Toyota Sludge Monster V6 with 3,000 mile drain interval on mineral oil.

[RichR]

We have a '99 Camry since new.Castrol @3k or less on oil changes.Before I found this site I suspected it was sludging.City driving and a remote starter doesn't help.48k on vehicle.
I drained the 1st Auto-Rx dose last week.It was extremely dark black for only 800 miles.I have the before and last filter for cutting and will post my observations.
Rich

 

[Employee#08]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RichR:
We have a '99 Camry since new.Castrol @3k or less on oil changes.Before I found this site I suspected it was sludging.City driving and a remote starter doesn't help.48k on vehicle.
I drained the 1st Auto-Rx dose last week.It was extremely dark black for only 800 miles.I have the before and last filter for cutting and will post my observations.
Rich

---

RichR, do you have the filter(s) cut open already? What are your observations?

[ April 13, 2003, 06:29 AM: Message edited by: Employee#08 ]

 

[Spector]

Someone mentioned the PCV valve and cleaning it every 20-30,000 miles. Well, it is really easy to get to on mY V6 and less then a $5 part so replacing it is almost as easy as cleaning it.
Having owned both, the Camry V6 and the Nissan MAxima V6 that Nissan engine is one of the sweetest every made. Now, the GM 3800 (I now have one of these in a Buick) is also very smooth and a workhorse. I have been going 12,000 mile changes (the Maxima could do 12,000 also) and it seems to be pretty gentle on the oil (this is the SC version) but I just sent a sample in at 10,000 miles as it was a tough winter and the oil didn't look good to me. However, in the past I have changed the filter at 6000, this time no filter change for the 10,000 miles. Will see what the resutls are.

 

[Employee#08]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Spector:
Someone mentioned the PCV valve and cleaning it every 20-30,000 miles. Well, it is really easy to get to on mY V6 and less then a $5 part so replacing it is almost as easy as cleaning it.
Having owned both, the Camry V6 and the Nissan MAxima V6 that Nissan engine is one of the sweetest every made. Now, the GM 3800 (I now have one of these in a Buick) is also very smooth and a workhorse. I have been going 12,000 mile changes (the Maxima could do 12,000 also) and it seems to be pretty gentle on the oil (this is the SC version) but I just sent a sample in at 10,000 miles as it was a tough winter and the oil didn't look good to me. However, in the past I have changed the filter at 6000, this time no filter change for the 10,000 miles. Will see what the resutls are.

---

Spector, we almost have the same cars.

I have 4 banger Camry and a Maxima. What year is your Maxima? I have been contemplating whether to change to another dino oil brand or to a synthetic oil for my Maxima. Reading more and more from this site I am more inclined to switch. My daily driving consists of all city driving of 40kms(25 miles) in total. The car sees the highway only on weekends which is about 40-60kms(25-37 miles). The car doesn't see high rpm's as it is an automatic and I don't push it. Necessary to use Auto-Rx when switching over to another different brand name dino oil or synthetic? Everyones advice is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[uconn1150]

I'd run auto-rx if switching from dino to syn...just to be sure you have all of the gunk out(if any) and to clean out the seals. That way you will be clean & leak free when going syn!

[ April 13, 2003, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: uconn1150 ]

 

[Spector]

I had a 95 GXE and a 98 SE with the 5 spd. Great cars and engines. On both I used synthetic with 12,000 mile changes, fitler at 6000. The 95 I sold to a freind who now has 120,000+ the 98 was a trade and I have no idea where it is. I did not sell them because of any problems. Great cars.

 

[RichR]

Employee#08,
I just put in the second dose of Auto-Rx today.I cut open the first dose oil filter and none of the others.I getting roundtuit.Been working seven days lately.I'll try to do them soon.The one I did cut open I only pulled out the filter part.Should I cut that to see inside?I didn't look sludged.The oil was very black when I drianed it.Dark not gray like a 3k oil change.
RichR

 

[dagmando]

quote:

---

Originally posted by outrun:
How clean do maintained GM 3800 Engines look?

---

I have written this in the past: My '87 Grand National (Turbo 3.8) has 115K miles now and have used Castrol GTX 10w-30 since I bought it new in 1987. I replaced an oil pan gasket last spring and the oil pan was a nice gold color with absolutely no sludge at all. I sprayed it down with with brake fluid and just wiped it out. I did a valve cover gasket a couple of years ago and the same thing, very clean and that was at about 100K. I drive my car hard with many 1/4 mile runs at the local track. 3K mile intervals with a Fram filter for 15 years now. Only recently I switched to a Puraltor oil filter just in case all the bad press Fram is getting is even slightly true, and they are the same price. All those oil additives, cleaners... they do not belong in your engine, only good quality oil with regular changes belong in there.

 

[RichR]

RichR, do you have the filter(s) cut open already? What are your observations?
Well I finaly cut open three oil filters from the Camry.Stock Toyota filters are used.
1.oil change 2700 miles before Auto Rx.
2.about 800 miles with Auto Rx in the oil.
3.Filter change after 700 miles on oil after 1st ARX and adding second ARX treatment.
I maked these filter at removal.I cannot tell any difference between any of them.Except they were all just as dirty as the 2700 mile one.I also cut into the media to pull it out.The only difference is the blackness of the oil.Usually its a gray color @ normal 2500-3k intervals.
I have the last treatment in and will post what I find.
RichR

 

[thedude_888]

A few comments to this post.

1. GM 3800 motor is great for midsized cars and can go over 200k if taken care of.

2. Sludge in Toyotas seems to be a well known fact here, but most people don't have a clue. I've owned Toyotas in the past and killed a Tercel on purpose, by not changing the oil for 25k miles + getting into 3 accidents with it in my youth (but it died of engine failure @ 167k). C.R. put a "sludge alert" on most Toyota engines & there are lawsuits going on for Toyota failing to cover the repairs. From what I've read the sludge failures are happening in between 70k to 90k miles for the most part. *Probably from changing the oil every 5k+ instead of 3-4k. If I had a Toyota today I would run synthetic oil only.

Buyer Beware if buying a used Toyota, if the owner can't prove OCI every 3k -or- if you see a bottle of cheapo Supermarket X brand suspect sludge possibilities.

 

[Amkeer]

"I personally don't care for Toyotas all that much as they are overrated in terms of reliability and durability."

This is such a load of crappola its not even funny! If this was a fact Toyota would not be gaining market share and valued at $100+ a share. I personally can vouch for my last 20 years of owning Toyotas.

I would run Mobil 1 and change every 9-12 months.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner,2.7 liter, 4 cylinder, Mobil1 5w30 ODO 23800
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner,3.0 liter,6 cylinder, Mobil1 5w40 tsuv ODO 102500
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[thedude_888]

Amkeer, I didn't say I hate Toyotas. I like Toyotas, but they have a sludge alert on some engines. Not Toyotas fault, its because of higher temps with new emission standards. To my knowledge this is a US problem (not positive). Neither one of your cars is on that list + since you use Mobil 1, the flashpoint is too high & I don't think that oil would sludge up. I can't find the Consumer Reports article, but I do have this

http://www.yotarepair.com/Sludge_Zone.html

Sludge years are:

Camry 4 cyl. Produced 8/96 - 7/01
Camry 6 cyl. Produced 8/96 - 7/01
Solara 4 cyl. Produced 6/98 - 5/01
Solara 6 cyl. Produced 6/98 - 5/01
Sienna 6 cyl. Produced 7/97 - 5/01
Avalon 6 cyl. Produced 7/96 - 5/01
Celica 4 cyl. Produced 8/96 - 4/99
Highlander 6 cyl. Produced 11/00 - 7/01

There you go. I only post what I can back up.

 

[Amkeer]

Dude,

Its well known on this board the "sludge issues" with certain Yotas. Its highly probable that the issue is caused by shearing, hot heads as well as Yotas OCI interval with dino at 12 months, 7500 miles. Normal dino use at 6 months, 4000 miles will not cause a problem.

I have a problem with people that criticize Toyotas as whole as being unreliable and overrated. That is just false!

 

[MADMIKE]

JJBULA---what oil and filters are you using and what oil change intervals? Thanks! (What did Terry have to say? I have a 2001 2.2 4 cyl Camry and am torn over how to prevent sludge--previously did 3,000 mile dino OCI's but have switched to Mobil 1 EP but it's too expensive--considering mobil 7500 with 5,000 OCI's but am concerned that this is too long??)

 

[MADMIKE]

Thanks Mitch! I may go back to that (3k/dino) or go 4,000 miles on a synthetic blend like Motorcraft or Mobil 7,500. I'm wondering if 5,000 miles is too risky with a synthetic blend in a sludger.

 

[Amkeer]

1st,

I fault Toyota for a lenient OCI in those years. Good maintenance practices would prevent the sludge from happening in the first place. At least Toyota stepped up to the plate and admitted to the problem unlike some manufacturers

 

[Audity]

 

[Audity]

Jae, this is extremely OT, but your post struck a chord with me.

The rest of the good folks here on BITOG, feel free to disregard my comment. It's not about oil.

Your concern for your mother, your taking care of her needs, and in particular your sensitivity to not creating complexities she doesn't need, are a very fine thing. How a person treats his parents when they need him will matter for the rest of his life.

Sorry for the OT, some things are more important than cars, folks who have been through it understand

 

[John_E]

"The Toyota V-6 is absolutely the worst N/A engine I've seen in terms of oil degradation, period."

Worse than the Audi 1.8T when mounted longitudinally in a VW Passat or Audi A4?

 

[1sttruck]

"I have a problem with people that criticize Toyotas as whole as being unreliable and overrated. That is just false!"

Toyota is the one who recommended the oil type and oil change interval. If cars have reliability issues because of that it's Toyota's fault, and is also a reflection of their product reliability. This should be obvious.