Hi,
The left cyl head on my V6 is oil starved and the cam bearings have all but disintegrated....what a mess!
I suspect a blocked oil gallery in the block is the culprit!
How do you suggest I clear the oil galleries before I bolt another head down:
1.Clean with brushes through the oil filter apertures, or
2. remove the sump and oil pump and clean from there?
can I obtain a diagram of the oil passages in the 1MZFE block.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.
Lofty.
P.S. I don't trust engine flushes and I cant flush, as the motor is inoperative presently.

 

To be honest with you, I would remove the entire engine and strip it down completely. If you have a bad enough blockage to cause such a failure then the engine needs some serious attention. Sometimes a good detergent bath is what the block/heads need to ensure all the sludge is out. At the very least, remove heads and oil pan and start spraying something that will break up the sludge deposits. I'd like to say brake cleaner but I'm not sure or not if it will eat somethings that shouldn't be exposed to it (gaskets). It's what I would probably use though. And yes, clean the oil pump and sump along with any build up in the oil pan. With a clean up of this magnitude (and you are planning on keeping the car) I would replace some of the internal parts like the oil pump, water pump, etc because you are already in there.
I guess the real question is: how far do you want to go with this?
I also doubt you are going to find much out about the oil passages but I could be wrong. I think that it is something that you have to explore on your own and see what passages are what.
Keep us posted, please.

 

Hi Patonium,
Thanks for your prompt and poignant reply.
I agree wholeheartedly with your recommendations, however, I have no space at all to extract the motor and 'clean it up' from top to bottom.
Seems strange that we cannot source 'oil gallery' diagrams, as they are the 'arteries' of the motor!
Hopeful solution:
I'll remove the sump, clean the strainer and pipe lines of 'gunge' and work through the oil filter apertures using a variety of gallery cleaning brushes.
Guys, I've learned a very expensive lesson from this - change your vehicle's oil regularly!
Thanks so much for your advice, Patonium - I'll be in touch.
Lofty.

 

You're very welcome. Please keep up us posted and I wish you good luck. Please feel free to share some pics of what you discover in your cleaning process.