mike87

I went to autozone and was going to change my oil I NORMALY use 5w-30 the guy insisted the computers said the best thing for it would be 20w-50 so I put this stuff in there and it seems like its not running right. and he had me flush my engine withthis crap I cant remember what it was called. Maybe the oils too thick? My dad said to put 5w-30 in it tomorrow but would it hurt to leave the 20w-50 in there since i spent an arm and a leg for it..

hillbilly

What year 4Runner?? I used to run 20W-50 in my old '85 Honda XL650, but it was only air cooled and ran only during the summer months. Unless your living on the equator, I seriously doubt your engine calls for 20W-50. Should be either 10W-40, 10W-30, or 5W-30.

dwh91102

10w-40 in the summer
5w-30 in the winter

MTL_4runner

I use 10W30 in summer and 5W30 in winter but it should be fine to use 5W30 all year round.
The 20W50 is way too heavy for your engine, I would replace it with 5W30 again.
.....it may cost you $$$$, but you will be glad you did.

94x4

For you '90 'Runner the 20w50 should be o'kay for it as it would serve to provide additional lubrication for the wear that has to be evident on a vehicle of that year.

The problems that you've had with it running since the flush I would have to say is due to the flush and it's having freed up something that has been stuck for some time.

Why you went anywhere other than here for advice on your 'Runner and/or what oil to use in it, I've no idea, but I guess that now you'll know better from now on.

Try giving us a description of what all sort of issues you've been having since the flush and we'll see if we can manage to diagnose it for you to get your 'Runner back up to par again.

WATRD

Huh? How do you figure? That is pretty close to the worst advice I have read on here and that is saying something.

The 20W50 rating on the oil means that when it's cold, the thinnest it will ever get is 20 weight. When it's hot, it's 50 weight. If the manual calls for 5W30, the reason for it is likely that there are tolerances in the engine that are close enough that a heavier weight of oil will not provide adequate lubrication. That is, to be lubricated properly and to run right, the engine requires oil that is in the neighborhood of 30 weight when hot. Part of that rating comes from the fact that 30 weight flows easier and will give a higher MPG rating, but it is also required to get into the tight spots in that engine.

Dumping in significantly thicker oil is not a solution to wear or age, nor is it advisable. The engine is not going to run as well, his mileage will suffer and it will increase wear. But, your right, if it was dripping before, pouring "molasses" in there should slow that down. *sigh*

He should change out the oil as quickly as possible.

94x4

No offense, I understand all of that completely. The 20w50 works great for me as I'm on the road alot and am use to running a warm/hot engine the majority of the time at high RPM's.
I suggested similar to mike due to the year of his 'Runner which would tend to imply a "high mileage" engine and as such, would benefit from a thicker viscosity of oil to smooth certain things out, e.g., rod bearings, lifters, etc., and may prove to provide the type of protection that one would get from a "high mileage" rated oil for less expense.

rearviewmirror

Is it really a qestion of tolerances? Most if not all modern sportbikes run 20W/50, and I believe those engines have very tight tolerances.

I believe the engineers @ Toyota are smarter than anyone on this forum or the internet in general, so if they say 5W/30, there's probably a good reason for it. If there was an advantage to switching @ 100k miles, I am sure they would have written it somewhere.

SolidDigital

because you flushed the engine and the chance of some deposits being loosened up in there, if I were you I'd change it sooner than the normal interval.

I run 10w40 in mine year round.

MTL_4runner

No offense 94x4, but I seriously doubt that. Some people may get away with 20W50 on a VERY worn toyota engine, but it is definately not recommended and I doubt if it would run better than with say 10W30 or 10W40. The fact that these engines last and perform as long as they do means that they are holding mechanical tolerances for much longer than domestic engines and thus a lighter weight of oil (as spec'd by the OEM) should be used in almost all cases.

surf4runner

most enginners (not all!) don't live in the real world, they work on paper and design it, somebody else has the job to make it work. does smarter mean they take their car in for someone else to fix?
look at what a trick it is to do something like an oil filter change on some vehicles. why do they make it a PITA or a need for a special tool (i love tools ) to do something that has to be done ($$$?). and it probably has been written somewhere that it would be ok to use another viscosity oil, it is after all only their recommendation. i think temperature should be a major factor in choosing the right viscoisity.
btw the flush is probably the issue.

Nic

I have been told by someone (for what its worth) that the reason that 5W30 is recommended on most engines now has a lot to do with better gas mileage ratings, hence it being recommended as the weight to use. I don't know if a heavier weight oil such as 20W50 is actually bad or not. I personally would not have jumped from 5W30 to 20W50.

I run 20W50 in my 84 Camry all year long, and have for many years now with no problems. (I am in the south though) I recently changed the oil in my car and truck. I still use the recommended 5W30 in my truck, but I was amazed at just how "watery" the 5W30 appeared to be. I've thought about moving up to 10W30 later on.

bob200587

i run 20w-50 for summer, 10w-40 winter....I try to do 4 changes a year since i dont really drive that many miles and my oil pressure never seems to be quite right....20w-50 at my spring and summer change, and 10w-40 at fall and winter.

kyle_22r

what engine do you have? every 20R/22R/22R-E i've owned likes 10w40 the best. anything under a 10 weight is too thin and makes the tensioner rattle on my rigs. i even like 15w40 in the summer sometimes.

it mainly depends on the engine bearing tolerances, newer engines have tighter tolerances and therefor like a little lighter oil.

Ironmike4x4

The only thing I'm really concerned about is with it being a thicker oil is the sump being clogged up or slow oil delivery and it locking down the engine. Now if you ran wide open and lived in the sahara desert then you would be just fine. And Nic is right about the 5w-30 being used for fuel mileage, but the trade off is premature engine wear. If I lived up north where some of you guys live in blizzardy freezing cold temperatures then I would run 5w 30. Living here in the south and having relatively mild winters my dealership recommends 10w-30 year-round and this comes directly from GM. Legally I cant say too much more about it though but if you'd ask the closest dealership in your area then they would have more of an "insider" information on what grade to use. BTW W stands for winter not weight as popular belief.

DudeBud

just go buy a bunch of no smoke and fill her up you should see a boost in oil pressure and the motor should be quiter. im kidding if you haven't noticed

mike87

its a 22R-E with a little over 200,000 miles on it, it doesnt seem to run rough now but lacks a little power maybe im just getting used to the power loss so to me it seemed to of mostly went away? So I should I just switch back to 5w-30 or what?

94x4

In every four cylinder engined car I've ever owned, from Audi to Saab, I've always ran 20W50, even as I do now in my 6 cylinder 'Runner, despite what it came with already in it or the manufacturer suggested or contention to do otherwise.

I've done this because I've never bought "new", though if I do, I would still go to a heavier grade oil because it has been my observation that auto manufacturers are into the business to make money off of you even after the sell of one of their vehicles and so, anything that they can do to insure your continued expenditure to fatten their [*edit]coffures[*edit], such as using a lighter grade oil that provides less [*edit]lubricity[*edit] an so, increased wear irregardless of engineering tolerances, is all that much more beneficial for them..., not me.

An additional point worth mentioning is that I'm also aware that one of the major differences between European and American automobiles manufacturers is their usage of the metric system versus the S.A.E./Imperial units of measurement which allows for the fabrication of machinery at tighter tolerances.

My .o2 cents.

Mad Chemist

Mike,

Looks like you're in Washington like me. Based on how the weather has been cooling down, any loss in power is only going to get worse as the oil becomes more viscous. I'd change it back, and not because of some grand conspiracy theory that the same engineers who are hiding the water-powered engine are suggesting lower viscosity oils so that the engines burn out faster....

CynicX

5w/30 is recommend for the same reason newer hondas recommend 0w/30. Emissions and gas milage. During start up is when a vehicle produces the most harmful emissions. I lighter weight oil will help the engine warm faster as it also offers less internal resistence. Of course with less resistence = not as much protection, basically the oil doesnt "coat" as well. The less resistence in the oil means the engine doesnt have to work as hard resulting in better MPG.

I remember that information from a interview with a Honda engineer, I tried to find the article but it was so long ago I dont even know where to begin to look. If someone knows the article I'm talking about post a link. Basically it was an interview with a Honda engineer asking why the newer Honda motors use 0w-30 and wont it harm the engine. He went on to say the emissions and MPG stuff and how they've done tons of testing with the engine functioning exactly how it was designed too.

All that being said I still run 5w-30 in my truck just cause that is whats recommended. I'm sure Toyota has also do enough test to make sure the oil they recommend wont hurt anything. It sounds "ok" and it doesnt burn or leak any oil so I'm happy, plus I've been getting 19.5 mpg city highway mix in a truck that averaged 16 city 19 highway.

............

Mike. I would probably switch back if you werent having any problems with the 5w-30.