manuk

My truck uses a bit of oil. I drive about 220-250 miles between fill-ups and I usually have to put in about half a quart to top it off. Some times more, other times less. But usually a little more than half a quart. I run 10w-40 in it now but I'm thinking about switching to some thicker stuff. SO I have 2 questions;

1. Is half a quart every 220-250 miles a lot for my 22r to use up? (180K miles on it)

2. What viscosity do you guys run?

redhawk427

i dont have a 22r but....if your burning oil, thats not a good thing. you shouldnt have to be filling up oil frequently. i had an old pickup that had that problem and i ended up rebuilding the engine. is your exhaust blowing blue smoke?

nothingbetter

20-50 is really heavy oil! Why do you want to use that oil instead of what you currently run?

Is it burning oil past the rings or the valve stem seals? If its the valve stem seals, may as well just fix it. Its not expensive for parts, just takes time.

manuk

Don't know if it's the valve stem seals but there is no blue smoke coming out of the back. From what I've heard these older Toyotas have a rep of burning a little bit of oil. The engine runs fine, has plenty of power, gets great gas milage and even passes smog with flying colors. I was thinking if I switch to something heavier it'll slow down the oil consumption.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I have been running 20/50 for almost as long as I own all my 22r series engines.

old engines fresh rebuilt ones it is just easier for me to have only two different grade oils.

The only slight issue I have is those cool days below 20 degrees F when it sits outside all day in a 20 mph breeze . It just cranks slower than normal.

I have had good luck using Lucas oil additive with engines using a slight amount of oil. Going down to less then a quart between oil changes.

I have also found the best time to check the oil is in the morning after it sat all night. If on a road trip I always check after a stop for eating.

bob200587

Do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resto-noob

iTrader: (3)

How about a 15w-40 diesel oil. They're all good oils, and if you shop around, $10 a gallon isn't out of the question.

iselloil

10w-40 amsoil

dakotawho

iTrader: (1)

My step dad ran 20-50 in his 85 that he bought brand new. They always told him it was clean as a whistle when he went to have maintenance done.

manuk

Dakota,
My engine runs pretty dirty. After about 500 miles the oil is pretty much pitch black. I've flushed my engine out a couple times but still no improvement. What I really care about is if I switch to the heavier oil to reduce oil consumption, are there any negatives about using 20w-50 over 10w-40? I live in southern California so weather isn't really a concern.

dakotawho

iTrader: (1)

I'm not really sure, I was just saying I know its been done.

83

Well, yeah. Only because the engines last long enough to start burning oil. A more correct way to put it would be: these older Toyotas have a reputation of lasting forever, so of course after so many miles they're going to start burning a little oil.



But...I could go either way on this one. I think a lot of the time, using a different weight oil to slow burning is probably ok. But really, if there's something wrong with the engine, fix it. But I understand that can be cost-prohibitive. Just don't use an oil that the engine wasn't mean to run with, and cause more problems than you had to begin with.

A half quart about every other gas fill-up is a lot, but I've seen worse. Not much worse, though

Clearly you're on your way to a rebuild. There's a chance you could just need new rings, but with almost 200,000 miles, you'll be wishing you had done a complete rebuild.

How much are you leaking? If you're burning a half quart every 250 miles or so, you're burning a LOT of oil to not see it coming out the exhaust. I wonder if it's half burning, half leaking.

My 86, at 200,000 miles, turned the oil black very quickly, too. One or two tanks of gas.

CAdot

iTrader: (2)

. . . . .

donomite49

i used lucas and engine restore in my 22re to seal the rings after about 220k miles.
they both helped imo. stopped the smoking at startup.
used about 1 qt every 3k miles when i took it out for the swap at 264k miles.
it still ran great but had low oil pressure.

ConSeann3ry

running 20w50 with some Lucas oil stabilizer in my high mileage Tacoma, felt like it gave it a little more power and definitely slowed the oil consumption.

nothingbetter

my only issue with a 20-50 is how thick it would be on the first start up of the day. It would just take a few seconds longer to get oil pressure on cold start up. Which would eventually kill your bearings and score your cam surfaces something fierce. If you could find a 10-50 or a 5-50 you'd be set.

toastyjosh

iTrader: (1)

X3 on the lucas stuff, I have used this in a lot of different riggs. Next oil change use a full qt, then add your normal oil. Works great!

Also 15w40 rotella or delco is a great oil, diesel oils have more zinc and other additives which are good for our older trucks. Plus there cheeper

ConSeann3ry

My thought was that the lucas would help it stay there initially. But you're probably right.

I initially just put in the lucas and that helped a lot. Then I did lucas with the 20-50 and that pretty much stopped the consumption. It does seem a little more sluggish while it's cold though. Probably drop down to 10-40 and just use the lucas on my next change.

Valerik

I run 20-50 Vr1 oil (no cat converter). My engine loves it in the summer.

That is excessive oil consumption, could be gaskets, valve guide seals, or bad rings.

I go through about 1 quart per month, and mine is valve related till I get the head rebuilt. I never have blue smoke, and I know I don't leak externally. Sometimes it is a small enough amount you cant really notice it visually from exhaust.

Your oil mostly depends on climate and how you drive. You have a fairly broad range of choice. Just don't run anything thick like 20-50 when it gets cold, or you will be running that engine dry for the first few minutes you start it up.

Teuf

(5-40 rotella t6). 289000miles. I would stay with the same oil. Even go lighter on the fist number.... And try and fix your oil consumption problem.