robert1965

my 93 pickup has 197,000 miles on it, im thinking of trying 10w30 full synthetic oil this time, what are the pros and cons of synthetic oil can it hurt. thanks

Kiroshu

Well technically no it shouldn't hurt it but if i were you i would stick with conventional.... due to the fact your engine is used to it. Synthetic does provide a better lube and lasts longer than conv oil.... Synthetic may move some 197,000 miles lsudge around a clogg up your filter and strainer but you shold be fine.... its up to you.... it really prob won't make a driveablilty difference at all. I've had 22r's last 200-400k miles running on conv oil only. If you go with either synthetic or conv remember theres only 2 types of oil sythetic and conventional.... the brand name don't mean a dam thing and makes no difference its all the same... conventional: "Vavoline" "Super Tech" "quaker" "advance auto" "napa" "Castrol".... there ain't neither one of these better than the other. Its all Oil.

Tubbyfatty

Id run some High mileage blend for a while, then switch to full synthetic after 5k if you don thave any leaks.. If you just go straight synthetic and your seals are kinda goin bad, they might leak.

limon32

Where are you located geographically? If you don't experience real cold winters and you change your oil regularly i'd stay with conventional. I'd actually think about going to a 10W40 conventional with that many miles.

I should admint I run all synthetic in my vehicles in the winter but I need true 5W30 performance for -30 degree cold starts...

sb5walker

Only the group IV PAO (like Amsoil) and group V polyol ester (like Red Line) full synthetic oils might possibly cause leaks in a high-mile motor; the petroleum-derived group IIIs like Castrol Syntec, Pennzoil Platinum and Valvoline SynPower offer some of the performance advantages of the full syns at less cost and they won't cause leaks.

Weight-wise, depends where you live what the low number weight should be; if your winter temps go below 10 or 20 deg F you'd be better off with a 5w-something, so long as it was a synthetic oil. Above those temps 10w- would be fine.

For the higher number, the weight at operating temp, I think you'd be better off with a 40 weight in a 200k mile motor. So a syn 5W-40 or 10W-40 would probably be better choices. In the summer, a 10W-40 or 15W-40 would be good.

rangerruck

... that being said, I still like the idea of using a 50/50 for a while, to check on leakage, and then going to a full synth, when feeling comfy.

pruney81

To the OP-

If it's made it to 197K miles on conventional (dino) oil why do you feel the need to switch to synthetic now?

Just a thought.

jazz1

Old thread but I have a rebuilt 22RE with only 15K miles. I have considered synthetic due to the frigging cold temps locally (-30 this am) Wifes '08 camry spins over very easy as her 2.7 is running synthetic from day one.

84sr5yoty

You'll be fine with synthetic oil. At 15k miles the rings should be fully seated and leaks won't be an issue with all new gaskets.

Problems with synth oil in older engines is the potential cause of leaking seals and burning oil. Synth oil is also loaded with detergents which can cause problems in engines that have suffered lack of maintenance.

Using synth oil from first start after a rebuild can cause glazing of the cyl walls and the rings never fully seat. Always use conventional oil in a new/rebuilt engine for the first few oil changes.

skuff2

I know this is an old post, although i'm debating on what oil to use.

I just got a 1987 Toyota Pickup (Sunrader RV) with the 22RE engine. The odometer reads 25,000 miles, which I believe is correct. The pickup has been sitting for almost 10 years and i am in the process of cleaning out the fuel system (tank/ pump/ filter/ lines).

The last thing i'm going to do before attempting to start it is changing the oil.

Should it be fine to just put in synthetic oil or should i stay with conventional (which i'm assuming was used in the past)?

I also live in southern CA, so i'm guessing 10W30 should be a good choice?

old87yota

Since you don't truly know the health of the engine yet, I would just stick with conventional oil. Today's conventional is much better than when the truck was new. Chances are that many seals have hardened up and may leak.

10W-30 or 10W-40 should be just fine. Everyone has there opinions on oil viscosity though....

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

On the 22R series engines I like my 20/50 It works for me.

jazz1

I'm still running conventional oil in my 22RE. I only put about 4000 miles a year so if I switched to synthetic I would need 5W30 to run in -30C. I don't think 5W30 would be suitable in summer so oil changes would be costly. The truck is equipped with block heater and trickle charger for very easy starts but starts okay when not plugged in.

Paul22RE

I always hear this about leaking after switching, but what seals are the main culprits? Valve seals? Front or rear main seals? Valve cover gasket? Oil pan?

jazz1

I think thats "fake news" or "old wives tale" If engine going to leak, it will leak whether synthetic or dinosaur oil. I'm sure at operating temp and under pressure both have the same viscosity.

87-4runner

It's not a wives tale... sometimes the switch will create leaks that weren't previously there....
having said that, I switched to full synthetic with 240,000 miles.... after doing a blown head gasket and a new turbo... no leaks

jazz1

Not according to Pennzoil who have a list of common myths regarding synthetic oil but maybe they just blown' smoke up our butts.

https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/educa...NhbGU9ZW5fdXM=

RASALIBRE

87-4runner

An oil company blow smoke... nah... they're
not even concerned about something that might hurt the bottom line...

old87yota

Switching to synthetic can cause leaks, but don't confuse that with causing a bad seal or gasket, because it doesn't. Chances are that a gasket that leaked after switching to synthetic oil was already on it's way out, but just masked by ether crud buildup on the gasket or the gasket was not at the point of total failure, but close. Since synthetic oils go above and beyond what conventional oils do, they clear out the crud and slip past the small failure point in the seal that conventional oil cannot go through, and then you see the leak show up. Seals that are in good shape should not leak when switching. Any rubber seal that gets old, hard, and brittle can be suspect.