What engine oil weight/Brand do you run

I question the whole practice of oil analysis for our little 6 quart engines. An analysis costs as much as a DIY oil plus filter change. Why stretch your oil change interval to 10K to squeeze as much life out of the oil chemistry, then do a post-mortem to see if it’s OK? If it’s not OK the damage is already done, or has started. Just change it every 5K and don’t worry.

Oil analysis is intended for huge motors or industrial machines that take many gallons of oil, run 24/7, and are sampled to determine *when* to change the oil, to get the most economy out of the expensive oil while preserving as much machine life as possible before a rebuild.
Not *after* an oil change.

This oil analysis fetish had been promoted to enthusiastic car owners as a profit builder. Maybe it makes sense to car builder hobbyists or racers, but for the average driver it’s totally unnecessary.

 

I'm not advocating an oil analysis at every oil change. But I do think it's valuable at mileage milestones just to see if things are wearing as expected (or not). More information gives you more options.

IMO, it doesn't matter how small the motor is. Lab tests can detect elevated levels of metals or contaminants at any size/volume.

But wouldn't an oil analysis catch the first sign of piston wearing the cylinder walls long before this guys motor went out? Car Care Nut said it wouldn't. I disagree.

Your point that it's already too late for that particular motor is valid, but there are things you could do in that situation to mitigate your losses.

If I was noticing oil consumption, I would absolutely get an oil analysis to see if there are elevated levels of metal. If there were, I know it's time to trade.

 

Isnt this for European vehicles?

 

I agree. Oil analysis is supposed to reveal excessive metal levels.

But the point the CCN was trying to make is that his (and other mechanics) opinion is that

$52 0W20 oil Toyota/ exxon mobil Case of 6 Quarts Full Synthetic TGMO SN 0W-20 Oil

0W20 oil doesn’t provide optional protection for 10K miles, and that’s why that engine was damaged. Perhaps an oil analysis at every oil change would have picked up elevated iron levels. But at the first indication of this what would the advice from Blackstone be? Probably that the engine was being driven in the severe category and the chemistry was being exhausted, so change the oil more frequently next time.

Who knows how hard that car was really driven. Or if it had some defect in the lubrication system. Or if the dealer actually used the proper oil, or forgot one or more filter changes. Or maybe that engine had excessive manufacturing debris in it where it would have benefited from a first 500 mile break-in oil and filter change. The Car Care Nut didn’t need oil analysis, his experience told him the damage was due to improper lubrication. And the prime suspect is the too long 10K oil change interval.

BTW: Quaker State Full Synthetic 5W-30, 5K-7K intervals. Toyota filters.

 

Mobil One 0-20 @5k

 

it works fine in the Japanese 1gr too. Rotella 15w40 will also work in temps above freezing. Im not crazy about the watery sewing machine 0w20 especially since these engines tend to dilute the oil with fuel a little making a 20weight become more like a 16

 

My interpretation of the CCN's statement was that the dealer was probably using the cheapest 0w-20 they could find and that particular oil was not holding up to 10k intervals.

 

Oil analysis doesn’t catch the small oil passages clogging and the rings slowly seizing. That’s actually the problem.

While an oil analysis can accurately tell you the engine is eating itself, it’s not particularly useful information because it can’t prevent what already happened. It’s really only useful for budgeting/planning purposes, in this case.

What does prevent the problem is the knowledge that experienced techs observe a tendency for oil passages to close up with extended intervals.

 

Wouldn't an oil analysis tell you your oil is breaking down prior to your oil change interval though?

Lets say this individual decided to do an oil analysis around 50,000 miles. The engine is still fine. Nothing mechanically wrong and no metal wear yet.

At the very minimum, and oil analysis would demonstrate that the oil is inadequately providing enough protection for the oil change interval he's running.

At that point, you can at least make an informed decision to use different oil and/or shorten your oil change interval.

What if your oil is breaking down prior to 5,000 miles? Are you positive it isn't?

 

M1 EP 5w30 @ 5K.

 

From the gist of what I recall in the video, the gumming is not occurring due to oil breakdown per se, but he says there is a sizeable amount of oil that never drains from the engine. The oil in these areas seems not to circulate as vigorously. So it would leave that oil as a portion of oil that needs refreshing with some frequency, (“refreshing” by dilution, much like transmission drain and refills) and every 10k seems to be insufficient. Perhaps the bulk of the well circulated oil probably wouldn’t be affected in a way that shows up on an oil analysis.

I remember toyota dealing with recalls for a similar problem (excessive oil varnish in the bowels of the engine) a long time ago (late 8o’s?). It’s was fixed and engines were redesigned, but in that time, the commonly accepted oil change intervals shifted from 3k to 5k, to 10k intervals.

 

A while ago I checked into the Toyota TIS repair manual for my model year for the oil capacities. The Dry Fill is 7.5 US Qts. A regular drain and fill with filter change is 6.6 US Qts. But that is approximate.
So after a drain, about 0.9 Qt is still clinging to the engine interior or in various pockets.

 

I use Pennzoil Platinum because my wife’s Subaru started lightly using oil a few years ago and I’d read on BITOG that Pennzoil had one of the highest NOACK ratings (very low volatilization rate). It definitely helped with the oil consumption, so I’ve been using it on all of my vehicles. OCI is 5k miles or 6 months, and I usually hit the 6 month mark before mileage. Stuck with 0W-20 because it’s a 3rd vehicle and can sit in the garage for one to several weeks at a time, and the thinner oil gets circulated faster at initial startup. Once it gets rotated into daily-use, I’ll probably switch to 5W-30.

 

Optimal ambient/outside temperature for 0W-20 oil is 68*F.



Note: The chart above doesn't show a SAE 0W-20 or 5W-20 grade, however, based on this chart, the temperature range of a 0W-20 multi-grade would be "-40°C to +30°C" and a 5W-20 would be "-35°C(-31*F) to +30°C"(86*F).

https://www.selectsynthetics.com/part-3--what-oil-grade-should-i-use-.html

Discussion re 0W-20 and 5W-20:
A. Cold Viscosity
An oil’s viscosity is the measurement of its resistance to flow. It also refers to the oil’s thickness at various temperature settings.

0W-20 motor oil acts as an SAE 0W weight oil at cold temperature settings. On the other hand, 5W-20 oil acts as an SAE 5W weight oil.

In SAE terminology, the lower the number before the ‘W’ is, the better the motor oil performs at cold temps. As 0W20 is a far thinner oil than 5W-20, it is more stable at cold temperature than the latter and flows smoothly through the critical engine parts.

5W-20 is a comparatively thicker viscosity oil and is better for a normal operating temperature range of -22°F to 68°F.

B. Hot Viscosity
Both oils act as an SAE 20 weight oil at warmer temperature settings. They provide decent fuel consumption, resulting in better fuel economy while lubricating all your critical engine parts.

In terms of their operating temperature range, both these grades operate well up to 68 °F. They are resistant to problems like oil burning and excessive oil consumption under high oil pressure and warmer temperature conditions.

https://www.repairsmith.com/blog/0w-20-vs-5w-20/

 

Castrol 0-20 synthetic every 5k or less. Blackstone oil analysis every year with TBN test to verify oil change interval. I idle a lot in the summer. YMMV

 

I would assume that if an oil analysis shows my oil is breaking down earlier than my change interval that my rings are in danger of gumming up.

 

This sounds like a strong argument in favor of using 0w20.

 

It's a very good oil. I just got an oil analysis back after using Pennzoil Platinum most of the vehicles life. I've also used Toyota oil a few times.

 

2018 SR5 Prem..... 60K miles. 0W-20 Mobil1 every 4-5K, WIX Filters. Did the TOYOTA aluminum housing swap, and replaced ALL associated fasteners with stainless (ACE Hdwr... $15 for all of them).

 

I just used 0w-20 Eneos last month and will prob stick with it.

 

Our light comes on around 5k on the 2021 4 runner.I keep hearing 10k so why does the light come on sooner? Does anyone's 4 funner light come on at 10k ?
That's when it gets changed 5 -6k, I have to admit I do the filter every other oil change because it's timely to get to.
Run 0w-20 Mobil 1 extended

 

Toyota branded 0-20 weight with Toyota filter. Changed every 3-5 k since I tow a boat frequently with it 60 miles round trip.

 

Mine comes on at 10k so I reset it every other tool change since I personally target 5k.

It could be configurable (not in my case) or maybe Toyota increased the recommendation/default setting after your model was made?

 

NAPA has a quality filter housing wrench, but it’s on the expensive side.

 

Always stuck with synthetic Toyota oil at 0-20 since i happen to be lucky and have a good dealer who i had do my oil changes (my time is worth more than doing my self nowadays). But now that i switched to a independent Toyota master mechanic i use Amsoil 0-20 synthetic. Only other brand i would use is Castrol 0w-20.

 

0W20, as specified. Brand is whatever 5qt jug is on rollback at Walmart.

 

Mobil 1 5/30 and Toyota filter every 8,000 kilometers. Same routine since 1998. My new TRD ORP was noisy when new (0/20) and warm. Oil and filter change with 5/30 at 1,000 kilometers. Nice and quiet now.

 

Valvoline Extended Performance 0w-20 and Toyota filter. I change it every 3-4K. Lots of highway miles and lots of idling because of the dogs, especially in the Summer.

 

I like the Pennzoil also and the OEM filter, used for 30+ oil changes on my 2008 before I picked up this 2024. Never had to deal with skid plate before, is a switch to stainless steel bolts worthwhile?

 

Valvoline EP 5w30 @ 3K-5K
Velvety smooth and quiet.