2006 Highlander 3.3L 3MZ-FE Heavy Sludge

No, but we were think we should ... tried with my OBD2 scanner, but cheap Harbor Freight brand, not capable.
Didn't want to buy the gauge ... hook up where the oil pressure sensor is? I still think it's coming on because the filter get's clogged, but what else could it be?
Even if the filter media is clogged, they have a bypass valve that allows oil to flow around the filter media and prevent oil starvation. Swapping the filter out would confirm the hypothesis, though.

As for the low pressure at higher RPM's, my guess is that the oil pickup screen is partially blocked with the carbon chunks that you knocked loose.

To check the pressure with a mechanical gauge, yes you can use the oil pressure sender port. A good kit should come with adapters to match with different thread sizes.
 
The 3MZ-FE is the original engine for this car ... the 1MZ-FE prior V6 is notorious for sludge, especially due to the poor design of the air/oil ducts in the valve covers.
Yes and as someone who has driven a 1MZ-FE for nearly 500k now that engine was severely abused. I doubt the oil was changed more than 2-3 times in its sorry prior life.

No additive will clean that up, BG brand or otherwise. And it’s not the oil filter that’s causing the pressure light to come on.
 
Yes and as someone who has driven a 1MZ-FE for nearly 500k now that engine was severely abused. I doubt the oil was changed more than 2-3 times in its sorry prior life.

No additive will clean that up, BG brand or otherwise. And it’s not the oil filter that’s causing the pressure light to come on.
Tell me more about what's causing the oil light to come on ...need a fix
 
The 3MZ-FE is the original engine for this car ... the 1MZ-FE prior V6 is notorious for sludge, especially due to the poor design of the air/oil ducts in the valve covers.
Yes, the 3MZ-FE is the original engine for this platform…but perhaps someone replaced the engine with a used engine before you purchased it?
 
perfect use case for Valvoline Restore and protect😂.

in all seriousness clean as much of the junk out by hand. VRP is supposed to be very gentle so i’d try that or some HDEO. i wouldn’t even begin to use a solvent or heavy cleaner yet.
 
If the car is still useable, maybe try a cheap oil + HPL ECleaner? And replace the oil filter every 500 miles? Repeat EC treatment and new oil when owner gets uncomfortable with the old oil's color.
 
You would have a hard time finding one single tech that would work on that thing without signing a waiver, I’d suggest you make it clear to your friend that this engine is beyond done and you’ll tool around with it for fun and that’s it. Honestly, it would be fun to try to clean that up but I imagine there is carbon/sludge built up in all sorts of alleyways ready to break loose and permanently destroy that thing.

After making it clear that you’re just having fun I’d remove BOTH valve covers, scrape and scrape some more. Then manually brush with a cleaner, then shop vac whatever you can. Rinse and repeat. We’re talking hours. Do the same for the pan, oil pickup tube, and whatever you can reach above the pan. After hours upon hours of this filthy work, I’d run BG engine cleaner through it once or twice, then pull the oil pan, filter, and valve covers and have a look. Chances are though something would have broken free and clogged an oil feed to a bearing and you’ll see something shiny soon. But then again who knows? It would be very cool if it all worked.
 
I don't think that orange RTV came from Toyota....someone's been there before. My guess is that the oil light kept coming on because the screen was getting plugged. Mechanic probably told them to get rid of the car before it goes boooom..... now congrats on your purchase! In addition to poor maintenance the filter was probably plugged and the engine was in full bypass with zero filtration forever.

Supertech from Walmart is good cheap oil, buy a bunch and their cheap oil filters too. Lots of short OCI's..... I wouldn't use BG's Dynamic Cleaner/Rinse yet. Get the chunks out first.

1. Fill your engine up with a TON of diesel. Let it sit for a couple days. Drain and fill with oil.
2. Change the filter every 100 miles and change the oil at like 500 miles.
3. Get your favorite Motor Flush and and new oil and flush it out. Drain it.
4. Take the pan off and clean the screen. Fill it up with fresh oil and drive 1k miles, changing the filter at 500 miles.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 a couple times.
6. Get some of HPL's EC30 engine cleaner. It is a great oil and a great cleaner. Run it for 2k miles, changing the filter every 500 miles.
7. Clean the screen again and inspect under the valve cover.
8. Now run full synthetic and longer intervals, changing the filter often. Every time with a bottle of HPL EC30 in there.

Welcome to your new hobby!
I'm seeing a lot of opinions ... Unless I bring it to a ASM or certified mechanic, it's all guesswork.
Has anyone here used BG Dynamic Cleaner or seen the BG Dynamic Video?

 
I'm seeing a lot of opinions ... Unless I bring it to a ASM or certified mechanic, it's all guesswork.
Has anyone here used BG Dynamic Cleaner or seen the BG Dynamic Video?


Several technicians and very experienced individuals have responded. Your question has been answered correctly. Any cleaner/solvent is going to overwhelm every orifice and screen in the engine. Disassemble and start scraping then use the cleaner. Even then you’ll probably still have problems.
 
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Yum! I mean "Yikes!"

I feel the convincing your friend to do damage control on his car rather than junk it.

Why not give BG EPR 2-3 runs, before going straight to a several hundred dollar solution? If you have the time and money, it may just work for a out half as much. Do a "rinse" with a cheap synthetic like SuperTech at Walmart for a couple hundred miles or less (unless you feel the need to go longer), drain, and repeat.

Definitely scoop some that goop out. I agree with that. Do some mechanical cleaning with brushes and solvents for anything harder/baked on and let the chemicals finish the job.
 
Two people are suggesting pressure washing the engine. I don't think that it is a good idea. I thing you are dealing with an engine that has had a few very elongated Oil change intervals. One person is suggesting that you go to a professional. I think that any professional is going to suggest you get another block, be it a short block or a used engine. If you watch The Car Care Nut, you'll see him drop factory short blocks into high mileage vehicles - of this brand - all the time. His results are excellent, and his thoughts are considered. I don't see a true professional taking a chance with that vehicle... there is no guarantee of success.

I think that you are unlikely to get good results with chemicals alone. If I had this vehicle, I would start with a toothbrush, popsicle sticks, q-tips and microfibers and physically clean as much as possible under the valve covers and the oil pan. I am assuming that you are starting with some dissassembly completed. If that is not the case, I would absolutely run 25% MMO for a hundred miles, and use an engine flush like Liqui-Moly. When cleaning I would use gasoline or kerosene as a solvent, and probably use MMO as a chaser. Once physical cleaning was done, I would run kerosene through the engine, several gallons, top to bottom, Put it all back together and go onto a series of short oil changes -- thinner, cheaper oil for maybe 500 miles.

As others have noted, there is likely a blockage somewhere. Not really sure how you chase that down without pulling the engine apart.

There is a good possibility that this will not work, and a non-zero possibility of destroying the engine as you try to fix it. Maybe you luck out and drive off into the sunset. This is rambling, but I think we can all agree that there is no good news here, excepyt that there is nothing to lose.
 
Agree with TomYoung about the physical cleaning. At this point, more solvents and detergents are just going to break loose more chunks and create more blockages. Don't use any more of that stuff until you've physically cleaned everything.

If it was my car, I'd try running a wire or pipe cleaner type brush into the oil pressure sending unit port and see if it is partially blocked plus use a mechanical gauge to verify low oil pressure.

Edit: If it was my car, and the oil pressure was confirmed low, I would drop the pan once more, clean the pan and oil pickup and then do NOTHING except for using cheap synthetic oil and changing the oil and filter every 3k going forward.
 
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Ran transmission fluid/Seafoam. Put in new oil/filter ... oil light comes on at higher RPMs and goes off when reduced.
Dropped the oil pan & cleaned the intake screen .. still getting sludge/carbon in the filter. Oil light comes on at higher RPM's.
I know I'm just stating the obvious, but this is where the trouble began. I'm a firm believer in letting sleeping dogs lie, anything you do now is just trial and error. Good luck!

BTW, I owned a 2003 Highlander w/1MZ-FE and it was an awesome truck.
 
I think cleaning that much goop out may cause more problems. Maybe pull the pan again and pressure wash it from the top down!
When I've seen this done the pan had to be pulled one more time after driving a short time, to clean the stuff that falls, from the nooks and crannies afterward.
Messiest job I've ever seen.
 
@Glenda W ... Does this Forum indicate the qualifications of commenter's? Sorry I'm not familiar.
Anyway, just wanted to know if anyone has actually used this BG Dynamic cleaner product.

We'll pull the valve covers, scrape, clean, vacuum.
Run the product then remove the valve covers & drop the oil pan to check it out.
That's the plan. He'll junk/sell as is if it doesn't work.

Here's the front bank valve cover before & after "cleaning".

Highlander dirty valve cover.webp


Highlander %22clean%22 valve cover.webp


Highlander valve cover clogger air port.webp
 
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