Opinions.Cousin's 03 Toyota 4cyl. M1 10w-30, correct?

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He drives quite a bit, maybe 17k a year. He is at the end of his 2nd 5,000 mile dino change, DIY. Even though we are in the Northeast, I am going to buy him a jug of 10w-30 M1 because it seems the most stable Mobil 1. Flow/pumpability is ok, ya? It goes down to 0 degrees for a dew days a few times a winter. He needs to keep it simple, no fancy-boy oils. We already discussed the filters, a stack of Totota filters await an oil decision. I like Rotella, but want to keep it simple for him. M1 10w-30 7500 mile changes. Does this sound good? Would 5w-30 be *much* better in winter? Is switching back and forth seasonally a good idea? He probally drives it hard.
 
There is no reason to avoid 5w30 Mobil 1 compared to their 10w30, the 5w30 does not thin out and will show identical results to their 10w30. If you see cold temps, the 5w30 is the way to go.
 
I agree with Patman! Go with the 5-30. Its working perfect in my truck.
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Daily Drives
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, Impulse Red, Peppy 2.7 Liter 4 Banger, Running Mobil1 Synthetics SS 5W-30.
ODO 4400 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner, Evergreen, 3.0 V6, Running Mobil1 Synthetic SS 10W-30.
ODO 81000 Miles.
 
My Dad has a Toyota Tacoma 1995 1/2 2.7 that has been run on M1 almost exclusively(1 or 2 oil changes had some other synthetic). It is somewhere between 130,000-150,000 miles. The trucks valve train has been checked twice for clearance. Once by Toyota Tech. under Warranty and once buy us. It has not needed a valve train adjustment at all. It still reads within factory new spec. This is a good thing because it uses shims and is a pain in the but from a backyard standpoint to keep all of the shims on hand. His has been run on M1 15W50 as much as possable. He only puts 10W30 in it when I bug him about it in the winter. SO 15W50 and 10W30 have worked great for him. SO far the only repair needed was a timeing chain tensioner.

We replaced the chains and the sprockets while we were in their. They engine was really clean. The thin varnish wiped off with light solvent on a rag. THe chain and sprockets, camshafts,valvetrain, seals showed no signs of wear even after 120,000 miles. The pistons were also very clean. I belive he changes his oil every 7500 miles.

I have no doubt that M1 10W30 will work wounderful in this engine and I would not hesitate to run it year round.
 
For now, I am going to grab the 5w-30 for him. It does get cold here, and the SS formula is supposed to not shear out badly. If he wants the 10w-30 for summer, changing 2x a year seasonally, he can decide in spring. Thanks guys.
 
quote:

Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
The trucks valve train has been checked twice for clearance. Once by Toyota Tech. under Warranty and once buy us. It has not needed a valve train adjustment at all. It still reads within factory new spec..

This is one of the advantages of PAO synthetics that most people don't get. I consider money saved and time saved from routine valve lash adjustments to count toward the oil savings. Also, the small decrease in fuel economy and power that goes along with the wear in valve train components from using dino compared to a quality PAO. I believe this has to do with the shear limits of about 600 psi for dino and 3000 psi for PAO.

Your dad is helping out the environment at the same time he is saving money.

Most people don't understand the the other costs involved in running dino compared to a PAO synthetic. These same people will run a car or truck with the factory shocks well past 100k miles and never really notice the ride or the added wear and tear on the suspension parts until the tires start to cup or the front end shimmies.

There is a reason why people notice an increase in fuel economy after using a product like autoRX. Same reason for a switch to synthetics with esters. This increase is really a loss that they were experiencing and did not notice. That too should be added to the cost of using dino oil.

I will be using synthetics until something more cost effective comes out. (electric drive with a water to hydrogen convertor for the fuel cell.
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) Then I will use synthetics to lubricate the drivetrain and suspension.
 
quote:

Originally posted by wulimaster:

quote:

Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
The trucks valve train has been checked twice for clearance. Once by Toyota Tech. under Warranty and once buy us. It has not needed a valve train adjustment at all. It still reads within factory new spec..

This is one of the advantages of PAO synthetics that most people don't get. I consider money saved and time saved from routine valve lash adjustments to count toward the oil savings. --snip--


I agree with the rest of your quote I snipped, but I have a question about Valve train.
What is it? Is it in the Transmission?
and what are these adjustments, shims... how do you know when it's time to adjust?
 
quote:

I agree with the rest of your quote I snipped, but I have a question about Valve train.
What is it? Is it in the Transmission?
and what are these adjustments, shims... how do you know when it's time to adjust?

The valvetrain is at the top of your engine, it's things like the valves, rocker arms, pushrods, valve springs, timing chain or belt, lifters, etc.
 
Snip

The valvetrain is at the top of your engine, it's things like the valves, rocker arms, pushrods, valve springs, timing chain or belt, lifters, etc. [/QB][/QUOTE]

okay, under the Valve cover...
When I had mine off around the 330's I asked my mechanic to do whatever adjustments he needed, and he said that
1. My truck is "self-adjusting"
2. He can't see any wear, and that it probably hasn't been adjusted.
I've got some photos, I just have to get them developed.
 
Robbie this valve train setup on my Dads truck does not use adjustable cam followers like some of the older Toyotas. It use shims much like the shim buckets on a Ferrari. As the shims wear the distance from the tip of the valve stem to the cam follower will change. When this change becomes excessive you get alot of valve train noise/clatter.
One older toyota they use mechanical valve train not hydralic lifters like most American vechiles. This is more accurate and almost neve wears out because you can adjust it. On older Toyota designs you would remove the valve cover with the engine hot and use feller guage to check the clearance and adjust it back into spec.
THe engine had to be at operateing temp. You would then but a 19mm socket on the crank bolt and use a rachet to rotate the lobes into postion. It is most critical to do the exhaust while hot. With the newer designs instead of haveing a bolt and nut to adjust the valve train lash they use steel shim(kind of like a washer). WIth the newer system you measure the clearance and the thick ness of the shim/shims and then interpolate a chart to find the desired shim to bring the whole assembly back into spec.

One Toyota Tech. told us he can normaly tell buy looking at the oil fill cap if the vechile is going to need to have the valves adjusted.

I wish I was a better writer I hope you understand my post!
 
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