Originally Posted by BigBlueSince82

Thank you for all the help and insight. I decided to change the oil early at 3k miles like my last oil change due to winter and higher idle times. Sending a sample to blackstone for some peace of mind. I also installed an oil catch can to see if that helps with the oil in the intake. Early signs show it will.

I have a theory to the scoring on the piston walls. I have a 2nd car that I have been using for work rather then my 4Runner, even though I would still end of taking it to work 50 percent of the time until the gas prices went Sky high. Then I was parking the 4Runner from Monday - Friday and only using on the weekends the last few months. Giving more time to allow the oil in the intake to drip all the way down and soak what ever carbon there was in the combustion chamber. This might have allowed the carbon to loosen up and tumble down onto the cylinder walls. It’s my best guess to all this.

But just to really raise some eyebrows. I have decided to increase the oil weight to 5w-30 by Quaker state. I know this has been discussed on forum before but I decided to give it a try thanks to the 540rat. I will send a sample of this to blackstone as well for comparison. Changing the oil to 5w-30 has decreased the typical 1gr chatter/clatter that they all have. Looking forward to the next oil analysis.