HPL Engine cleaner results Toyota 2GR-FE, 6 cyl

[shizam]

I bought a used Toyota RAV4 with a 6 cylinder about a year ago. It had 80k miles on it and had full toyota service history....so 10k OCIs with Toyota Oil. It would burn about 1/2 to 3/4 qt thorough a 5k OCI when I bought it.
Given the Toyota low tension piston rings being a known issue, I decided to try High Performance Lubricants ( HPL) Engine cleaner.

First I ran a short OCI of 1500miles with a fresh oil/filter change of M1 5w30 and 1qt of EC30. As an aside, the 2GR-FE has a baffle just under the cap where you add oil. At the beginning of the short OCI clean, It was covered in a fairly thick layer of varnish from the Toyota factory oil changes. I wiped a small spot on it clean, and began the 1500miles. At the end of the short EC OCI, the Filter looked good, although dark, and the oil did darken faster than usual. the oil took on a bit of an amber red tinge, almost like Automatic transmission oil. The oil baffle varnish was noticeably reduces by the HPL EC. The spot I had wiped clean had grown, The remaining varnish had thinned or dissapeared. All good signs. I suspect the red amber tinge of the used oil was due to it taking varnish into solution.

I then did another oil/filter change with M1 5w30 and a quart and a half of EC30. I ran this oil for 5000k and the oil consumption has dropped to at most 1/4qt over 5k. All in all a good result. I am now going to do an oil change with HPL PCMO 5w30 to continue to clean. David Ward, at HPL, told me that all of the PCMO that they sell will actually out clean their EC products. This is mostly due to the AN/ESTER components of their oils.
David is a fantastic resource for any questions you have about HPL products.
I think that HPL oils, and their cleaners, are a great option for toyotas, or any other engine that suffers from oil consumption due to the rings getting coked up.

 

[Furious]

Not sure which year RAV 4 you have but I can't remember if the 6 cylinder RAV4's have the VVTI Filter screen if so you might want to consider pulling them out and cleaning or replacing them.

 

[Bill7]

I bought a used Toyota RAV4 with a 6 cylinder about a year ago. It had 80k miles on it and had full toyota service history....so 10k OCIs with Toyota Oil. It would burn about 1/2 to 3/4 qt thorough a 5k OCI when I bought it.
Given the Toyota low tension piston rings being a known issue, I decided to try High Performance Lubricants ( HPL) Engine cleaner.

First I ran a short OCI of 1500miles with a fresh oil/filter change of M1 5w30 and 1qt of EC30. As an aside, the 2GR-FE has a baffle just under the cap where you add oil. At the beginning of the short OCI clean, It was covered in a fairly thick layer of varnish from the Toyota factory oil changes. I wiped a small spot on it clean, and began the 1500miles. At the end of the short EC OCI, the Filter looked good, although dark, and the oil did darken faster than usual. the oil took on a bit of an amber red tinge, almost like Automatic transmission oil. The oil baffle varnish was noticeably reduces by the HPL EC. The spot I had wiped clean had grown, The remaining varnish had thinned or dissapeared. All good signs. I suspect the red amber tinge of the used oil was due to it taking varnish into solution.

I then did another oil/filter change with M1 5w30 and a quart and a half of EC30. I ran this oil for 5000k and the oil consumption has dropped to at most 1/4qt over 5k. All in all a good result. I am now going to do an oil change with HPL PCMO 5w30 to continue to clean. David Ward, at HPL, told me that all of the PCMO that they sell will actually out clean their EC products. This is mostly due to the AN/ESTER components of their oils.
David is a fantastic resource for any questions you have about HPL products.
I think that HPL oils, and their cleaners, are a great option for toyotas, or any other engine that suffers from oil consumption due to the rings getting coked up.

You may wish to consider a safe but strong solvent engine flush.
The one I use is STP Super Concentrated engine flush ($5.97 at Walmart).
I've had good results with it so far, with very dirty looking oil+flush being drained out (much more dirty looking than a regular oil change).

 

[ARB1977]

Here’s my 15 Tacoma 4.0L with 127K. 6000-7500 miles on M1 EP and Amsoil XL. A few 10K runs on Amsoil SS. Glad to hear you’re giving your Rav a fighting chance.

 

[shizam]

Not sure which year RAV 4 you have but I can't remember if the 6 cylinder RAV4's have the VVTI Filter screen if so you might want to consider pulling them out and cleaning or replacing them.

It's a 2012. I think it does have the vvti screens. They are on my to-do list. On a related note, I upgraded seals on an E36 BMW from the factory (old) Buna rubber to Viton. It gave a definite improvement in the low to mid RPM power. I'm going to research this for the RAV at some point, when I have time.

 

[shizam]

You may wish to consider a safe but strong solvent engine flush.
The one I use is STP Super Concentrated engine flush ($5.97 at Walmart).
I've had good results with it so far, with very dirty looking oil+flush being drained out (much more dirty looking than a regular oil change).

I was thinking about doing exactly this. I have a can of BG EPR in a box somewhere. I might try running it through. A the moment, the HPL products have been doing really well and the bigger plan is to continue running their PCMO. My oil consumption is improving, so the odds of the oil control piston ring siezing up and "ovaling out" my cylinders is much lower.
I'm pragmatic, and not above the shotgun approach however.

 

[Bill7]

I was thinking about doing exactly this. I have a can of BG EPR in a box somewhere. I might try running it through. A the moment, the HPL products have been doing really well and the bigger plan is to continue running their PCMO. My oil consumption is improving, so the odds of the oil control piston ring siezing up and "ovaling out" my cylinders is much lower.
I'm pragmatic, and not above the shotgun approach however.

Based on your analysis, how long (in terms of miles) would the HPL PCMO take to fully clean the piston rings.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Based on your analysis, how long (in terms of miles) would the HPL PCMO take to fully clean the piston rings.

OP has already said he’s seeing consistent progress in cleaning up all the stuff left in the engine from subpar oils & maintenance plans, and there is almost ZERO risk to his engine doing it this way. With enough time and HPL on future changes, at some point his engine will be clean inside again.

What’s the infatuation with FAST (and therefore more dangerous) engine cleanups with solvents, which do not lubricate, they thin out the oil that’s in there, and risk plugging the oil screen or other passages in the engine? The path the OP has chosen is safe and is working. His consumption is down. Why risk his engine with your unhealthy fetish for solvent cleaners?

 

[Bill7]

OP has already said he’s seeing consistent progress in cleaning up all the stuff left in the engine from subpar oils & maintenance plans, and there is almost ZERO risk to his engine doing it this way. With enough time and HPL on future changes, at some point his engine will be clean inside again.

What’s the infatuation with FAST (and therefore more dangerous) engine cleanups with solvents, which do not lubricate, they thin out the oil that’s in there, and risk plugging the oil screen or other passages in the engine? The path the OP has chosen is safe and is working. His consumption is down. Why risk his engine with your unhealthy fetish for solvent cleaners?

The OP mentioned he was also open to using a can of BG EPR engine flush that he happened to already have.
BG EPR is one of the few engine flushes that targets the tough to clean piston rings as it's main focus, and it's also outstanding on sludge.
There are several reviews on Amazon of BG EPR cleaning the oil control rings and reducing oil consumption from 1 quart every 1,000 miles to no oil consumption at all over 5,000 miles with one 15 minute treatment.

You are correct - solvent oil flushes do carry a risk in dislodging a piece of sludge that could get stuck somewhere.
In my research on several forums, that risk is actually quite low and rare.

I prefer the flushes that are 16 oz cans or less to limit dilution of the oil with the solvent, and my 5W-30 probably becomes a 5W-20 with that mixture. With the mix with the regular oil, the oil still has a high percentage of petroleum oil in it to provide adequate lubrication for the 15 minutes it runs in the engine, so I'm not concerned.

HPL is an excellent product. The OP should have great cleaning results with it.

 

[TiGeo]

Unhealthy fetish for solvent cleaners

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