Hello BITOG community. I have a modded 2001 4Runner that I am looking of an oil recommendation for. The 4Runner has skid plates front to back and I have to drop them when I want to change the oil. I would like to find an oil that I only have to change once a year, in the spring preferably.
Here are the answers to the questions posted in the sticky. I did my best to give as much info as I thought that could be relevant. Please let me know if there is any other info I can give.
What kind of vehicle you have:
2001 Toyota 4Runner
220,000 Miles
3 inch lift
Heavy Wheel/Tire Combo
Steel Skid Plates and Slider
Regeared to 4.88’s
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well:
Owners manual says SAE 5W/30, API grade SJ, Energy conserving with OCI 5000 every 4 months or 7500 every 6 months depending on usage. It appears based on my usage I would fall into the 5,000 mile OCI as I drive on unpaved, dusty roads.
3. Where you live:
Colorado Springs, 6000 feet. The 4Runner goes into the mountains and will see elevations over 10,000 feet.
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?):
I pretty much always take it nice and easy. I stay within the speed limits and rarely “push” the vehicle. Off-road it sees dusty trails, but speed is limited and the engine rarely has to work hard.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?):
This is more of a toy than anything else. I bought it 2 years ago and have not yet put 10,000 miles on it. So far typical annual milage is between 3500-5000 miles.
It mostly sees weekend usage running to the hardware store with in 5 miles. It also gets me around when we have a snow storm. The 4Runner will take mountain trips in the summer to various Colorado trails, and old mines.
6. Whether your car has any known problems:
All maintenance is up to date on the vehicle, and no issues noted. For a vehicle with 220,000 miles it runs very well. My gas milage is not the best, but I’m lifted and fairly heavy so it is somewhat to be expected.
If you have any preferences -- synthetic vs. conventional, store-bought vs. ordered online, how long you'd like to go between oil changes, etc. -- or any other info you think might be important, let us know that as well.
I don’t really have any preferences in terms of oil. I kinda would like to run a synthetic since I only want to change once a year and the 4Runner is used in the winter. I am willing to pay more for a superior product and can order online if need be (although running to the store sure would be more convenient). The 4Runner also sits outside and see’s snow duties in the winter. Again, I would like to only change the oil once a year. Preferable in the in spring with I do my annual checks and maintenance on the rest of the truck.
Any suggestions?
Oil Recommendation for Modded 4Runner
- Thread starter mountainmike
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Listen to yourself:
"What I've concluded from reading at BITOG, and from 4 rounds of engine oil analysis is that 1) practically speaking it probably makes no difference what kind of oil I use in my runner, as long as it's a newer, modern oil, and 2) if you really want to obsess about motor oil there's plenty of literature (both fact and opinion) out there."
http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2000-4runner-oil-choice-at-125k.315814/
Any name brand syn will give you what you want. Let's see some pics of that beast!
Yes, pics please.
Amsoil's SS is advertised to go 1 year and 15k miles in severe service. It should easily meet your needs and is what I would use.
M1, Redline, and pretty much all of the several Pennzoil or Quacker State varieties as well as SuperTech Synthetic would also handle a 5000 mile/1year interval.
M1 EP 5w30 would get my vote.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2023
3500-5000 miles a year? I vote for a semi-synthetic like Castrol Magnatec 5w30 and change it once a year. If you can't find Magnatec, Pennzoil Platinum or Mobil 1 will do fine.
1. Pennzoil conventional oil in the yellow bottle, 10W-30 changed once a year or 6K miles.
2. Pennzoil Ultra Performance or Mobil Extended Performance 10w-30 with a filter designed for extended use, changed every other year or 10K miles.
I would be more interested if I were driving in a somewhat dusty environment in changing my air filter at the severe duty mileage or time frame.
Walmart is pretty much as cheap as any vendor.
Once a month, get out on the highway for half and hour or so to get the engine up to operating temperature to get condensation out of the oil.
It's a port injected engine with a timing belt; it's not going to be hard on oil, nor will it care.
I change once a year (between 4000 and 7000) on my Jeep Cherokee which sees similar use and abuse. No issues so far.
I don't think the mod will cause anything special to the engine.
IMO, you are over thinking, this is a Toyota engine.
Actually, that is probably a strong one from what I have heard.
Contrary to popular belief that the engine is not a human being. I don't think it cares what you put in there as long as you change the oil every so often.
2.7L or 3.4L? Your already regeared to 4.88. I'm assuming your running 33's. Oil choice isn't going to make a difference.
Thanks for all the help and advice. It's a 3.4L. I think you're right that I am overthinking it, I have a tendency to do that, especially with my Runner. I just love it so much!
Pics
Custom blend of 1qt Redline 5w30 & 4 qts Mobil ESP 5w30
A winter based and winter-centric vehicle run in CO would be the realm of the 5w-xx or 0w-xxs to the exclusion of the 10ws, case closed. congrats on the modded too cause for a second, I wondering what you needed to nod on that engine. what is your engine code and I Am assuming you got the V8. Mine is 2JE-GE
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Listen to yourself:
"What I've concluded from reading at BITOG, and from 4 rounds of engine oil analysis is that 1) practically speaking it probably makes no difference what kind of oil I use in my runner, as long as it's a newer, modern oil, and 2) if you really want to obsess about motor oil there's plenty of literature (both fact and opinion) out there."
http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2000-4runner-oil-choice-at-125k.315814/
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OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Run what the manual states or if you feel you really have a need to up the protection a Euro 0w-30 or 0w-40 like GC 0w-30, GC 0w-40 or M1 FS 0w-40 would be excellent choices with higher levels of AW additives and a slightly higher HTHS.
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Run a slightly higher HTHS.
Last edited:
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted By: 06VtecV6
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Run a slightly higher HTHS.
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: 06VtecV6
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Run a slightly higher HTHS.
Nice 4Runner, it looks good.
At 5000 mi per year I would run a good 5W-30 full synthetic like M1 EP or Castrol Edge Gold bottle. The EP (extended performance) and gold bottle Edge are designed for extended oil change intervals (OCI). They are designed for 15000 mi or 1 year, just what you are after.
If you wanted to step it up a notch, the Euro ACEA A3/B4 long life oils with OEM certs like BMW LL-01. MB 229.3 / MB 229.5, have a large TBN & HTHS reserve and can probably go further. They are things like M1 or Edge 0W-40.
With any of the above oils or similar, in a Toyota, I would happily change oil once per year.
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