Rust under oil cap

[techmerit]

I bought a 01 4Runner a couple months ago, and just changed the oil for the first time (it had been changed at the dealer just before I bought it)

When I went to add new oil, I noticed that the hole under the oil cap is half blocked by some metal , and that metal looked rusty. Touching it left rust particles on my finger, which makes me a little concerned that there is rust circulating in my oil.

My question is:
1. Has anybody else run into this issue before?
2. What is the name/part# of the rusted piece?
3. Does anybody know what is involved in replacing it?

I'm hopeful that the issue hasn't damaged anything, it doesn't use any oil and runs perfectly. Am I kidding myself?

Thanks!

[4x4mike]

Are you sure it's rust? Could it be dry, old, dirty oil?

[techmerit]

Definitely rust, in fact the corner of the metal piece is corroded away in one 1/2inch area. Strange thing is that there isn't a bit of rust anywhere on the exterior of the engine... and the aluminum adjacent to the rusted part is very clean.

Just going to look at it again leaves me concerned that any missing metal from that part has circulated in the oil before ending up in the filter.

[corax]

get a CARFAX! There is no reason for rust to be inside an engine, unless it has had water in it. Go to your local Toyota dealer and ask them to run the VIN number and tell you where it was originally sold. If it was sold in the Gulf Coast states, pull back the carpet and start looking for river silt, reach up into the dash and see it you can find silt or dried mud on top of any brackets. Hell, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do that anyway. If you find silt, take pictures and run it back to where you bought it! If it was water damaged, legally they should have declared it.

Don't mean to scare you, but I'm still finding flood damaged vehicles popping up from the Gulf Coast(I'm a field engineer for one of the asian OEM's). Hopefully, you don't find anything and have no future concerns, but better safe than sorry and the longer you wait . . .

[Nuthuts96]

get a CARFAX! There is no reason for rust to be inside an engine, unless it has had water in it. Go to your local Toyota dealer and ask them to run the VIN number and tell you where it was originally sold. If it was sold in the Gulf Coast states, pull back the carpet and start looking for river silt, reach up into the dash and see it you can find silt or dried mud on top of any brackets. Hell, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do that anyway. If you find silt, take pictures and run it back to where you bought it! If it was water damaged, legally they should have declared it.

Don't mean to scare you, but I'm still finding flood damaged vehicles popping up from the Gulf Coast(I'm a field engineer for one of the asian OEM's). Hopefully, you don't find anything and have no future concerns, but better safe than sorry and the longer you wait . . .


you scared the hell outta me, and i'm not even involved- good luck to the OP.

[techmerit]

I ran a CARFAX before buying it, it's had only one owner, came with complete service records from the dealer in Williamsburg, VA where it was originally purchased.

I bought it from the original owner, a lady who appeared to know so little about vehicles it didn't seem likely that she was trying to conceal anything. There is nothing under the carpets, or up in the dash.

I'm guessing that it just sat a lot, seven years old and 71k miles on it, so this ferrous part didn't get oiled up enough. But then again, I've never seen rust inside an engine before, so I'll open it up and try to figure out what needs replacing. Worries me though, I paid $11,500 for it, so I'm a little concerned that it is too good to be true.

[jrallan26]

If you are that worried run an oil analysis. They dont cost that much.