Just had too jump in on this one. My last job was building powerunits for the oil production industry. The engines were 4.3L V-6's, 5.7L V-8's and inline turbocharged 4cyl diesels. Power units run 24-7. Every time the oil is changed (600hrs) the oil is sent for analysis. Over two years of testing proved one thing, Unocal 76 has the best "base stock" out of all oils on the market. The base stock is what all the petroleum products are based on whether hydraulic fluid, engine oil, gear oil, tranny fluid, etc. It does cost a couple dollars more but if you're planning on keeping your rig for a long long time, it's something to consider. Me personally, it's more important that you perform regular oil changes.

 

Castrol 20 50

 

I just go to jiffy lube or quick and gweazy or whatever is around. I know I'll probably get yelled at by you guys but say what you want: my engine is running perfectly after 260k miles on a 97. That's a lot of driving. IMO the key is not the kind of oil (as long as it is something like 10w30) but the frequency. You can go a little longer than 3k for an oil change because at least the 3.4L takes about 5.5-6 quarts, but NEVER OVER 4k miles for me. It might get expensive, but just drive in, give them 20 bucks, it's fast, convenient, and i have never had ONE engine problem. No kidding.

EDIT: forgot to mention what these places usually put in it: I usually go places that either use Valvoline (what Toyota recommends) or Penzoil. Don't use High Mileage crap. It's so expensive and there is simply no use for it. It's no different.

 

I had a friend that did that untill one time he had his wife take his truck in and get it done. She got 5 mi. from the shop and the oil light came on and she didn't stop, so it was time for lots of new parts. the oil plug came out....

 

ours is a bolt, hopefully even they can't screw that up.

 

bump for skyrat.

 

i use lubricant engineers 10w 40 i love it my truck runs better than ever, and i have used mobil 1 and others, im set on lubricant engineers

 

i have a friend that used to work at Thomason Toyota, and they used pennzoil oil and toyota filters

 

I never even used Pennzoil in a lawnmower;I was raised on Valvoline and Castrol since my dad stuck with certain brands and now I've been using Mobile 1 and Redline synthetics (with the occasional Castrol product) for over 11 years.

I ran that combo in my Eclipse for over 8 seasons (382 timeslips) of drag racing and the engine (head/block) remained bone stock and was laying down roughly 320 crankhorse (vs 195 stock) when I sold it and it's still a solid drag racer with my friend behind the wheel.

 

I also use whatever the dealership puts in. Not sure what brand it is.
An oil change is one of the few things you can have done at the dealership
for a good price. The one near my house is $19.95 (everyday price) for
the oil + filter change.

Plus they have a really nice lounge. It has a grill, little mini store, a couple of
really hot "helpers", free Massages (I'm not kidding), nice comfortable couchs
to lounge in and watch TV. And if I get boared I can go and look at all the new
trucks.

Why so cheep? My theory is so they can get you in and try and sell you the
more expensive stuff you may need to have done. Actually, that's another plus...
free inspections (how else are they going to know if something needs to be done).

 

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought I might just jump in here and throw out a little more info on this topic of motor oil. Synthetic oil benefits are found at startup in very cold temperatures, driving in very hot temperature environments, (as synthetics do have a much better resistance to oxidation and thermal degradation) and in extended drain intervals (longer oil life). The better synthetics also have a much higher film strength. The better synthetics cost a little more because they have a higher quality additive package, which normally means our engines will remain cleaner, we'll have longer oil life, a very slight mileage improvement, and less engine wear. You can take that as a benefit statement of synthetics but we all know some engines are a little tougher on oil that other engines and those of you living in either the "Artic or desert" climates are also tougher on your oil. Others can be described as "hard" drivers and they place higher demands on their oil, so we all can benefit some from the characteristics of a "better" full synthetic motor oil. There's absolutely nothing wrong with using a high quality dino oil like Castrol, Chevron, Pennzoil, etc., when you choose the right viscosity for your climate and use the manufacture's drain interval recommendation.

One will find that running a 10-30 synthetic is probably best overall, as it's very nearly the same as a 0-30 or 5-30 synthetic and it will retain its viscosity longer than the 0-30 or 5-30 due to less viscosity index improver polymers as they seem to shear a little easier, which will result in a viscosity drop. (For the new vehicles calling for 5-20 oil, don't believe this for one minute - there's no American engine currently produced for the public that has the close tolerances for a 5-20. If you plan on keeping your vehicle for several years and don't want engine problems, you better use a 5-30 motor oil. The 5-20 just gets the manufactures by a Federal pollution requirement)

Now to answer Maverick14213's question. The oils that have the legal right to call themselves "full synthetic," can be made from Group III base oils - a Group III has different characteristics from oils made from Group II or II+ base oil (Dino oil) as a Group III is a highly refined "petroleum product". The process is carried to the next level making it a little more costly but it also is a superior product. Someone from another forum posted these excellent sites, which further explains the difference:

http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/bas...gf4%5Ffaq.shtml

http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/Bas...3_perform.shtml

A true synthetic is a Group IV polyalphaolefin base oil with a small amount of Group V ester, not a Group III. Amsoil, Redline and Mobil 1 are true synthetics. Castrol Syntec is a Group III, but has the legal right to be called a full synthetic. It's good oil, better than a blend, but not in the same league as Amsoil, Mobil 1 and Redline.

A typical blend on the other hand contains a very small amount of synthetic, which will be a Group III or Group IV base oil, blended with Group I or Group II petroleum base oils. They really don't have enough synthetic to be worth their price. (Probably less than 10% synthetic base) So as Paul Harvey says, "Now you know the rest of the story".

 

For the engine warranty period I use the dealer and have it changed every 3-4K miles. After the warranty is up I use Mobil 1 and OEM filter and do the OCI every 5K miles. I've done this with other engines and never had a lube problem. Longest I've ever owned a vehicle was a Toyota Landcruiser FZJ80 with 136K miles, ran like new when I traded it.

PS good post Joe. I think you hit the nail on the head.

 

Wesson pure canola

 

Haha! I sued a little rinky dink place for a dumb mistake like that. They forgot to put oil in it and the motor was toast. I wasn't driving it at the time, the ex was, but I got a new motor out of the deal.

 

What dealer is that, my brother lives in Georgia and is looking to get a 4Runner

 

I thought certain Ford & Honda vehicles used 5-20

 

There is a lounge, grille, massages, bigscreen TV, hotties like that at Toyota Mall Of GA. Very nice place.

 

That's correct. I received this information from an oil engineer, (the type with a whole bunch of letters behind his name) he advised that next year the Federal Gov't. is requiring higher emissions standards and the Japanese found in their testing last year, in an effort to meet these new standards, that running 5-20 oil will allow their engines to meet the new specs without retooling. So we still have the same engine tolerances as before, which run on 30 wt viscosity very well, and now the manufactures want us to run a 20 wt viscosity in that same engine at the same or higher rpms - you know what that will result in - faster engine wear. He said to run 0/30, 5/30 or 10/30 synthetic in the new engines calling for the 5/20 oil if we want to get the maximum life from our engine. There will come a time in the future when the auto manufactures will retool and manufacture a better engine with tighter tolerances that will mandate a 5/20 oil, but we haven't seen it yet.

 

I just read that Amsoil is not API certified and doesn't have that "star", this would mean it would void your warranty, no?

Comments

 

It means that if the manufacture determined that you had a oil related failure and they asked you for your maintenance documentation you could be denied warranty coverage because you used an oil that did not meet the manufactures requirement. You could do used oil analysis every 5K miles to document that the oil was doing a good job and was not a problem. Then you would have Amsoil and fact based information to fight for your warranty coverage. But that all sounds like a hassel when you can get great service from Mobil 1 10w30 that meets all of the warranty requirements.