Unknown Lube -- Unknown Mileage -- 1998 Toyota Camry V6

[Artem]

It's been 80,000 miles and 5 years since the last sample on my beloved Camry V6. We purchased this car new in 1997 and had it for 235,000 trouble free miles when it got sold to a friend. I've been servicing the car on and off for years when the owner would call and ask. Recently the car developed a misfire which I've yet to diagnose and while the car was here, I decided to pull a sample on the oil since the owner didn't remember when was the last time it was serviced

Looks like the engine is still doing good, for the most part. I've convinced the owner to let me service it regularly in order to see it reach 400k miles since he doesn't plan to sell it anytime soon. We'll see if he sticks to my 5,000 service recommendation and actually calls when it's time to change the oil. I placed a Blackstone Labs window sticker as a reminder.




Code:


OIL Unknown Lube

MILES IN USE Unknown miles

MILES on unit 313,366

SAMPLE TAKEN 06/23/2018

Make up Oil 0



Universal Average

ALUMINUM 5 2

CHROMIUM 0 0

IRON 7 5

COPPER 8 2

LEAD 6 3

TIN 0 0

MOLYBDENUM 86 70

NICKEL 0 0

MANGANESE 0 0

SILVER 0 0

TITANIUM 1 0

POTASSIUM 2 2

BORON 28 36

SILICON 12 13

SODIUM 20 25

CALCIUM 2101 2113

MAGNESIUM 49 45

PHOSPHORUS 690 682

ZINC 744 806

BARIUM 0 0



Values Should Be*

SUS VIS 210ºF 56.9

cSt @ 212ºF 9.34

FLASHPOINT ºF 385 >375

Fuel %
Antifreeze 0.0 0.0

WATER 0.0
INSOLUBLES 0.1
TBN 2.0 >1.0



Some previous UOA's can be found here, for anyone interested. It usually got 5,000 mile OCIs when I had it. The high bearing wear was present from the very first UOA @ 190,000 miles and stayed consistent. Some daily the engine will surely eat itself to death soon but seems that hasn't happened yet and she's still purring along...

Previous UOA 2,554 miles on PYB

Previous UOA 5,000 miles on Amsoil OE

Previous UOA 5,050 miles on Amsoil OE

Previous UOA 5,455 miles on Amsoil OE

Previous UOA 7,022 miles on Amsoil OE

 

[Leo99]

we usually censor out the personal information like name and address...

Does it consume any oil between changes? RMS ok?

 

[Artem]

Yea I noticed it after I submitted the post. I edited out my info.

Burns about half a quart or so but the owner doesn't check or add any, so it's always been LOW when it was time to change it. As much as I tried to lecture him about it, but even scare tactics about blowing the engine wasn't enough to get him to check the oil midway thru the interval... idiot. I guess some people just never change.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: Artem
Yea I noticed it after I submitted the post. I edited out my info.

Burns about half a quart or so but the owner doesn't check or add any, so it's always been LOW when it was time to change it. As much as I tried to lecture him about it, but even scare tactics about blowing the engine wasn't enough to get him to check the oil midway thru the interval... idiot. I guess some people just never change.


You're an enabler, but, hey, it's your baby. My Rav4 got a lot worse between 320k miles and 350k miles. There's no oil dripping and no smoke out the tailpipe but the oil gets consumed. Hope your Toyota makes it to 400k. Once you get over 300k, you need to nose around under the hood a little more than usual to catch small problems before they become big problems.

 

[Artem]

If it was still in my possession, there's a lot I would do to it, maintenance wise, it's in rough shape, since it's the owners daily beater and he doesn't seem to care for it much, for some reason.

Hey it's a 300,000 mile car that hasn't given him any issues. What more can you ask for, out of a 20 year old vehicle?

 

[meadows]

What oil are you going to use?

 

[PlzRepond]

THx artem!

 

[bbhero]

Great point Artem. My lady's Camry is a 98 as well and it has done very, very well.

 

[camrydriver111]

Why were the wear metals so high around 200,000?

 

[Artem]

Beats me man, this engine has produced what Blackstone calls bearing wear since the first sample. It has remained high and flagged ever since. Same driving style. Nothing severe or out of the normal. Original drivetrain.

 

[Artem]

Haven't seen this old girl in like 4 years... Owner has been servicing it who knows where. Calls me outta the blue and asks for an oil change. When I saw the odometer, I decided to celebrate and upgraded him to some Royal Purple I had from a clearance sale at no cost.

Past due for it's 3rd timing belt change by 50k miles and counting. Ticking time bomb, in my opinion but he's the type who doesn't replace something that isn't broken. I guess the next post will be when he calls me from the side of the road that the engine blew because the belt ripped.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Past due for it's 3rd timing belt change by 50k miles and counting. Ticking time bomb, in my opinion but he's the type who doesn't replace something that isn't broken. I guess the next post will be when he calls me from the side of the road that the engine blew because the belt ripped.

People are so frustrating. What a shame that would be

 

[dnewton3]

I would concur with the bearing comments; that's the likely source of the Pb and Cu.

Shame he won't take better care of it. But, at some point, it's just a beater to him and he likely doesn't have the emotional attachment to it that you do. If it gets semi-regular OCIs, that's probably the best she's gonna get. As for the cam belt, that, too, is a shame.

 

[FZ1]

Haven't seen this old girl in like 4 years... Owner has been servicing it who knows where. Calls me outta the blue and asks for an oil change. When I saw the odometer, I decided to celebrate and upgraded him to some Royal Purple I had from a clearance sale at no cost.

Past due for it's 3rd timing belt change by 50k miles and counting. Ticking time bomb, in my opinion but he's the type who doesn't replace something that isn't broken. I guess the next post will be when he calls me from the side of the road that the engine blew because the belt ripped.

The good news for all of us is: Look how long that Thang has lasted with casual , service!

 

[Artem]

The good news for all of us is: Look how long that Thang has lasted with casual , service!

Yea. Black stone said it’s bearing wear since like 200k miles. So it’s still spinning just fine for 150k miles. I’m definitely surprised it made it to 350k. This is the supposed sludge engine. I also used this exact car for my Auto-X and Kreen tests. Oh so many oil changes and valve cover removals. I can do it blindfolded probably. Haha.