2AZ-FE. Does viscosity matter for oil consumption?

Pennzoil motor oil
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My high mileage Toyota engine drank Pennzoil synthetic like our government blows through tax dollars.

Also tried 2 full Kreen treatments with no effect.

I switched to MaxLife full synthetic and my consumption has basically stopped completely.
 
Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
My high mileage Toyota engine drank Pennzoil synthetic like our government blows through tax dollars.

Also tried 2 full Kreen treatments with no effect.

I switched to MaxLife full synthetic and my consumption has basically stopped completely.

Can you quantify the rates of oil consumption, with Pennzoil Synthetic vs MaxLife Synthetic? Would you please translate your written description of your experience into discrete numbers?
 
5K OCI with Valvoline full synthetic 5W30 with Maxlife technology... I have been using this for a year in two vehicles and it seems like the real deal. Great oil. Both vehicles have never run smoother or quieter and are not going through oil...
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Can you quantify the rates of oil consumption, with Pennzoil Synthetic vs MaxLife Synthetic? Would you please translate your written description of your experience into discrete numbers?


Sure... 2002 Toyota ECHO with 210k+ ... 90% highway travel at maybe 100 miles a day. I was consuming a quart every 900-1100 miles.

Purchased the car with 150k. For the next 60k I used my entire stash of Pennzoil Ultra 5w30 & 10w30. During that time, I also completed 2 full Kreen treatments. The car doesn't leak or drip anything. The engine looks clean and it doesn't smoke.

Switched to MaxLife full synthetic 5w30 ... I'm now at 3,400 miles and I haven't had to add anything. The oil level has dropped maybe 1/3 quart.
 
Just another MaxLife experience...

I also have a semi-retired older Lexus LS400 with 300k that I've owned for many years. It began to smoke a huge puff on startup after sitting for a few hours. I used regular Mobil 1 and M1 High Mileage for the past 15 years.

Switched to MaxLife full synthetic 5w30 and the smoke stopped completely.
 
Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Can you quantify the rates of oil consumption, with Pennzoil Synthetic vs MaxLife Synthetic? Would you please translate your written description of your experience into discrete numbers?


Sure... 2002 Toyota ECHO with 210k+ ... 90% highway travel at maybe 100 miles a day. I was consuming a quart every 900-1100 miles.

Purchased the car with 150k. For the next 60k I used my entire stash of Pennzoil Ultra 5w30 & 10w30. During that time, I also completed 2 full Kreen treatments. The car doesn't leak or drip anything. The engine looks clean and it doesn't smoke.

Switched to MaxLife full synthetic 5w30 ... I'm now at 3,400 miles and I haven't had to add anything. The oil level has dropped maybe 1/3 quart.
Thank you, this post is very relevant to my interests as I also have an Echo with over 200k miles, and have noticed a puff of smoke on some cold starts. Maybe MaxLife is my ticket!
 
Hey CELICA_XX,

Your oil-consumption issue (blue tailpipe smoke at starts or takeoffs from red lights, strongly viscosity-dependent) is being caused by worn valve-stem oil seals and it's different from the OP's issue caused by worn rings. Thicker oil will greatly help in your case. Seal swellers in high-mileage oils may also work. However, it will be a temporary fix. Soon, the seals will be worn again and the seal swellers will no longer help.

Here is my valve-stem oil seal repair that decreased the oil consumption from 2.5 qt/1,000 mi with 5w30 and 1.0 qt/1,000 mi with 15w40 to practically zero with any viscosity (currently 0W-20):

Wonders of valve-stem oil seal replacement

With the worn rings, changing viscosity probably doesn't make much difference. In fact I read somewhere that thicker oil could make the consumption worse. However, you can experiment with it.
 
Gokhan,

Your writeup on the valve seals were fantastic!

I was having two separate issues that (for the time being) were pretty much solved with MaxLife

1) A Toyota with oil consumption at high speeds and no smoke
2) An old Lexus with smoke during startup and no discernible consumption

Your valve seal solution would work for the Lexus, but unfortunately there's no way I'm tearing into a 32v V8 motor with 300k on it.
I don't drive it much anymore and the MaxLife was a great cost effective solution for me.
 
My info:

2003 Toyota Highlander 2.4L 2AZ-FE

At 198,XXX miles I ended up with the dreaded engine block - cylinder head thread issue. I pulled the head and repaired all but (2 not needed) with timeserts. Given the number of miles on the head I sent it out to be rebuilt. Once the head came back I re-assembled everything and the engine runs great and am now at roughly 235,XXX miles. I also replaced the water pump, radiator, T-stat and Cat convertor.

As for oil consumption...I change the oil every 5,000 miles and never have to add oil in between OCI's of that interval. I use either Valvoline conv. 5w30, Chevron conv 5-30. During the 5,000 mile run I monitor the level and when it's approaching 5K interval the level is ~ about 1/3qt above the low mark.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by udidwht
Now approaching 259,000 miles and still going strong.




What is?

His '03 Highlander.

since you for some reason can't see signatures, you can't see that. Although I have no idea what oil it has done this on.


For me, it has been almost 2 years since I posted here (and about 10,000 miles) but I am starting to see some consumption in the past 15,000 miles. I am using about 1/2 qt every 5000 miles now (@ 50,000 miles). Last 2 changes were with Quaker State Ultimate Durability Synthetic (prior fill was 0w-20, current is 5w-20), and before that was Auto Zone 0w-20.
I still plan on using 0w-20 oil for next four or five changes with what is in my stash.
Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0w20 will be the next fill.
 
Originally Posted by blupupher
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by udidwht
Now approaching 259,000 miles and still going strong.




What is?

His '03 Highlander.

since you for some reason can't see signatures, you can't see that. Although I have no idea what oil it has done this on.


For me, it has been almost 2 years since I posted here (and about 10,000 miles) but I am starting to see some consumption in the past 15,000 miles. I am using about 1/2 qt every 5000 miles now (@ 50,000 miles). Last 2 changes were with Quaker State Ultimate Durability Synthetic (prior fill was 0w-20, current is 5w-20), and before that was Auto Zone 0w-20.
I still plan on using 0w-20 oil for next four or five changes with what is in my stash.
Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0w20 will be the next fill.




I haven't figured out why I don't see them. It's not that big a deal anyway.
 
I'm still trying to find a solution for my '07 Scion TC that has the same engine but with the oil squirters. Mine only has roughly 103K and currently running 0W-20 Valvoline w/ML full synthetic. I'm not sure if I want to go back to a 5W-20 year round (central TX environment) or switch it to 5w30? I've been monitoring and I usually burn about 0.5 quarts at 1,200 miles which isn't too bad on this oil but usually within 5,000 miles I end up topping off with an additional 1.5 - 2.0 quarts on average.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by crazy_raccoon
I'm not sure if I want to go back to a 5W-20 year round (central TX environment) or switch it to 5w30? I've been monitoring and I usually burn about 0.5 quarts at 1,200 miles which isn't too bad on this oil but usually within 5,000 miles I end up topping off with an additional 1.5 - 2.0 quarts on average.


I'd go with 5w30 and see how the oil consumption goes. No worries using 5w30 all year long in Texas. If there are lots of miles on the vehicle you might try a High Mileage oil.
 
I've used 5w20, 0w30, and 5w30 in my '07 Rav4 and can't tell the difference. At 115k miles now it burns about 1 qt per 10k, that doesn't worry me. However with this engine I always have the consumption issue in the back of my mind and keep my fingers crossed it doesn't becoming an oil guzzler. That makes me often wonder about the very questions in this thread, is an Xw-20 the better route to keep the consumption issue in check (by flowing through the oil return holes easier), or would a thicker Xw30 and/or High Mileage oil be better. Also I have a bunch of $2 Mobil 1 10w30High Mileage that I'm thinking about trying next OCI just as an experiment, I doubt I'll notice a difference but you never know. I generally don't like to fix it if it ain't broke, but on the other hand I'm all for preventative measures. So I have about 2k miles to decide.
 
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
I used Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30 on my 2002 2AZ-FE but it was to help with leaks and bad valve seals not your problem. High Mileage oil really makes no difference for your problem. High Mileage oils are most effective for seals and rubber issues. If you're a 2007-2009 2AZ-FE with 60k+ miles, burning gobs of oil, its too late for thin high flashpoint synthetic oils. Its pull the pistons, drill out the holes, replace the pistons, sell the vehicle, or go with a thicker oil. Preferably conventional. You seem to like pennzoil products, use the yellow bottle in a 5w30, 10w30, 10w40 I bet its a whole lot better. No thin syn for that engine, causes more problems than it solves.


Ever since I replace the pcv valve on my 09' Camry, my consumption is 0. After this run of DELO XLE 10w30, I'm going to try Quaker State Conventional or Chevron supreme or GTX 5w30 or 10w30

Tell me more about the Delo xle? I have 20 qts of 10-30 I was saving for my power stroke but have a Nissan consumption issue. I'm trying Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w30 and it's made it worse than 5-30.
 
D1dad: I used that stash of DELO 10W30 XLE up already in family's fleet of vehicles. Hard to find it near me now anyways. I'm probably going to stick with ST blend HM 5w30
 
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