Oil Circulation Problems

[tatmiko]

I am a recent owner of a 2004 RX330 with front-wheel drive. I did my first oil and filter change and was shocked to find that the filter was nearly dry indicating no oil flow through the filter. Needless to say I am very worried that this may cause damage to the engine. I called the Lexus help line and they have never heard of this problem. I will be taking it back to the dealer for some diagnostic check. Has anyone experienced this problem with an RX330? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[carguy07]

99.9% sure you are fine. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330282

[tatmiko]

99.9% sure you are fine. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330282

Thanks for the quick reply, carguy7. So based on the discussions, it is not uncommon to not see any indication of oil in the filter? Hmmm. This is all new to me since with all my other cars, including my es300, I have always seen some oil when I remove the filter regardless of how long the car sat before I removed the filter. I have checked the RX330 oil at the dipstick since the oil change and the oil still looks clean. I will try removing th filter and see if I have the same dry filter.

[carguy07]

The filter would not give you any diagnostic help if the oil pressure was low, so I would not worry at all. See if the old filter weighs much more than a new dry one. Curious to see if the old one is holding oil, just not draining back and pouring out when you change it. I think most filters have a check valve to keep them loaded so you don't have to build pressure and refill them at every start up. Makes me more suspect of a filter issue than a car issue.

Stupid thought, but if the filter was not holding the normal 1/2 quart or so, would you be under filled if you check the oil when the engine is stone cold?

[tmastres]

Wow those guys were really going at it in that thread, it was difficult to tell what the truth actually was. I find it strange that there would be no oil in the filter. Perhaps not a great concern but definitely strange. I've done dozens of OC's on my RX with at least a half-dozen different filters and I've never had a dry filter when I unscrewed it. I use to get somewhat dry filters when I had a Dodge Dakota and the filter was installed so that the open end sloped towards the block and would drain naturally but not with the level design of the RX.

[tatmiko]

Wow those guys were really going at it in that thread, it was difficult to tell what the truth actually was. I find it strange that there would be no oil in the filter. Perhaps not a great concern but definitely strange. I've done dozens of OC's on my RX with at least a half-dozen different filters and I've never had a dry filter when I unscrewed it. I use to get somewhat dry filters when I had a Dodge Dakota and the filter was installed so that the open end sloped towards the block and would drain naturally but not with the level design of the RX.

Well everyone, I've made one last check before deciding to consult my dealer. I checked the weight of the filter installed against a new dry filter and did find a significant weight difference between them. I guess this is a decent indicator that although the installed filter did not have significant oil in it when removed, there was some residual soaked into the filter element and therefore oil must have passed through it. I'm going to go with the assumption that this means I am really okay and do not have a circulation problem. I thank you all for your inputs and wish me luck. You might have guessed I'm really trying to aviod taking my car back to the dealer. Have not had very much luck with them before with problems on my es300.