REDYOTA

I currently use 10w-30 but have recently been recomended to use 20w-50 by a mechanic due to my high miles. Thoughts or suggestions???

SLC Punk

Its pretty thick stuff. I used it on one oil change for my Celica when it was burning oil. I wouldn't recommend it for winter months, summer you will probably be ok. I would stay with 10w30 though

CLin9383

i am running 10w-30 now...but i bought some 5w-30 because walmart had that 5 quarts jug for 18 bucks!!! 5w-30 should be ok right?

WATRD

Thicker oil is not really a good thing for attempting to forestall the effects of age on an engine, sure, many of us have done it, but when you really think about it, it doesn't make much sense.

For the tolerances in a Toyota engine, oil of a particular viscosity is required to keep it lubricated. If the oil is thicker, it tends to not get into the tight spots as well, so, while you might not be using as much oil, you are shortening the life of the engine. It's one trade off for another.

Why is the mechanic recommending this solution? Are you actually using oil? Or is he saying this simply on the basis of the mileage? If it's the latter, I would thing about getting a new mechanic as he doesn't know much about engines.

I used to run 10W40 in my S-10 Blazer, which is what the manual recommended. Then as it used oil, I changed to 20W50. Eventually the engine seized and when we tore it down, we found that it was not just worn, but some areas of the engine had not been getting lubrication, likely because the 20W50 was too thick to get there

SLC Punk

I agree with Rob, I only ran the 20w50 in my engine for 1,000 miles. Just because I didn't feel that the thick oil was lubercating everything.

amorphous

with my high mileage VW that I had in a previous life, I was told to run 5w/30 because it was THINNER, and would get to all parts of the engine quicker on startup.

CLin9383 - you'll be fine with 5w/30 especially in cooler weather
-btw, what location Wally-mart was that? West County? They only seem to have 10w/30 up by me (if your speaking of Mobil 1, as I suspect)

~aaron

REDYOTA

Why is the mechanic recommending this solution? Are you actually using oil? Or is he saying this simply on the basis of the mileage? If it's the latter, I would thing about getting a new mechanic as he doesn't know much about engines.


he recomended that I use 20-50 because I am losing oil. not alot about half a quart to a quart per three thousand miles. Is this normal oil loss for a 95 with 170k.

he also recomended that I use it due to my oil pressure or lack there of. When riding the pressure is fine but while idling the pressure needle is around or usually below the first line.

WATRD

No, that doesn't sound normal, it sounds like a lot of oil to be losing. Do you know where it's going? Are plugs getting fouled out? Smoke out the exhaust? Puddles underneath? If I were in that situation, I would keep using the recomended oil weight and just check it with every fuel stop. At least you know it will keep running.

No matter how you slice it, it sounds like you should be saving up for an engine rebuild. It's going to be up to you whether going with the thicker oil is a good idea, it might buy you some time, but then again it might hasten the demise of your motor. You need to figure out what is causing the loss, then sit down and weigh the pro's and con's of the various solutions, from increasing the weight of the oil to just biting the bullet and fixing the real problem.

No one is going to be able to tell you what will happen with your engine if you go with 20W50, it might be nothing and you will get thousands more miles that way or it might die of oil starvation on the way home from the shop

I wish I had better news with a more certain outcome to share with you

CLin9383

amorph, mobile 1 is correct...i got it way out in the valley at boones crossing..i was only there cause my work is out that way and i stopped by to get some stuff and i saw it...i am sure there are other ones that have it...i will keep an eye out if i run into another walmart with it..the nearnest walmart to me is in st.ann by northwest plaza and i dont really head out there as much...i will stop by the manchester location soon and let you know...

REDYOTA

I can not figure out my oil situation between most 3000 miles it loses no oil but every once in a while bout one out of five or six I will come up about a half quart short and it has done this winter and summer and I maintain the same driving habbits. I'm thinking that it is possibly one of my seals. There is a lil oil on my frame but nothing serious and no puddles on ground and definatly no smoke even with the gutted cat. I changed my plugs this weekend and they looked like they could go for another 10 grand or so. If it were a seal wouldnt it be leaking all the time? And yes I have checked the obvious such as the drain plug amount of oil after change oil filter area.

mtnbkr

Huh? My last toyota used that much for nearly 100k miles. Then it increased to 1qt per 2000 miles (not overnight though), but the engine was at 180k miles and I gladly fed it that oil until I sold it at 196k miles. Plugs were never fouled and I never saw any smoke or puddles. It continued to get 30mpg in town and 40mpg on the highway. The last emission test was good.

Chris

Sac State

Are you checking the oil parked in the same location, letting the engine sit for the same amount of time before checking? A half quart is not much oil to precisely determine on a dipstick, especially checking just after driving and or on an incline, etc.