or so. Have never had a hint of coolant in the oil

The one thing that is stuck in my head is that Blackstone had advised me to do a longer oil change interval on this round to see how it held up. I went 8k miles which felt very long to me but the car has not been driven super hard, albeit over some long mtn passes 1hr each way for commuting.

The metals have never stood out in the report. A bit of a novice here but was starting to wonder if I was having some issues with the oil pump due to the light kicking on.

I will work on compression and stetho. Have done a compression test on another engine never on this one. Never used a true stethoscope, do they make a big difference?
Click to expand...
Your oil light is only a monitor of oil capacity. If the light came on then that would indicate you were low on oil. This light has nothing to do with pressure. The light comes intermittently on when about 1 quart low and will stay on when 1 1/2-2 quarts low. Even with 2 quarts low the engine should still have good pressure and be ok if driving in normal conditions. If you happen to be that low and drive a hour long pass then that’s a different story and would explain why you have a pan full of metal shavings. Either way it sucks and I would not run that engine unless for diagnostics which by the way your oil pan looks you have chewed up a bearing or two. If you continue to drive it you can damage the crank, cams, block pretty much all the moving parts and your motor will be junk.
I’m sure this is news you kinda already know, there is no magic fix when internal engine components start failing.
 
Fj80oregon said:
Your oil light is only a monitor of oil capacity. If the light came on then that would indicate you were low on oil. This light has nothing to do with pressure. The light comes intermittently on when about 1 quart low and will stay on when 1 1/2-2 quarts low. Even with 2 quarts low the engine should still have good pressure and be ok if driving in normal conditions. If you happen to be that low and drive a hour long pass then that’s a different story and would explain why you have a pan full of metal shavings. Either way it sucks and I would not run that engine unless for diagnostics which by the way your oil pan looks you have chewed up a bearing or two. If you continue to drive it you can damage the crank, cams, block pretty much all the moving parts and your motor will be junk.
I’m sure this is news you kinda already know, there is no magic fix when internal engine components start failing.
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right. the pressure gauge deals with pressure. which is what i would look at to observe pressure...

was never that low on a long drive. i live down a long dirt road. by the end of it, the light would kick off as the engine got to temp.

going to plan on not driving it at all.

Regarding bearings, what is possible replacing without removing the engine?
 
mcbs said:
right. the pressure gauge deals with pressure. which is what i would look at to observe pressure...

was never that low on a long drive. i live down a long dirt road. by the end of it, the light would kick off as the engine got to temp.

going to plan on not driving it at all.

Regarding bearings, what is possible replacing without removing the engine?
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With that much glitter, oil contamination you really don’t have a choice but to tear the engine down completely and rebuild/refresh it. You have to get all the metal shavings out of your engine or it will just get in your fresh bearings and do the same thing. Installing fresh bearing in the truck is not an easy job and is the wrong fix for this issue in my opinion. It might work and last forever or it might run for a short while and develop a knock.
 
Batameez said:
You're right, my bad. I was being a big fat meanie. I think if you seafoam it, you'll be golden. Let's stay positive, maybe you won't need to see the big scary machine shop guy!
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hope you got whatever kick your looking for. best of luck to you.
 
mcbs said:
hope you got whatever kick your looking for. best of luck to you.
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Wasn't really trying to get one. I deal with large mechanical failures often for large operations, so my candor might throw you off. Basically telling you the solution won't be cheap. Junkyard engines are basically nonexistent, and you can't get these from a JDM engine dealer. I really wouldn't trust anything inside that engine to be reliable with that amount of glitter. I'd just skip blackstone and cut open the filter. Looks like there's already a fairly big piece of debris in the pic you gave. Plenty of engine rebuilding info here. Even I am budgeting for the inevitable. Just part of this game. You could try popping the valve cover off to see if a timing chain guide broke, causing the chain to rub on the cover. Could be the culprit since you haven't mentioned knocking.
 
Batameez said:
Wasn't really trying to get one. I deal with large mechanical failures often for large operations, so my candor might throw you off. Basically telling you the solution won't be cheap. Junkyard engines are basically nonexistent, and you can't get these from a JDM engine dealer. I really wouldn't trust anything inside that engine to be reliable with that amount of glitter. I'd just skip blackstone and cut open the filter. Looks like there's already a fairly big piece of debris in the pic you gave. Plenty of engine rebuilding info here. Even I am budgeting for the inevitable. Just part of this game.
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fair enough. not looking for someone to tell me its all gonna be ok, but just trying to break this into bite-sized steps for myself. will cut into the filter tomorrow.

guess i got to get my other rig with engine sitting in front of it finished.
 
mcbs said:
right. the pressure gauge deals with pressure. which is what i would look at to observe pressure...

was never that low on a long drive. i live down a long dirt road. by the end of it, the light would kick off as the engine got to temp.

going to plan on not driving it at all.

Regarding bearings, what is possible replacing without removing the engine?
Click to expand...
With that much glitter, oil contamination you really don’t have a choice but to tear the engine down completely and rebuild/refresh it. You have to get all the metal shavings out of your engine or it will just get in your fresh bearings and do the same thing.
 
Fj80oregon said:
With that much glitter, oil contamination you really don’t have a choice but to tear the engine down completely and rebuild/refresh it. You have to get all the metal shavings out of your engine or it will just get in your fresh bearings and do the same thing.
Click to expand...
not sure if you meant to say the same thing twice. might be how bad i need to hear it 😂.
 
Well - i guess i will find out sooner or later what the culprit is. What's the deal with rebuilding these, compared to buying one rebuilt? Any good rebuilders out there? Any to stay away from? My machine shop in town is super capable, not exactly the most cost-effective. I also don't have tons of time to dive into this myself. in SW Colorado if that helps.
 
mcbs said:
not sure if you meant to say the same thing twice. might be how bad i need to hear it 😂.
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My internet is funky did not mean to post twice.
 
mcbs said:
Well - i guess i will find out sooner or later what the culprit is. What's the deal with rebuilding these, compared to buying one rebuilt? Any good rebuilders out there? Any to stay away from? My machine shop in town is super capable, not exactly the most cost-effective. I also don't have tons of time to dive into this myself. in SW Colorado if that helps.
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You can still buy a new block for from toyota, then have your head rebuilt at you machine shop and do the work your self for the best price. Or take it to a shop you have a couple options in Colorado Springs, not sure how far that is from you. Or I’m happy to discuss options with you I sell rebuilt 1fzfe’s. PM me if you want to chat. Precision land cruisers @raisinhell2 or @Cruisers and Co can rebuild and install an engine for you.
 
@mcbs : Post up the Blackstone report when you get it back.

What oil viscosity and filter brand have you been running?

Would be interesting if you pulled the current oil filter, cut it open, posted up photos.

If you pull the oil pan to take a closer look at what's sitting on the bottom post up those photos also.




FWIW Short block (11400-66041), Head (11101-69107) if you have to go that route.
 
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Kernal said:
@mcbs : Post up the Blackstone report when you get it back.

What oil viscosity and filter brand have you been running?

Would be interesting if you pulled the current oil filter, cut it open, posted up photos.

You could pull the oil pan and take a closer look at what's sitting on the bottom (post up photos).

FWIW new short blocks (11400-66041) and heads (11101-69107) are still available from Toyota if it comes to that.
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well for the past 15k miles or so i was running 5w-30 royal purple. Always an OEM toyota filter. I will cut it and post it tomorrow.

I am interested in pulling the pan to see. Unless it is something catastrophic (which I don't think it to be, again - this was just a routine oil change) why would I need a new block or heads?

I am guessing it is bearings based on what I am reading, though there is a though it is rings. Is it more cost effective to just swap the block than just rebore cylinders and up size? (controlling for shop labor and if pistons are reusable that is).
 
Just buy a new short block from toyota. Dont waste your $ at a machine shop when you can buy directly from toyota.
 
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