Lexus ES300 Smoking. What oil?

[Nick1994]

My brother just bought a 1996 Lexus ES300 with the 3.0L V6. I do not believe this is part of Toyota's sludge engines as I believe that started in 1997 (with my car haha) but long story short the previous owner bought it at an auction with a lot of other cars and sells them for a profit. It has 167k miles and actually runs great, very smooth. Previous owner changed oil and filter and air filter like he does to all cars he sells. After the car was bought we noticed a bottle of Valvoline 20w50 conventional in the trunk, didn't think much of it. (Maybe it was top off we thought) and the car has some blue smoke at start up most of the time but goes away after 5-10 seconds once running and things flowing. We've changed the oil again immediately after buying it with Mobil 1 0w30 and a Wix filter and that's when we started noticing the smoke, well most of it. What should we do? Just keep an eye on it and top it off or? He may have put 20w50 in it to sell it or even previous owners. Not sure.

 

[901Memphis]

Maxlife 5w30 or Defy 5w30. Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30 if you want to spend more for a full syn

 

[Lead Shoes]

Probably put the thick oil in it to sell a higher mile oil burner, bummer

 

[Ramblejam]

What was your reasoning behind selecting Mobil 1 0w30 for this application right now -- seems entirely counterintuitive.

 

[Doog]

I would pull a valve cover and have a look. He may have been running the 20w50 to abate noise or slow consumption. Sludger engines like the Toyotas consume some oil and turn some into sludge. So they may have mistaken the consumption for simply oil passing the rings when in fact it is being vaporized and turned into sludge inside the engine.

 

[Nick1994]

He insisted on putting 0w30 in it. Also forgot to mention we Seafoamed it.

 

[Trav]

I would start by changing the PCV valve and pulling the valve covers to make sure air if flowing under the shields (if used on this model) to scavenge crankcase gases.
You will get a better idea of whats going on as far as sludge goes, check the oil return holes in the head.

 

[SuperDave456]

+1 to pulling valve covers.

You need to know what is going on before anything can be suggested as a course of action.

Also, plz take pics.

 

[Merkava_4]

Stay with the 20W-50 until the engine goes to the machine shop.

Unless you wanna be burning a quart of oil every week.

 

[turtlevette]

Leave the M1. It's already there and it just might clean the rings up. Give it a chance to work.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Try the Mos2 10w40 oil. Sounds like the compression could be off. LM also makes motor oil saver which thickens up and slighty increases the TBN. I might consider adding the mos2 to help, but look under the valve cover to see how bad it is. Might just need valve adjustment as we have a 2012 honda with 150,000 miles on it and that made a big difference. Whatever you do, change oil filter often for about 15,000 miles to catch all the gunk. A motor flush isn't wise as you might knock too much loose and have another problem.

 

[charbaby]

Actually the sludge years goes back to 1992, IIRC!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

It's not really fair that you can buy a 1996 car and it's not a pile of rust ...

That's all I have to contribute to this thread.

 

[Rolla07]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
It's not really fair that you can buy a 1996 car and it's not a pile of rust ...

That's all I have to contribute to this thread.


Yeah, I feel that way too...here I see cars as new as 2005-2007 with rust buildup...

I agree with the other posters. Pull the valve cover, and see what is going on. Clean it up, than change oil, filter and pcv.

 

[timeau]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
the car has some blue smoke at start up most of the time but goes away after 5-10 seconds once running and things flowing.

Nothing helps until you change valve seals. They are too lose on almost 20 years old car. No one "high mileage" or other "super-duper" oil solve the problem. Wonders could happen in Hogwarts only.

 

[bigt61]

Originally Posted By: timeau
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
the car has some blue smoke at start up most of the time but goes away after 5-10 seconds once running and things flowing.

Nothing helps until you change valve seals. They are too lose on almost 20 years old car. No one "high mileage" or other "super-duper" oil solve the problem. Wonders could happen in Hogwarts only.


That's totally incorrect. Valve guide seals come back to life all the time with proper lubrication. Not all of them, but certainly at least some of them. To the OP - Leave the Mobil 1 in there for a while - you might be surprised in 500-1000 miles. Keep it topped off if it's using any.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Put a bottle of LM Oil Saver in it and see what happens?

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Put a bottle of LM Oil Saver in it and see what happens?


If it's the valve guides and they aren't won't thru this will help until they can be replaced.

 

[Trav]

Lubeguard claims their Biotech may help valve seals.
Quote:
Helps reduce smoking by restoring flexibility to valve stem seals for improved sealing, also providing outstanding upper cylinder lubricity as it frees up sticking rings

Lubeguard

Still, i wouldn't go down the additive road until i was sure of what i am dealing with.
A look under the covers, a compression test, take a vacuum reading and check the fuel trims will go a long way in determining what to do next.

Without a proper assessment throwing thicker oil and additives down the fill hole is just dancing in the dark.

 

[rockydee]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Lubeguard claims their Biotech may help valve seals.
Quote:
Helps reduce smoking by restoring flexibility to valve stem seals for improved sealing, also providing outstanding upper cylinder lubricity as it frees up sticking rings

Lubeguard

Still, i wouldn't go down the additive road until i was sure of what i am dealing with.
A look under the covers, a compression test, take a vacuum reading and check the fuel trims will go a long way in determining what to do next.

Without a proper assessment throwing thicker oil and additives down the fill hole is just dancing in the dark.

In my short time here I see this man knows a thing or two about cars and engines. He's giving some sound solid advise here. I must say while I'm a fan of a couple of additives, I like to know what exactly to treat b4 I treat it.