This post mentioned about a rusty piece of metal on the oil fill valve opening on the 3.4 engines. Out of curiosity, I opened mine and saw it for myself. The build up looked and felt like rust and now it got me worried. Is this normal on the 3.4 engines? Anybody else seen this before? Here are some pics.





I'm thinking it's some sort of oil baffle but I could be wrong.

George

 

It's probably just a little condensation that's causing the rust. I have the same thing with my 3.0 V-6. I wouldn't worry about it unless it's a big time case of rust. Any particles that are in there just will get caught in the oil filter.

 

I have the same thing on mine. My 96 has been in the southwest all its life. I guess it's "normal"

I wonder if it's something cast iron in there. That tends to get a rusty look like that.

 

That's was my first impressiion when I saw it. sort of a cast iron oil baffle that was installed by Toyota. It's kind of stupid though cause it's just causing some galvanic corrosion in there. I'm thinking about removing the valve cover and check what it is and if it's removable. Anybody know the torque values for the bolts? I might be able to do this in a couple of weeks since our ship is getting underway this monday for ten days to play " opposing forces to the John F Kennedy Battle Group" as preparations for our upcoming deployment to the Persian Gulf this September.

George

 

Don't bother doing anything with it......not worth the effort.

 

I have that also but I think its just cooked sludge and not rust. The oil stays on that piece of metal after filling. When the engine is running that plate gets very hot and cooks the oil that is sitting there, or splashes up there. There is never enough flow to clean it completely. I noticed that after I started running synthetic oil that plate got cleaner.