Dirt in Oil Sump?

techie

Having bought a second hand Avensis 1.6 Petrol recently I asked my mechanic to service it, I asked him could he check the Oil Pickup just in case, car has done 116k miles.

When he did he found it was partly blocked by oil and dirt???

How would dirt get into the Sump?
He said the Oil Filter was not the correct one either.

Esel

Possibly from too low spec oil having been used, causing sludge buildup? Wrong filter wouldn't help either...

biko

It probably have been building up slowly over 100K so it doesn't surprise me.

b318isp

Surely the plug would cleaned at every service? You shouldn't really have anything in the sump of a well maintained car, unless something is wearing or work has been done on it (e.g. allowing gasket material to fall in). Would sort of dirt was it - small or large pieces, soft or hard, easy to brake up or more lumpy?

Gurgle

b318isp wrote: »

Surely the plug would cleaned at every service?

Its quicker and easier to pump the oil out than to remove the plug and drain it.
This is why it's better to remove the plug and drain it.

techie

The pieces were small and soft, Mechanic said they were carbon buildups, car had been idle for a few months before I bought it.
He said it is all good now, genuine Toyota Filter and fresh oil in now.

enumbers

wrong filter or just a non genuine one? I would be extremely surprised if someone managed to fit a wrong filter to that car only one filter listed for a lot of years. As for the sludge build-up in the sump usually caused by extended time between services and running with low oil levels.

techie

enumbers wrote: »

wrong filter or just a non genuine one? I would be extremely surprised if someone managed to fit a wrong filter to that car only one filter listed for a lot of years. As for the sludge build-up in the sump usually caused by extended time between services and running with low oil levels.

Non genuine filter was fitted, since getting the car back my Wife has said the engine is a Lot quieter now, and that must be true for her to notice

Also dipped the oil to check level yesterday and the new oil is still crystal clear, so no sludge left in engine now to discolour new oil

Waterson

You cant always tell how well a car has been maintained by a previous owner, regardless of the service history stamps. The carbon build up is a common by product of both combustion and also the degradation of engine oil. Provided the oil is changed regularly and using the correct weight oil, (in your case a fully synthetic 10W40 would be my choice), I wouldn't be too concerned. Unless that "dirt" is metallic filings, then you may run a mile from the car...

techie

Waterson wrote: »

You cant always tell how well a car has been maintained by a previous owner, regardless of the service history stamps. The carbon build up is a common by product of both combustion and also the degradation of engine oil. Provided the oil is changed regularly and using the correct weight oil, (in your case a fully synthetic 10W40 would be my choice), I wouldn't be too concerned. Unless that "dirt" is metallic filings, then you may run a mile from the car...

Thanks for the reply. No metal filings in "dirt", the mechanic put in 10w40 Semi though, I know 5w30 is recommended in Owners Manual but car has over 100k miles on it. The previous owner to me had it from new, and judging by the overall condition of the car, very good, I bought it.