the next oil change on my 94 4Runner is due at 135k miles. i'm going to put Mobil1 FullSyn 10-30W in there. for an old engine like that, would you think it's necessory to drop the oil pan, clean up the sludge(i'm sure there will be some in there) before i put in the synthetic oil.

she's 4WD so in order to drop the oil pan, the front diff. has to be removed first. how difficult is that part of the job?

i'm not a fan of engine flush, i've had oil motor burnning oil after oil flush. so that's out.

i have couple small but super super strength magnets i took out from computer harddrives, do you think it's good idea to put one on the oil filter?


thanks.

t.c.

 

I think you're over thinking things.

Put in Mobil1. Use a genuine Toyota filter and a new drain gasket.

Put the magnets on your oil filter if you like, they won't do anything on an older engine. They might do something on a fresh rebuild.

Check your oil colour/condition every week or two, and change the oil filter when it starts to turn brown, regardless of your mileage. Top up the oil as required. Fix any leaks. Change your oil and filter again at your regular interval.

For older vehicles that usually see 3000 or 3500 mile intervals, I usually tell people to change it 3x every 10,000 miles, so it's easy to remember.

120k, 123k, 126-7k, 130k etc etc.

If you're in Canada, use the 5k interval for kms. 180k, 185k, 190k, 195k etc.

IMO if you're going to the trouble of dropping the pan, you might as well pull the engine and overhaul it too...

Mobil1 (or any other high detergent synthetic) will slowly flush/remove deposits inside the engine. Anything that's really baked on there won't hurt the engine anyways.

With long term use of synthetics, it's actually ok to simply do a filter change at the regular interval and change the oil every 2 or 3 intervals :o but that's not usually recommended for older engines. On newer engines with finer build tolerances, it's perfectly fine.

HTH, YMMV, etc etc.

 

you might want to do some research... iirc there have been people that have issues with leaking after converting to syth. oil..

 

x2 what tofer said.

 

I would say no. It's just an oil change. Put the SYN in there, see if you like it, if not, don't use it again. I ran it in one car and there was alot of valve noise, but my Runner sounds normal. It's just a matter of the oil leaks, I think if you dont have "ANY" problems now, I wouldn't worry about it. Of course my rig has 65K on it.

 

newer trucks didnt seem to have an issue. it was the older with higher mileage that did... that why i'm still running dino oil in mine.

 

I should have clarified that. Meaning "ANY". If you have any leaking issues, and because the higher miles, I probably wouldn't do it. But if you don't then go for it.

 

sorry, i didn't make situation very clear in the first post:

first, the truck has been kept very well mechanically, oil change every 3k miles, the P.O. has all the original records/receipts. i'm planning do so with the synthetic oil, too.

i know many older engines burn oil, more or less. but mine barely burns any. i check oil level every week since the last oil change in May, i do it in the morning when engine is cold. the dipstick shows 1/8" of oil loss for 3000 miles, and that was a week ago.

i live in southern california, can be very hot in the summer, not cold at all in the winter. i don't use her for wheeling, nor crawling, just getting where in need to go for hunting in the dessert. my daily commute is less than 3 miles round trip between home and office.

after reading your replies, i'll leave the oil pan alone. now the question is to go Syn or non-Syn.


thanks.

 

I would prob. just stay with non syn. oil, because of the mileage and it is not always better. Take a look here they have a lot of info. http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

 

if you change your oil every 3k miles anyway, i dont think its really even gonna matter. why pay more for something you dont need/ or may cause leaks? Run a synthetic for a little while and then switch back to dino if you're concerned about sludge buildup etc. The synthetic oil detergents that sometimes cause leaks in older engines will do similarly the same as what an oil flush would, only over a longer period of time. Use a good oil filter and change it when you need to. Tim.

 

I am also on the non-synth side. Pretty much all those reasons above I have heard at some point, but it's just stuff you hear.
But still; I heard regular oil is better then full-synth for older motors.

So another oil question then.
Is high milage oil better then regular oil? Because I started usung the Quaker high milage soon after I bought my truck and it seemed to burn way less oil and hold its color really good as the oil was changed right before I bought it.
Then one day in the boons I had to buy some penzoil and It totally seemed like that quart over a four or five week span it took to top it up every so often went faster and made my oil way darker. There both 10w30.

My other theory is that Penzoil just sucks and thats why it's so cheap.

 

Wow...that's like saying if you're going to clean the bathroom, you might as well remodel the house.


Running the synthetic is a great idea in really hot climates. But, you don't have to change it as often as regular petro oil. It can go much further if it's filtered well. That includes a good air filter.

 

penzoil does suck, thats why most of us use castrol or mobil 1 and i dont think many of us will own up to running a fram...

 

I have always run synthentic since i got my truck (92 v6)... I got it two years ago with 194k, its sitting at 225k right now.


I havent noticed any problems at all in regards to leaks....

on top of the synthetic, i do a wynn's oil system cleaner or whatever it is every 3 changes....


so, im putting all kinds of crazy detergents in my truck. no problems... just runs better.

 

LOL. Don't give my wife any ideas.

Pulling the pan to clean it... that's excessive, which was the point I was trying to make.

 

If you're doing religious 3k mile OCI's there really isn't much benefit to using synth except for peace of mind. If you're ok with the higher cost then go for it. All of the myths listed thus far in this thread are just that myths. If you start leaking from using it then you had the leak already it was just clogged with junk that the synth flushed out. If your engine is in the shape you say it is it won't just magically start leaking.

Search google for synthetic oil myths and you'll see all of this.

And dropping the pan is completely unnecessary.

 

Changing synthetic oil every 3000 miles is overkill in my mind. Like others have said if you are going to keep changing it every 3000 miles you can stick with regular oil. If you want to go a little longer (I never go over 5000 miles) go with synthetic.

Rob

 

I was worried that it would leak more, but that is not my experience at all.

I switched to Mobile 1 10W30 this December on my 1990 22RE with a mediocre rear seal and I have had NO increase in seepage, in fact even less than with dino 5W30 Castrol High Milage.

I am using the higher milage formula of Mobile 1 and I have had ZERO burn off and ZERO leakage.

 

i switched over to syn at 150k changed the filter at 155k then top it off no leaks so far

 

Read Bobistheoilguy.com for an education on oil and lubication in general.

The big advantage of synthetic is the extended change intervals. Most of us have better things to do than get under a vehicle every 3,000 miles. I change Mobil 1 every 6,000, and could probably go longer.

Don't drop your pan to clean sludge, there probably is'nt any.

As others have said, if it does not leak with dino, it wont't leak with synthetic. Syn and dino have the same viscosity at operating temperature, and additives are basically the same.

People seem to regard Mobil 1 and Penzoil synthetics very highly.