Hello, I have a 1mzfe Toyota engine in my 2000 Lexus es300. It has almost 160,000. This motor is known for sludge problems. The family member that drives this car goes on periodic short trips. The car is always started and instantly put into gear and driven. What would be a good oil viscosity for cold romping and what synthetic oil has a high amount of detergents to break up or keep the sludge at bay? Thanks.
5w30 or similar with high detergent for sludge
- Thread starter joegreen
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Rotella T5 in 10w30...
Originally Posted By: tig1
Mobil 1 5w30
+1. Would do 5,000 mile intervals if you think it's sludged until you're comfortable that it's cleaned.
Mobil 1 5w30
+1. Would do 5,000 mile intervals if you think it's sludged until you're comfortable that it's cleaned.
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im using Pennzoil conventional and it keeps my engines very clean, I was using it for many many years and keep my cars a long long time and i know what the insides look like.
Pennzoil Ultra and Pennzoil Platinum are good cleaning oils too.
Originally Posted By: tig1
Mobil 1 5w30
+1
Mobil 1 5w30
+1
Originally Posted By: Gasbuggy
Pretty easy to pull a valve cover off and take a look no?
one valve cover not to bad but the other is by the firewall. Sideways v6 with the intake manifold hanging over the cover makes it not worthwhile to remove. Also it's pretty cold in the winter and I don't have a heated garage. I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 with either fram ultra or Mobil 1 filters for years at 5000 mi or less interval.
Pretty easy to pull a valve cover off and take a look no?
one valve cover not to bad but the other is by the firewall. Sideways v6 with the intake manifold hanging over the cover makes it not worthwhile to remove. Also it's pretty cold in the winter and I don't have a heated garage. I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 with either fram ultra or Mobil 1 filters for years at 5000 mi or less interval.
Originally Posted By: joegreen
Originally Posted By: Gasbuggy
Pretty easy to pull a valve cover off and take a look no?
one valve cover not to bad but the other is by the firewall. Sideways v6 with the intake manifold hanging over the cover makes it not worthwhile to remove. Also it's pretty cold in the winter and I don't have a heated garage. I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 with either fram ultra or Mobil 1 filters for years at 5000 mi or less interval.
I had a 98 Sienna with the same engine. It had some mild sludge in the corners of the upper valve cover and varnish. I switched to Mobil 1 5w30 or Pennzoil Platinum. Never fully cleaned up the sludge, but the engine was in good condition. Make sure that PCV valve is regularly replaced and or cleaned. I only ever opened the front VC, never the rear.
Originally Posted By: Gasbuggy
Pretty easy to pull a valve cover off and take a look no?
one valve cover not to bad but the other is by the firewall. Sideways v6 with the intake manifold hanging over the cover makes it not worthwhile to remove. Also it's pretty cold in the winter and I don't have a heated garage. I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 with either fram ultra or Mobil 1 filters for years at 5000 mi or less interval.
I had a 98 Sienna with the same engine. It had some mild sludge in the corners of the upper valve cover and varnish. I switched to Mobil 1 5w30 or Pennzoil Platinum. Never fully cleaned up the sludge, but the engine was in good condition. Make sure that PCV valve is regularly replaced and or cleaned. I only ever opened the front VC, never the rear.
Originally Posted By: joegreen
one valve cover not to bad but the other is by the firewall. Sideways v6 with the intake manifold hanging over the cover makes it not worthwhile to remove. Also it's pretty cold in the winter and I don't have a heated garage. I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 with either fram ultra or Mobil 1 filters for years at 5000 mi or less interval.
The rear one is worthwhile to remove if its leaking, otherwise as you know the front one is very easy. However I will tell you that the rear bank runs much hotter than the front and if there is anywhere that will show a problem it will be that one. I've had both covers off my 1MZ-FE several times to replace leaking cover gaskets.
For fun and games here is a thread I started when I replaced the rear cover at 299,000 miles:
1MZ-FE Rear Valve Cover Change
one valve cover not to bad but the other is by the firewall. Sideways v6 with the intake manifold hanging over the cover makes it not worthwhile to remove. Also it's pretty cold in the winter and I don't have a heated garage. I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 with either fram ultra or Mobil 1 filters for years at 5000 mi or less interval.
The rear one is worthwhile to remove if its leaking, otherwise as you know the front one is very easy. However I will tell you that the rear bank runs much hotter than the front and if there is anywhere that will show a problem it will be that one. I've had both covers off my 1MZ-FE several times to replace leaking cover gaskets.
For fun and games here is a thread I started when I replaced the rear cover at 299,000 miles:
1MZ-FE Rear Valve Cover Change
I had same car same engine for about 8 months until someone rearended my wife. I did the due diligence and removed the front valve cover before i decided to keep it. Car was owned by a doctor and the lexus dealership came and picked it up every 3000 miles and did oil changes for her. Small amount of varnish but no sludge of any kind at 150000 miles. From the records it looked like they used Pennzoil Conventional 5w30 for most of the oil changes.
Also if u plan on keeping the car keep an eye on the Fuel pressure regulator on the end of the rail. After so many years they leak..and its not fun to be beside the road with fuel spraying everywhere.
Excellent engine- ive seen a few with over 350K miles. But i think 3K mile oil changes are the key to keeping the sludge down.
Also if u plan on keeping the car keep an eye on the Fuel pressure regulator on the end of the rail. After so many years they leak..and its not fun to be beside the road with fuel spraying everywhere.
Excellent engine- ive seen a few with over 350K miles. But i think 3K mile oil changes are the key to keeping the sludge down.
Out in California I have seen several with over 400,000 miles. Long commutes help as does warmer weather.
The one 1MZ-FE I saw with actual sludge was severely short-tripped (1-2 miles) in cold Wisconsin winters where the owner said he got the oil changed at a quick-change place "at least once or twice a year, I'm sure".
The one 1MZ-FE I saw with actual sludge was severely short-tripped (1-2 miles) in cold Wisconsin winters where the owner said he got the oil changed at a quick-change place "at least once or twice a year, I'm sure".
+1 for tig 1. Mobil 5w30 is a very good oil.
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