200k miles, Dino or synthetic

[TACORICAN]

I bought a LEXUS LX450 wi 206,000 miles on the odo. I don't have any maintenance records since the previous owner thought it would be of value for her to pull them out of the Car and keep them for memories.
That being said, I know if they used synthetic on all their oil changes. I don't have the owners manual either.
I believe the LX450 calls for synthetic. Do y'all recommend using synthetic or use Dino oil on it? Also what weigh? 5w-30 or higher?

Thanks in advance

 

[qwerty1234]

What year is it? Why would she pull the records for "memories"? I'd run Supertech Sythetic 5 30. It's very smooth and will serve you well.

 

[B320i]

It depends on the interval specified by Toyota - which, IIRC was about 5000-6000 miles compared to the 3K mile with the old Toyota diesels (1HZ).

I'm not sure how hard these engines are on motor oil - all I know is from a quick search you'll need 7.8qts and something in the 30* or 40 grade hot (from the iH8mud Toyota 80-series forum: The 80-series was the Toyota LandCruiser equivalent to this Lexus).

Suggestions were M1 0w/5w-40 or HM 10w40, German Castrol.

If there are no evidence of leaks or sludge, you might try a regular full synthetic before considering high mileage. Personally, I'd rather have a minor leak develop rather than the seal deteriorate and then fail suddenly and catastrophically...

I see you're in CA - so the 5w40 or HM oil would probably work best - but again, HM oils have seal conditioners that can help cover up leaks, and I don't really like the idea of those.

Given further evidence of OCI and UOA's from other oils, I might suggest mineral options, but the longer interval and Toyota's notorious sludge issues with the 1FS-FE on a similar interval lead me to suggest otherwise.

*Anything in the 30-weight NEEDS to be A3/B3, apparently - so no M1 0w/5w-30 (or equivalent) oils!

Link to the forum where I gathered info: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/oil-recommendations-and-discussion-thread-for-faq.79305/

 

[gallydif]

That sounds real fishyy- To keep them for memories.

 

[bigt61]

10W-30 dino or high mileage. I'd avoid synthetic because of the leak factor, but you can always try it - and if it does leak, just switch over to a HM oil next OCI.

 

[AirgunSavant]

I'd run Total Quartz Energy 9000 5w-40
Why?
Because I have it

 

[Spector]

You can find the manual online and also pull into a dealer and see if they can pull up any records of maintenance and recalls on the vehicle.

 

[tomcat27]

with my toyotas, you can pull up the dealer service records from their website - I would imagine Lexus is the same - if the PO used the dealer.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'd go for a 10W30 dino. Pennzoil 10W30.

 

[Y_K]

drivers.lexus.com should have records of any dealer performed maintenance, just enter your VIN

 

[OneEyeJack]

If you're talking the 2UZ-FE engine just run 5w-30 oil that's spec'd by Toyota. This engine is one of the best ever engines ever made. 200K means that it's now broken in and ready to go to work.

Mine is at about 150K and it's like new inside, does not burn enough oil to measure on the dipstick and the water lever in the overflow jar always returns at the full make when cold.

I use a synthetic 0w-30 but any XXw-30 oil will do fine. There's no need for a 40 weight oil.

 

[06VtecV6]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I'd go for a 10W30 dino. Pennzoil 10W30.


this. shhhh, he might reap the bennies of this exclusive formulation!!

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: gallydif
That sounds real fishyy- To keep them for memories.


Maybe the PO is afraid of identity theft or some sort of liability, eg a 92 point check saying get brakes but brakes not purchased.

I bought a private party used car that included the dealer bill of sale, application for credit life insurance including SSN, etc.

A 200k car stands on its own merit. Tell the buyer when the timing belt is due and let them go.

 

[BrocLuno]

Calif has no need of 5W for cold start unless he's in Truckee or Susanville...

Just load up on Valvoline 10W-30 or 40 Maxlife and drive on. Since you do not have the service records (I'll bet there were spotty at best...) you really don't know what condition things are in? Maxlife red bottle is cheap enough, it's a syn-blend and it seems to work really well

Put over-sized premium filter on it if you can find an interchange (?) like a WIX (Napa Gold same) or Baldwin and run it. Listen, look and watch. Maybe it'll be fine, maybe it will have a small issue. Only time will tell ...

 

[SirTanon]

It should be easy enough to check records on this.

I have an android phone, and I installed the "MyCarFax" app on it. Once I entered in my car's VIN, it pulled up all records on the car, including any recorded service, etc.. totally free.

(These are not my car, just a grabbed web image)

Why not try getting the MyCarFax app and see what it tells you? It also has the added benefit of telling you whenever there are any new open recalls issued on the car, tracks your oil changes, and other maintenance.

...These are not from my phone, just grabbed from the web.

 

[KennyJB]

Originally Posted By: SirTanon
It should be easy enough to check records on this.

I have an android phone, and I installed the "MyCarFax" app on it. Once I entered in my car's VIN, it pulled up all records on the car, including any recorded service, etc.. totally free.

(These are not my car, just a grabbed web image)

Why not try getting the MyCarFax app and see what it tells you? It also has the added benefit of telling you whenever there are any new open recalls issued on the car, tracks your oil changes, and other maintenance.

...These are not from my phone, just grabbed from the web.


When I tried looking up mine it wanted 30 bucks for the report

 

[barkingspider]

Any 5 0r 10 w30 will do good. Personally I would use whatever I can get on sale or clearance. My stash is made of syn blend 5&10 w30.

 

[NO2]

The Toyota V8's are a great and long lasting engine. Use a name brand synthetic and filter. HM oil may help if you have any small leaks or oil consumption.

 

[CELICA_XX]

These are not V8's... they are a 4.5L inline-6

M1 0w-40 is highly recommended on the iH8Mud forums. I've been using it for 10+ years with no issue.

If this vehicle was shipped to anywhere outside of the USA, it would recommend a much higher weight (20w-50) in most climates.

They are amazing trucks

 

[TACORICAN]

It's a 1996. It was an elder. She was most likely worried there may be something in that binder. I didn't want to give her a hard time so I left it as is.

Costco has Dino oil on sale. I'm debating on that. There are no signs of leaks at the moment. In fact there is a land cruiser guy in the area who looked at it and said the engine looks extremely clean.
I run synthetic on all my cars. This is the first one that I want to use synthetic but scared of what it may caused. It's also the first high mileage car I've ever bought.