Metal shavings in oil

[TonyHSD]

12 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I normally check at least once a month although I've been slacking with the Mk4 (To balance that out I was checking every week with the oil-guzzling Mk2!).

I did today tho' just to add some pressure to the tyres (All the potholes and terrible roads seem to be making me lose about 5 psi a month!). No oil used at all which is still a nice novelty compared to the Mk2! All fluids still at the optimal level, cleaned out a few spider webs, everything peachy!

There was one weird anomaly tho - For some reason there is a metric buttload of sand on everything in the engine bay! Every crevice and nook had sand in it - Where did it come from? How did it get in there?!

I tried to vacuum it out but there are a lot of places just too tight so I had to resort to compressed air to try and dislodge most of it (esp. under the AC pipes where the engine mounts are.)

I really don't understand how so much of it has gotten in there tho'! I know we've had gale force winds lately but even so...!

 

That sand it’s actually a salt and grit from the roads. I never seen such a stupidity in any other country and so much of salt thrown away for no reason. As a result we have these poor roads full of potholes and cracks and rusty cars. Best to do a engine wash at the end of May. Jet wash from distance works best. Only remember to cover an air intake before beginning and remove whatever you had used after completing the wash. 👍

[Cyker]

Oh yeah I hadn't thought of that. Still, just the amount in there I just don't know how it got in!! It looked like I'd left the bonnet open during the gale and it had all gotten blown in  

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

There was one weird anomaly tho - For some reason there is a metric buttload of sand on everything in the engine bay! Every crevice and nook had sand in it - Where did it come from?

King George's Reservoir or your local builders merchant.

[Woofwoof]

AA just came out

decided it wasn’t metal, not magnetic and didn’t look metallic

he thought it was prob paint from the dipstick tube or something 

Never heard of it but I don’t work in cars so

[Bernard Foy]

8 hours ago, Snowstorm3611 said:

Just sat here reading this topic & having a little chuckle to myself. My Corolla is 11 months old & has 6500 miles on the clock & I’ve never so much as located the bonnet catch 😳. It’s in for it’s yearly service next month & I will let the garage worry about it. Am I bad?? 

Naw, you’re not bad, you’re just lucky that you’re driving a really reliable Toyota Corolla 👍

[Bernard Foy]

7 hours ago, Cyker said:

Oh yeah I hadn't thought of that. Still, just the amount in there I just don't know how it got in!! It looked like I'd left the bonnet open during the gale and it had all gotten blown in  

 

Only if you’re in the Sahara desert 🐫😝

[Red_Corolla]

I changed mine at 1k miles, just to get rid of any material from the manufacturing and bedding in process.

A lot of people believe that modern oil quality obviates the need for run-in maintenance. But,  as I mentioned in another recent thread, I just acquired a brand new BMW motorcycle and it is required to have a first oil change at 600 miles or 1k Km. They also change the gear oil in the final drive at the same time.

I think the necessity is determined by what kind of machine it is and what is expected from it in terms of performance and longevity, not material or manufacturing quality. Car engines have a relatively easy life, but I don't see any harm in doing a bit more maintenance than required if it comforts the owner. 😊

[Saxmaniac]

On 3/12/2022 at 9:22 AM, FROSTYBALLS said:

You have to bear in mind that he is in the US and there Toyota recommended servicing is every 6 months/5,000 miles, so he isn't offering anything new - 

"In most cases, Toyota recommends that Toyota owners schedule a service appointment every six months or 5000 miles, whichever comes first."

https://www.toyota.com/owners/parts-service/maintenance-schedule

Yeah, I wonder if that's driven by marketing considerations rather than best maintenance for long life. After all, I believe we do more shorter journeys here than over there? I don't know, but on my vehicles I play safe and rather over maintain them. I'm one to keep them for their total economic life so maintenance important. If Toyota's schedule is so good, why do they not even mention Battery filter and fan on hybrids? (Mine went through PDI and 2 services with a blatantly faulty headlamp though that's due to a rubbish dealer )

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, Saxmaniac said:

If Toyota's schedule is so good, why do they not even mention battery filter and fan on hybrids?

The same applies to Toyota US service recommendations. The UK service recommendations are not substantially different to Europe's (12 months/10,000 miles as opposed to 12 months/15,000km). My previous point was that this person's service recommendation (oil change at 6 months/5,000 miles) is no different to that of Toyota US - so, for his country, he is not offering anything different or more likely to increase the life of vehicles where he is based, and his target audience is more likely the US rather than Europe.

[Saxmaniac]

I was suggesting European service intervals driven by the need to make the cars appear cheaper to maintain rather than what's best for the vehicle, I've been burned in the past believing manufacturers blurb about sealed for life transmissions for example. For the modest cost of doing extra fluid changes and all those other items the dealer doesn't do, I'd rather know that my vehicle is over maintained! Again, if people simply buy on a PCP and move on after 3 years, it doesn't matter. The results of good maintenance show long after the manufacturer has lost interest

[Woofwoof]

15 hours ago, Saxmaniac said:

Yeah, I wonder if that's driven by marketing considerations rather than best maintenance for long life. After all, I believe we do more shorter journeys here than over there? I don't know, but on my vehicles I play safe and rather over maintain them. I'm one to keep them for their total economic life so maintenance important. If Toyota's schedule is so good, why do they not even mention battery filter and fan on hybrids? (Mine went through PDI and 2 services with a blatantly faulty headlamp though that's due to a rubbish dealer )

 

10 hours ago, Saxmaniac said:

I was suggesting European service intervals driven by the need to make the cars appear cheaper to maintain rather than what's best for the vehicle, I've been burned in the past believing manufacturers blurb about sealed for life transmissions for example. For the modest cost of doing extra fluid changes and all those other items the dealer doesn't do, I'd rather know that my vehicle is over maintained! Again, if people simply buy on a PCP and move on after 3 years, it doesn't matter. The results of good maintenance show long after the manufacturer has lost interest

If you review the service schedule it includes replacement of those filters

[twintopp]

you have a new car , just enjoy it, if it breaks toyota will fix it, its only a machine 

 

 

[Woofwoof]

checked the issue, found metallic flakes in the engine, finally dealer had a slot, they supposedly compared it to another corolla of similar age and claimed it was normal, wasnt very impressed with that dealer (not the dealer I bought it from)

car now feels rougher at idle since they checked it, but temperature did drop today, could it be related?

[TonyHSD]

38 minutes ago, Woofwoof said:

checked the issue, found metallic flakes in the engine, finally dealer had a slot, they supposedly compared it to another corolla of similar age and claimed it was normal, wasnt very impressed with that dealer (not the dealer I bought it from)

car now feels rougher at idle since they checked it, but temperature did drop today, could it be related?

Yes it could be exactly that, these engines operate in different cycles and sometimes they sound ticking or rough and loud at idle because they are not only idling but they does some other things as well, like Battery charging, or warming up stages and to provide heating to the cabin. All that depends of air temperature, climate control temperature settings, Battery state of charge. I don’t think the dealer did anything to the car at all. If there is a mechanical problem with your engine like broken piston ring or flakes on the bearings and scored cylinder wall for example there will be abnormal behaviour and engine noises and oil consumption. 

[WALLOP]

Hi

Not sure about the 1.8 but the 2.0 engine has both direct and port injection. The car will switch between the two in order to maintain best efficiency but the change in fuel injection type is only noticeable when the engine starts at idle and the car is not moving. The engine tone will change to a slightly rougher note when running on direct injection.