Toyota truck owners...when can I switch to synthetic?

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Al

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You can switch to a synthetic as soon as you got it home from the dealer. I switched out my Sentra 2L at about 40 miles and it uses maybe an ounce of oil every 2000 miles.
 
If it were my truck, I'd dump the factory fill around 1,000 miles, change the filter, and put dino back in till the 3,000 mile mark. At that point, I think you'd be safe to move to the syn of your choice.

I have an 2000 Tundra w/ the 3.4 V6, and I changed to Amsoil 0W30 around 6,000 miles, should have changed earlier.

Around 17,000 miles I installed their dual bypass filter setup and have never regretted it. I change the filter @ 6 months & the oil and the reg. & bypass filters once each year, with about 12-13,000 total miles on the oil.

OA comes back showing viscosity out of range (thickened) but oil would have still been fine for continued use.

I did move from the 0w30 to the 5w30 at the most recent change to see if it too has the thickening problem.

Good luck with your Toyota, as these engines seem to be pretty easy on the oil.
 
I think this is one of those questions that is open to a little debate. But I am not the expert for it. I wonder if the "syn" that you decide to use might be a determining factor. I have been running Mobil 1 but bought my tacoma used (dino) so I didn't have that choice. But I just did an oil change using Red Line 5W30 and I quote from the quart "Not for break-in of engines - allow 3,000 miles".
 
I'm not trying to get off topic or try to change your mind, I promise. I have an 04 Tacoma V6 (I know your truck has a different engine than mine) and it runs so good on Valvoline Durablend 5W30. I've posted this before and I sound like a Valvoline sales person, I swear I'm not. My engine runs great and I get fantastic gas milleage. The only reason I tried this oil was because I got the free 5 quart deal, now I run out to buy it when it goes on sale. If you're looking for extended OCI's this might not be the best stuff (I don't know), but if you're looking for an oil that ran great in the old 3.4L Toyota's this is, in my opinion, it.
 
Got a little over 700 miles on my 05 Tacoma V6 4x4 and want to know if I can switch to synthetic at 3,000 or do I need to go longer on dino?
 
I changed to Mobil 1 5W/30 at 1200 miles on my 03 V6 Tundra and it is doing great. I installed a Motor Guard bypass filter at 9000 miles and the truck is doing great. Many new cars come with synthetic from the factory.
cheers.gif
 
I did my 03 at around 2000 miles and filled it up with Mobil1. The first batch of Mobil 1 was dumped at 5000 miles on the odo, 3000 mile interval on oil. I now change it at 6 months/6000 miles.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner,2.7 liter, 4 cylinder, Mobil1 5w30 ODO 12000
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner,3.0 liter,6 cylinder, Mobil1 10w30 ODO 92870
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quote:

Originally posted by jcarnut:
But I just did an oil change using Red Line 5W30 and I quote from the quart "Not for break-in of engines - allow 3,000 miles".

While many here wouldn't have a problem using Redline during the break-in period, most would agree that spending $8 per quart just to dump it out in 1000 miles or less is a waste - this is not a time when you want to try an extended OCI. This is the reason that a quality group II+ or III is a good oil for breaking in an engine. Good short term protection with little $$$ out of your pocket. Once the engine is broken in, you can enjoy the many perks that the synth oils have to offer.
 
I have an 04 4runner with the 4.7. I bought it new but it was the owners demo. It had 2200 miles on it. Still perfect. I changed the oil the day I got home. Put Mobile 1 in it. I usually dump the factory oils at 1k.
 
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