Missed oil changes - permanent damage?

[steviestevie]

Hi all

I'm looking at buying an FJ Cruiser with the V6 1GR engine.

The vehicle I'm looking at skipped a service 4 years ago, and so did 20,000km without an oil change.

It's since had 3 services on schedule.

I'm concerned about permanent engine damage caused by sludge due to the missed oil change.

If I get an inspection done by a mobile mechanic, will they be able to identify whether there's any long term damage? Or, is it not possible to tell without tearing down the engine?

Thanks for any input 

[campbeam]

To my limited knowledge, I am unaware that the 1GR-FE engine is susceptible to oil sludge. Different matter for the 3.5litre 2GR-FE engine.

Not good that a service was missed for 10K kms so quite likely that oil sludge could have formed. Hopefully it got collected in the oil filter.

Looks like the service interval is 10K kms. My suggestion and recommendation is to go old school and reduce the oil change interval to 5000 kms or 6 months whichever comes first. Use a quality full synthetic known brand engine oil and quality oil filters. Good preventative maintenance to avoid costly engine repairs due to clogged up oil and piston rings.

I am guessing that a mobile mechanic will be able to do a compression test and maybe also an exhaust gas analysis to determine whether there is oil consumption.

[ZZT86]

I'm guessing the engine would be fine but this is not good practice. Also assuming it's a company vehicle which typically doesn't get properly looked after cos $$.

Get mechanic to inspect with a remote camera through valve cover for evidence of sludge, if yes pull oil filter & inspect that. If yes pull oil sump & check how bad. It should be fine if only this one time & a full synth oil was used. Confirm what sort of driving was mainly done & if if you suspect lots of short trips then buyer beware !

Good luck.

[Tony Prodigy]

10 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

Get mechanic to inspect with a remote camera through valve cover for evidence of sludge

I was thinking the same thing. 

My thoughts would be that the engine will be ok, if it's only had one extended oil service rather than several, it couldn't have done long term damage. If it starts and runs ok without any funny noises then I wouldn't worry. The extra 10k on the oil shouldn't make the amount of sludge you typically see on engines that have had poor a service history.

As Ashley mentioned, start doing oil services at 5K intervals with high quality fully synthetic oil and I would also recommend the use of an engine flush agent for a few services. It will help dissolve any potential sludge not normally removed just by virtue of the oil circulating.

Carefully inspect the used oil drained from each service along with oil filter. Check between the pleats for any bits of sludge. If you don't encounter any, then you should be on the right track.

Best of luck and please keep us posted as you progress. Photos would also be great.

Cheers