Have You Used One Oil for the Life of a Vehicle?

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I've had only Mobil 1, in some form, in my 2007 Tacoma V6, since I bought the truck new in June 2007 and drained the factory fill at around 3000 miles. I've done each oil change myself, ignoring those who warned against using a synthetic while the truck was breaking in. Started with standard Mobil 1, then used the Truck & SUV formulation (no longer available) a few times. Mostly 5W-30 that the book calls for, but I have used 10W-30 a few times.

M1 seems to have worked well. Initially I was doing around 7000-8000 mile OCIs, then, for at least the last 6-7 years, I've used the Extended Performance formula, with 10-12K OCIs.

I've used a few different filters - Purolator Pure One, Fram Tough Guard, Fram Ultra, and Bosch Distance+. Currently I'm using a Fram Ultra.

The truck uses no oil between changes, and the Check Engine Light has never illuminated.

I do have some seepage around the valve cover gaskets (which has been there for years - probably since around 2010 or 2011; around 60,000 miles).

For about the last 5 years, regime of use has been quite a bit of highway driving. Commute is 18 miles, one way, mostly expressway, in which speeds range from about 65-90 mph, 4-5 days a week. The other 2-3 days, I take a lot of trips to the other side of town to the park, and that's about 25 miles one way, mostly also highway, same speeds. Lotta highway miles on the truck. There are also some short trips, and, since August of last year, I do probably 60-90 min. of idling, per week. So, that's not a factor in the last UOA.

So, I've had a few UOAs done, which have been pretty good...except for the last one, in which Al and Cr increased slightly, and Fe tripled from the last UOA:

Code:
Oil M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30

Miles in Use 12,236 10,994 10,158 7507

Miles 189,230 176,994 114,645 104,487

Sample Taken 26 Jan 2017 7 Jan 2016 28 June 2013 21 December 2012



Aluminum 9 4 6 4

Chromium 2 0 1 1

Iron 61 18 24 21

Copper 5 1 2 2

Lead 0 0 2 3

Tin 0 0 3 2

Moly 76 68 77 78

Nickel 0 2 0 0

Manganese 2 1 2 1

Silver 0 0 0 0

Titanium 0 0 0 0

Potassium 2 0 2 3

Boron 28 25 33 28

Silicon 23 16 16 16

Sodium 10 5 12 10

Calcium 1003 1022 1085 1048

Magnesium 744 891 782 714

Phosphorus 683 660 695 685

Zinc 803 721 803 835

Barium 0 0 0 0



SUS Visc @ 210*F 60.3 62.1 55.4 56.3

cST Visc @ 100*C 10.31 10.80 8.9 9.16

Flashpoint (*F) 400 390 405 390

Fuel (%)
Antifreeze (%) 0 0 0 0

Water (%) 0 0 0 0

Insolubles (%) 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.3

TBN 1.9 1.3 2.5


So, I think this oil has been pretty good for this truck. To my ears, the engine is quiet, sounds great, and runs like new. In fact, I suspect there's very little real wear. But, being a curious BITOGer, I have to wonder if there's something else that would work better.

After the last UOA, I cut my OCI back to 9400 miles, but didn't get a UOA. Kinda wish I had. Probably will on this one, but I'm only at around 3K on this OCI so far.

All the talk of timing chain wear here lately also has me thinking... I use PPPP 10W-30 in my WRX, and it's held up pretty well in the [censored] that is the interior of that engine. So, I've thought about trying it in the Taco as well.

What do you guys think? Experiment, or stick with what has worked?

Also, ideas on cause of increased Fe, Cr & Al? I will say, the truck got driven less frequently, during that OCI, because I bought the WRX in March 2016, and drove it more. So, the truck had some periods where it sat a little bit.
 
Most farmers I know buy 15W-40 by the 55 gallon drum and put it in every single 4-stroke engine on the place.
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer

What do you guys think? Experiment, or stick with what has worked?


IMHO (YMMV) ..... with almost 200,000 miles,
I'd run a 5W-40 or 15W-40 HDEO from this point forward.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: john_pifer

What do you guys think? Experiment, or stick with what has worked?


IMHO (YMMV) ..... with almost 200,000 miles,
I'd run a 5W-40 or 15W-40 HDEO from this point forward.


It's at 201K now. Last oil change was at 198K.

I'd be resistant to going to a 40W. If I went up in viscosity I might try a 10W-30. At most, M1 0W-40, which, I understand, is pretty thin for a 40.

But, these days, I do like the idea of low NOACK % and fewer VM. So, a 10W-30 is attractive. Again, also, I'm now idling for 60-90 min. per week, and I drive pretty fast on my commute. So, maybe a 10W-30 with a bit higher HTHS than the current M1 EP 5W-30.
 
Silicon also increased slightly, may be part of the reason for the iron increase, the iron is a concern(increased significantly on a PPM per 1000 miles) but at your total mileage not much (other than air filter check) you can do about the increase, shortening the OCI cuts the numbers but may not solve the issue if there is a problem creeping in at this mileage. Obviously just drive the truck until it dies, which is probably a long way off.
 
Originally Posted By: Spector
Silicon also increased slightly, may be part of the reason for the iron increase, the iron is a concern(increased significantly on a PPM per 1000 miles) but at your total mileage not much (other than air filter check) you can do about the increase, shortening the OCI cuts the numbers but may not solve the issue if there is a problem creeping in at this mileage. Obviously just drive the truck until it dies, which is probably a long way off.



Oh yeah. I love this truck. No plans to get rid of it.
 
Well, since I only have around 3K in this OCI, I have some time to think about it. I’ll probably run this fill for 8000 mi, give or take, then get another UOA. Maybe switch to something else for my next fill.
 
Non I haven't. Only have run the same weight 5w-30 in the civic.

I have used Mobil 1 for a good portion of the civic's 20 years. Now I'm running PP.
 
Since the truck uses no oil, I see no reason to use a thicker viscosity oil. There is no reason to. Stick with the 5w-30 and keep doing what your doing. You have found your sweet spot on oils.
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: john_pifer

What do you guys think? Experiment, or stick with what has worked?


IMHO (YMMV) ..... with almost 200,000 miles,
I'd run a 5W-40 or 15W-40 HDEO from this point forward.


It's at 201K now. Last oil change was at 198K.

I'd be resistant to going to a 40W. If I went up in viscosity I might try a 10W-30. At most, M1 0W-40, which, I understand, is pretty thin for a 40.

But, these days, I do like the idea of low NOACK % and fewer VM. So, a 10W-30 is attractive. Again, also, I'm now idling for 60-90 min. per week, and I drive pretty fast on my commute. So, maybe a 10W-30 with a bit higher HTHS than the current M1 EP 5W-30.


Another thought is watch for Delvac 1 5w40 to come on sale … it has similar HTHS to 0w40 but 5w40 is a spread I like … blend of GIII/GIV … stellar in the Blackstone summation … once in a while Walmart.com runs it for $23

Or…
https://www.exxonmobil.com/Xomfl/Core/Handlers/PDFHandler.ashx?component=PDS&downloadUrl=https://www.mobil.com/English-US/Commercial-Vehicle-Lube/pds/GLXXMobil-Delvac-1-LE-5W30?p=1
 
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I'm honestly considering doing this with my Elantra, because why the [censored] not? After I dump the FF, I'm thinking about exclusively using QSUD and enrolling in their warranty program.

It's a good oil and it will be cool to say I've used the same oil for the past 100k miles, or 150k miles.
 
I have used only one oil for the life of my Corvette so far
smile.gif


(but it's the end of the road for that, as I'm going with M1 5w30 ESP formula next)
 
The 1GRFE 4.0 V6 in these trucks seem to show elevated wear numbers in general. I've tried catching any time someone posts a UOA of one and they always have higher than expected Al Fe and Cu levels.

They are solid engines with a proven track record so I don't know what to think.
 
Nope, never used only one oil with anything ... Use what's on hand when I'm down under the vehicle. I do buy ahead, so I can go through a few changes with the same oil. But, by now I'm a firm believer in changing chemistry to keep things a bit cleaner.

Since I worked in a service station back in the day and we all ran the oil from the jug/can drain off (last bit in the container) and it worked well, I have not been brand loyal. Maybe perceived quality loyal ... But even there, I have no beef with Warren or the other indy's
smile.gif


I do own some stock in XOM, so I hope you'all buy lots of M1 and change it often
laugh.gif
 
Our 2008 FX-35 went 117,000 miles (still going strong when I traded it in) on original green GC for 90% of its life. Some of the GC was over 10 years on my shelf before it went in.
 
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