Need some second opinions - 600 miles/week to work

[2000RX300]

Hello, I need some second opinions. After getting laid off by a local company, it looks like I may finally get a job 60 miles away. This will mean that I will now be driving 600 miles a week. Most of it would be highway. I have a 2000 Lexus RX300 with the Toyota 3L V6 engine (yes, this is the engine that was known to sludge up…I never had that problem though).
Since it was a baby, I used the basic Valvoline 5W30 and changed it and the filter every 3000 miles. The engine now has 110K on it and there are no obvious signs of leaks and it doesn’t burn oil. If I land this job and stay with that oil and changing schedule, I’ll be changing it every 5 weeks… I’m thinking that it would probably be better to switch over to a longer life oil. I’ve read on this forum that leaks may occur if an older vehicle is switched over to a full synthetic (?). I have also read on this forum that a blend could also cause leaks in older vehicles (?)… I take everything with a grain of salt and I know that the final decision if obviously mine along with any negative outcomes. Having said that, I was thinking that I’d try either Valvoline Durablend or MaxLife. What would you guys do? Stick with the basic Valvoline w/ 3K OCI, switch to a blend (which one) or go full synthetic and go with a 6K-7.5k OCI?

Bob

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yeah, changing oil so frequently is just wasting a lot of time. Personally, I would switch to synthetic and then do a UOA at some point to see how far you can push it. 7.5k OCI is a safe bet, but UOA may show that you could go even longer.

Welcome to BITOG!

 

[spasm3]

if its all highway, why not mobil 1 extended? since you have 110k on the car run it 10,000 and do an oil analysis to see if you can go 15k. Amsoil would also be an option.

 

[Eddie]

Full synthetic and 8,000 miles followed by a UOA after the second oil change. The second oil change will give you a baseline and may suggest you can go out to 10K. Get a TAN? analysis with the UOA to see how much additive remains.

 

[dparm]

Highway driving is fairly easy on the oil since it will be at temperature for a long time. I agree with spasm3, try a synthetic with 10k interval and get it analyzed to see if it lasts.

 

[2000RX300]

Thanks Folks. Are there any valid worries about leaks beginning when a high mileage vehicle starts using full synthetic?

 

[paulo57509]

10 years ago, I was faced with this identical commute with my high mileage (272K miles at the time) Acura Legend. I just didn't want to be draining oil all the time.

I didn't want to go the synthetic route because I couldn't find it in the grade I prefer.

So, I went with an HDEO; Delo 15w40. Instead of the 3k-5k OCI, I'm just doing it at 7.5k.

I'm at 404k miles now on the original engine. I do have to add a quart at 4.5k miles into the OCI. No worries. And I use a FRAM filter.

I'm still doing the commute too; some in the car, some on public transportation.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

We have an 02 Avalon with the same 3.0L V-6 that we switched to synthetic at 96,000 miles with no signs of leaks. We are running Castrol Edge 5w30 and are very pleased its performance(see: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/posts/1933143/). According to Blackstone we could easily run 5000 miles on the oil. I have never used Valvoline, so can't say yea or nay there, however,I have used Pennzoil Ultra and Castrol Edge and would HIGHLY recommend either one of these oils. With the high amount of highway miles you would be doing, a synthetic oil would be ideal! By the way, perform an oil analysis at 5,000 and see how everything looks, no matter what oil you select. These 3.0L V-6 engines are hard on oil.

 

[Johnny]

If you don't have any leaks now a modern day synthetic will not cause any.

 

[Oregoonian]

Oil: Mobil 1 5w30EP...should be able to go at least 12,500 (Mobil guarantees 15,000 or one year).

Filter: Mobil 1 EP...great filter fpr long OCI's
____________________________________
2003 Ford Focus SE (2.3L) / 88K
Mobil 1 5w20EP / OCI: 10K +/-
Filter: Mobil 1 EP

 

[Cup of Joe]

I drive 50+ miles per direction and shoot for 15k mile oil changes, my commute has been the same for years. Occassionally (like today) it may take me 90-120 minutes just to get home. I hate bridges and tunnels.

 

[dparm]

I see you're in New York, so stick with something like a 0w30 or 5w30 for cold weather performance. Nice thing about frequent changes is you can save money by buying large quantities of oil.

 

[bullwinkle]

I'd be looking at trading in that RX on a new TDI (Jetta or Golf) if I had to drive that far to work!

 

[5sfe91]

If you're worried about leaking but still want to extend your OCI i would use M1 High Milage it should be good for 10k

 

[Patman]

Another idea would be to stick with the Valvoline but extend your intervals to 5 or 6k. With the type of driving you'll be doing I'm sure it would be completely safe.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Another idea would be to stick with the Valvoline but extend your intervals to 5 or 6k. With the type of driving you'll be doing I'm sure it would be completely safe.


My thoughts exactly.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

By the way,

to BITOG!

 

[Turk]

Please change the PCV Valve if you haven't recently. That'll help it from sludging up also.

 

[bepperb]

That's not the best long drain engine, but you could still do 7500 miles on M1/PP or any other mass produced synthetic with little chance of problems.

There are a lot of people throwing out huge numbers apparently ignoring this engine's tendancy to sludge.

How's the timing belt? I'd probably replace the PCV before you start doing long OCI.

 

[nfs480]

The idea that synthetics cause leaks is a myth. I also changed my 1989 Accord last year from Valvoline 5w30 conventional over to Amsoil ASL at over 200,000 miles and it did not develop any kind of leaks. I'm at 230,000 miles now and on my second oil change of Amsoil and so far it's been great.