Introduction and...questions?

[Jcp123]

Hey all. New here as far as posting but I have lurked a little bit.

Anyhow, my DD is a well-worn (to put it politely) 2000 Toyota Echo, 1NZ-FE 1.5l four with VVTi. Coming up on 252k miles. The car looks like [censored] but has been incredibly reliable.

As I'm not sure where I'm going with this, I'll give a bit of history. I "inherited" this car three years ago and it has been serving as my DD ever since. At that time it had mystery oil with some brand oil filter I have never, ever heard of. The car was in need of maintenance, namely new plugs and a MAF cleaning. I also battled water in the spark plug tube of cyl. no. 1. Not an uncommon issue in these.

Oilwise, I kinda ignored it for longer than I care to admit. In the summertime it leaks about half of a quart every month to two weeks; in winter the leak is more subdued. I was backfilling it with a hodgepodge of 10w40 conventional I got for free (some Castrol GTX, Exxon, and Peak brand oil) on top of the no-name stuff. As badly as the car ran before I sorted the maintenance out, I felt that the car would [censored] out before oil issues came to bite.

Now the car runs better than ever, and I finally did a real oil change. I started with Valvoline MaxLife 5w30 and a Bosch 3311 filter. Nothing wrong with that setup, except that 300mi into the change, my OCV went out. I ran motor flush despite a clean OCV filter and then filled with M1 0w30 AFE and another Bosch 3311 - didn't fix, had to replace the actual OCV.

I am still running the 0w30 and Bosch filter. I feel it is more quiet after a cold start, but I am also a hypermiler and see no real MPG gain vs. the sludge and oil cocktail which was in it before. The leak also doesn't seem to behave any differently.

I buy my oils for the car based on what's cheap; the car is worth, at best, about $1500. Trade-in value is $800 for rough condition, and although mechanically great the car would never show well enough for that. I don't intend to toss money at the car. The 10w40 was free, I got two jugs of the 0w30 AFE for $3 each on clearance, and I have stockpiled another 18qts of Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 as it's on clearance for $1/qt at the moment. I use the Bosch filters as they seem to be the best filter for the money where I work (employee discount FTW!).

Questions:
- Could the failed OCV be attributed to my lax oil changes before?
- Is there any way one could venture a blind guess as to how long the M1 AFE with the Bosch should last? Currently 3200 mi into this change.
- I gather the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is a fine oil; I am about to leave my parts store job for a real career, is the Bosch worth the $6.99 or should I shop elsewhere for a Wix/PureOne/anything else?
- Any other general advice you'd give a pretty "scrappy" but by no means professional auto mechanic/enthusiast as far as oil goes?

 

[simple_gifts]

Greetings and welcome from a fellow beater echo owner.

 

[addyguy]

Sorry to be dumb, but what is the 'OCV' that failed?

Anyway, in general, the Toyota 1.5 is a very tough motor. They are somewhat hard on oil, as the engine revs hard, and they do tend to burn oil, but as long as you keep the oil topped off, they will run fine on anything.

The M1 and Bosch you have in now can easily go 10k; as I said, just keep it topped-off.

 

[Jcp123]

Sorry; OCV = oil control valve, or variable valve timing solenoid. It is an electronically controlled valve which meters the oil supply/pressure to the actual variable valve timing workings. I am told that clean oil is essential to its operation and lifespan.

They are indeed tough cars; mine is a good testament given it's hard life. One member on the Toyota forum Infrequent has 430k on his. The timing chain has no service interval, Toyota's way of saying it should outlast the rest of the car.

 

[jacky]

i would love to have a toyota echo, i dont recall ever seeing a used one for sale in my area
is it hard to get used to the speedometer location?

 

[Jcp123]

It wasn't as hard as I would have thought. Although I have gotten used to it...I still really don't like it.

Echos were popular in Canada, but never caught in in the US. You won't see many for sale, and because of their reliability and excellent fuel mileage, command a premium. You'd be better off getting a Corolla, dollar for dollar, which is what I'd replace this car with if it were to quit on me.

 

[sicko]

Originally Posted By: Jcp123
Questions:
- Could the failed OCV be attributed to my lax oil changes before?
- Is there any way one could venture a blind guess as to how long the M1 AFE with the Bosch should last? Currently 3200 mi into this change.
- I gather the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is a fine oil; I am about to leave my parts store job for a real career, is the Bosch worth the $6.99 or should I shop elsewhere for a Wix/PureOne/anything else?
- Any other general advice you'd give a pretty "scrappy" but by no means professional auto mechanic/enthusiast as far as oil goes?


1) I don't know.
2) Blind guess, I'd say an absolute minimum of 5k-6k miles. M1 AFE is an excellent oil, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it could go 7.5k-10k miles (maybe more), it's just I'm not familiar with the engine and I don't know your driving style or conditions.
3) Bosch are good filters, but so are PureOnes, Fram Ultras, and Wix/NAPA Gold filters.
4) If you're looking to save some cash, you can take advantage of the Fram Ultra rebates going on right now ($2 back by mail, check the Fram website), or the Mobil 1 rebate ($12 back by mail for purchase of 5 quarts of M1). With the M1 rebate, you might want to pick up some M1 0w-40 to go thicker and see if that slows the consumption. Or you could try M1 High Mileage to see that does anything to slow the consumption.

Before you leave your job at the auto parts shop. Look up the vehicle's routine maintenance, and think about what you want to do the car (air filter, cabin air filter, plugs/wires, brake pads/rotors/brake fluid, differential oil, transmission fluid, etc). That way you can purchase some items as they go on sale/clearance, or with your employee discount.

 

[Jcp123]

Driving style is a hypermiler; low RPMs, rarely over 2000rpm and then really only during a steady cruise and not under a heavy load acceleration. Lots of idling too as I utilize neutral coasting to boost fuel economy. Stoplights typically warrant shutting the engine down. Lastly, I keep the car light and basically never use the air conditioning owing to my drive for efficiency.

Conditions? Commute is fairly easy , ~7,5mi each way with "outer suburban" kind of driving. First half has 35-45mph speed limits, second half is on a state highway with a 55-60mph PSL. Climate is fairly rough in the summer in East Texas, several months with high humidity and highs in the high 90s to low 100s. Winter is rough by my California standards

but fairly mild otherwise...typical highs in the 30s and 40s with a few days worth of snow, rarely do highs stay below freezing. Te terrain here is gentle but fairly constant rolling hills.

 

[jacky]

echos do not have spark plug wires, is that correct?
also i would always use a high mileage oil and possibly consider an additive

 

[Jcp123]

Originally Posted By: sicko
Originally Posted By: Jcp123
Questions:
- Could the failed OCV be attributed to my lax oil changes before?
- Is there any way one could venture a blind guess as to how long the M1 AFE with the Bosch should last? Currently 3200 mi into this change.
- I gather the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is a fine oil; I am about to leave my parts store job for a real career, is the Bosch worth the $6.99 or should I shop elsewhere for a Wix/PureOne/anything else?
- Any other general advice you'd give a pretty "scrappy" but by no means professional auto mechanic/enthusiast as far as oil goes?


1) I don't know.
2) Blind guess, I'd say an absolute minimum of 5k-6k miles. M1 AFE is an excellent oil, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it could go 7.5k-10k miles (maybe more), it's just I'm not familiar with the engine and I don't know your driving style or conditions.
3) Bosch are good filters, but so are PureOnes, Fram Ultras, and Wix/NAPA Gold filters.
4) If you're looking to save some cash, you can take advantage of the Fram Ultra rebates going on right now ($2 back by mail, check the Fram website), or the Mobil 1 rebate ($12 back by mail for purchase of 5 quarts of M1). With the M1 rebate, you might want to pick up some M1 0w-40 to go thicker and see if that slows the consumption. Or you could try M1 High Mileage to see that does anything to slow the consumption.

Before you leave your job at the auto parts shop. Look up the vehicle's routine maintenance, and think about what you want to do the car (air filter, cabin air filter, plugs/wires, brake pads/rotors/brake fluid, differential oil, transmission fluid, etc). That way you can purchase some items as they go on sale/clearance, or with your employee discount.


If I get another case of the $1 oil in, I'll be set with something like 2 years' worth of oil. Mostly concerned with the filter and what's a good, mid-priced value. Sounds like I'm on the right track.

I was shooting for 5k, so it's nice to know I can likely go further than that.

I was thinking about what other items I could get for the car; I bought an air filter and a Bosch oil filter today for it. Might get serpentine belts, they're looking very, very tired. Got a spare set of plugs ($13 each retail, ouch), and cabin filter was replaced last summer. Most everything else is actually cheaper from RockAuto

 

[Jcp123]

Originally Posted By: jacky
echos do not have spark plug wires, is that correct?
also i would always use a high mileage oil and possibly consider an additive


You're correct, it's a coil-on-plug ignition system.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Originally Posted By: Jcp123
Originally Posted By: jacky
echos do not have spark plug wires, is that correct?
also i would always use a high mileage oil and possibly consider an additive


You're correct, it's a coil-on-plug ignition system.

You're making me jealous with all that cheap/free oil....Not a bad looking little car...
Echo 2000

 

[CELICA_XX]

I would use MaxLife Full Synthetic 5w30 and a Fram Ultra.

You can also get the Fram Ultra for a 2002 Camry 2.4L

It fits perfectly and is a bit longer than the stock ECHO filter.

 

[Jcp123]

Originally Posted By: Oldmoparguy1
Originally Posted By: Jcp123
Originally Posted By: jacky
echos do not have spark plug wires, is that correct?
also i would always use a high mileage oil and possibly consider an additive


You're correct, it's a coil-on-plug ignition system.

You're making me jealous with all that cheap/free oil....Not a bad looking little car...
Echo 2000


Makes me happy as a clam...saving money > high quality on the car, when I can have both at once I am very happy

I wouldn't call the car pretty even in good shape. This one's in poor shape and is even uglier. But it's a much better car than I ever expected it to be. Nursing it along on a shoestring budget has been kind of a fun pursuit in and of itself.

 

[Jcp123]

Originally Posted By: CELICA_XX
I would use MaxLife Full Synthetic 5w30 and a Fram Ultra.

You can also get the Fram Ultra for a 2002 Camry 2.4L

It fits perfectly and is a bit longer than the stock ECHO filter.


Interesting. I'll have to look into the Camry filter option. I can check at work, but do you know off the top of your head if that filter applies to all of the 2.4l Camrys? IIRc they used that engine from '03 all the way up to around '10 or so.

Fram Ultra seems to be well-regarded here. Maybe I could try one.

 

[CELICA_XX]

Fram ULTRA XG 4386 is the part number you're looking for.

Direct fit !

 

[Jcp123]

Upped my stash of Pennzoil Ultra to 24qts today. At 80 cents/qt (listed at $1, but I get employee discount on top of that), I can't resist. My Echo is the only one which calls for five-dub-thirty, so that's a 2-yr supply.

Next question: I ran some nasty combo in the car for two years/30k mi (I got my flame suit on). Unknown bulk oil with cheap filter. Car leaked about 1qt/mo, back-filed with a smorgasbord of 10w40. I finally changed the oil, but a few hundred miles in, a bad variable valve timing solenoid prompted me to run motor flush in a failed attempt to do a quick-fix. Should I push the OCI on my current M1 AFE/Bosch 3311 combo, or change now? About 3200 mi on the oil currently. Car runs fantastic now. Maybe wait til 5k? I'm thinking with warmer temps ahead, I'll use the Pennzoil and use up my other M1 0w30 for wintertime.

Also, how does my hypermiling style affect the OCIs? It's mostly low load/low RPM/slow acceleration with lots of neutral coasting at idle and the occasional high load/low RPM climb and fairly frequent killing the engine for red lights.