hi, new to the forum...

[VTCRUZR]

I drive a diesel toyta land cruiser daily and currently run Amsiol 15w40 HD synthetic (AME). The engine is a 4.2L inline 6 with a 10 quart oil capacity. I udually change the oil every 10,000 kilomters (about 6,200 miles). I spend most of my time in Clemson, SC where the winter is mild, but summers are hot, but I am home in Vermont every christmas.

My questions:
- first of all, how does amsoil synthetic stand up beside other synthetics? I have used it for adout 3 changes now and have no complaints but I have only been driving it about a year since i finished building it.
- Is 15w40 the right oil?
- Can i get away with increasing my mileage intervals? 25,000 seams riduculous, how about 10-15,000 miles?

thanks!

 

[tdi-rick]

First up,

15W-40 is the correct viscosity for that Toyota diesel.
I'm sure if you check, Toyota recommends a 5,000km/3,0000 mile oil change interval (OCI) in that engine, so you are already extending the OCI.
An extended OCI can only really be ascertained through used oil analysis, preferably over a number of tests to establish a trend.

Japanese diesels generally prefer a high level of calcium in the oil to resist valve train wear. If you look in the lube specs in the manual, they generally warn against using anything more up to date than a API CF-4 spec oil, to the extent that more recent spec oils void a new vehicle warranty, even if they list CF and CF-4 on the spec sheet !
Having said that, I'm using Delvac 1 (CI-4) in a Nissan 4.2 litre turbo diesel and extended drains with excellent results using UOA (used oil analysis)

Amsoil has an excellent reputation with their oils, and I'm sure a few Amsoil users will chime in soon, I'd still be getting the oil tested, and probably have it analysed by someone like Terry Dyson (Dyson Analysis) who posts on here to have the results interpreted.

 

[tdi-rick]

quote:

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so you are probably familiar with diesel land cruisers.

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yeah, there's one or two around.

(useless piece of trivia, Australia and the Middle East are the two largest markets worldwide for Land Cruisers. Australia also takes something like 2/3 of total world production of Nissan's Patrol, Land Cruisers direct opposition)

quote:

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Anyway, I have only general knowledge in engine oil so bear with me. i have heard good things about delvac as well. Is that a better oil to run in these japanese diesels?

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remember there are a number of Delvac variants, running from full mineral to synthetic fortified to full synth-Delvac 1. Whether one is better in your engine over another and over another brand...

The big oil companies out here, and even the smaller blenders have specialist Japanese diesel blends to satisfy the makers requirements.

As for the cost of oil testing, click on the advertisers links/forum and there are a couple of labs and Terry Dyson who can help. I use a local lab, so that isn't really much help to you.
How far you can go on an oil change depends on so many variables, you can only really make an informed decision by doing some tests. I don't know Terry, but I've been around this board long enough to see the respect he is held in by very knowledgeable people. He'd be my first port of call.
Link to Dyson Analysis

 

[tdi-rick]

btw, good combo of engine and vehicle. Much stronger diffs, at least the front, compared to an 80 or 100 series. Having said that, I'm contemplating swapping in an 80 series centre in my Land Rover front diff. It's a relatively common conversion to reduce R&P breakages, and with a few more minimal mods you can run Toy Longfield CV's in the Rover swivel housing/stub axle. Both diffs are dwarfed by the Patrol diff, which is D60 sized, and is a reverse cut high pinion on the front.

 

[VTCRUZR]

thanks for the welcome. I noticed you are from Australia so you are probably familiar with diesel land cruisers. A lot of people here in the US have no idea. The engine is a '93-'94 1HZ, (soon to be turbo'd hopefully) i have swapped it into a canadian spec HJ60.

Anyway, I have only general knowledge in engine oil so bear with me. i have heard good things about delvac as well. Is that a better oil to run in these japanese diesels?

i assumed synthetics are good for longer OCI's, but should i change it more often?

how much does oil analysis usually cost?

 

[VTCRUZR]

thanks!

so what do all these letters and numbers represent, CF, CI etc.? I would assume content/ratings of the oil, but what do they mean?

 

[ondoy]

vtcruzr:

Congrats for your Toyota daily drive. It is indeed enjoyable to drive these beasts, what with the 4.2 liter, 6-cylinder powerplants. Mine is an LC80 with a turbocharged 1HD-T diesel engine. I have been using either a 5w40 or 15w40 hdeo since acquiring the unit and lately, for simple economic reason, I did a 50:50 blend of Delvac 1 5w40 and Delvac 1300 super 15w40. No complaints.

 

[bmwtechguy]

Welcome VTCRUZR!
You may check out these pages for some of the answers to your questions:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_200211/ai_n9150226
http://api-ep.api.org/filelibrary/API_MotorOilGuide_2004.pdf

As far as the oil you are using, the AME is an excellent oil that I've personally used in my own diesel and gas engine vehicles with great results and is capable of greatly extended oil change intervals (OCI)if you want to save some money. I have used these folks for oil analysis to establish safe interval: http://www.oaitesting.com/

Terry Dyson can help you to further customize your OCI and interpret/understand your results, although I have not personally taken advantage of his services yet.

 

[brian fix]

I think you would find Schaeffers 15w-40 would work out really fine for your app,,,Brian L

 

[Pablo]

AME is not only an excellent oil, it's an excellent bargain. You could go 10K miles quite easily, but the best recommendation here is to do a UOA. I will bet, if no engine problems are present, 15K will be obtainable.

25K is not so ridiculous if you consider the 1 year time constraint - and more importantly driving style. If you started your rig and drove highway miles on end - 25K in a diesel on the highway with synthetic oil - piece of cake! Even more with good by-pass filtration.

 

[VTCRUZR]

thanks for the info guys!

ondoy, that is an excellent engine. had the 1HD-T's (or even 1HD-FT's) been more economical to import, i would have gone that route, but I got a really good price on my 1HZ. Now i just need boost....