Buying Toyota Sienna with sludge under cap? (pic)
earthpatterns
Member Posts: 1
I've been shopping for a first or second gen Toyota Sienna recently, and today I found a pretty nice 2001 with 250k (more importantly, in my price range). It starts right up and purrs, and all fluids/belts/hoses look good. There is no exhaust on start up, but a few white puffs once warmed up.
My main concern is the appearance under the oil cap. I'm including a link to picture: imgbox.com/IghOzMe1
I've heard people say it's just the filter/baffles, but this one just looks a little sketchy. There is also what appears to be rust (?) floating around in there. Can I be sure this is rust? Would you trust this as a purchase, assuming all the other vital signs are good and the engine hums?
He said he serviced the PCV valve because it was stopped up or leaking or something, and he had experienced a hesitating of the engine. When I asked him about it further he didn't elaborate. He did not service the Throttle body / IAC valve, but he did change the Air Filter and all fluids. So I'm just worried that there's sludge in the engine, and I'm seeing a glimpse of it under the cap.
The maintenance history is perfect up until 185k miles, where it was sold to a dealership and spent 4 years and 60k miles, and they only checked into Carfax to report a yearly re-registration. My other question is this: Is that normal? Would a dealership be liable to change their own oil, but not report it? Could that be the reason the PCV valve needed replaced?
I would really appreciate some help here, I'm supposed to decide on this thing by tonight. Another interested party waiting in line. Thanks guys.
My main concern is the appearance under the oil cap. I'm including a link to picture: imgbox.com/IghOzMe1
I've heard people say it's just the filter/baffles, but this one just looks a little sketchy. There is also what appears to be rust (?) floating around in there. Can I be sure this is rust? Would you trust this as a purchase, assuming all the other vital signs are good and the engine hums?
He said he serviced the PCV valve because it was stopped up or leaking or something, and he had experienced a hesitating of the engine. When I asked him about it further he didn't elaborate. He did not service the Throttle body / IAC valve, but he did change the Air Filter and all fluids. So I'm just worried that there's sludge in the engine, and I'm seeing a glimpse of it under the cap.
The maintenance history is perfect up until 185k miles, where it was sold to a dealership and spent 4 years and 60k miles, and they only checked into Carfax to report a yearly re-registration. My other question is this: Is that normal? Would a dealership be liable to change their own oil, but not report it? Could that be the reason the PCV valve needed replaced?
I would really appreciate some help here, I'm supposed to decide on this thing by tonight. Another interested party waiting in line. Thanks guys.
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Comments
This old discussion from the archives may help.
Toyota Engine Sludge Problem