what oil/ How lohg break in for Tacoma?

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Hi, I just picked up an 04 Tacoma 4X4 with a 3.4 V6, does anybody have an oil recommendation for this vehicle. Can I switch oils right away? I was considering Mobil 1 5W-40. Would it work well in this application?

Thanks.
 
I'd run it for a few thousand miles with the oil it has in it before switching to the synthetic of your choice. The M1 5W40 would probebly be a good oil for your truck.
 
Toyota recommends a 5w-30, I had trouble in my old toyota with valve train noise and piston slap with the old tri syn and earlier mobil 1 5w-30.
 
The M1 5W40 will work just fine. You should be able to use it almost year round! My Dads 1995 Tacoma has the 2.7 I4 engine. It now has close to 150,000 miles on it. It has been feed a steady diet of M1 10W30 in the winter and M1 15W50 in the warm months. It is still running like a top. It too has the 5W30 recomendation.

I am running Redline 5W40 in my 2003 Camry. I have it in right now and it starts just fine even at -18F.

I would probably drain the OEM oil out at 1000 miles or less. Traditionaly Toyota used to recomend a 500 miles drain on new vechiles. You can go right to M1 5W40 at that point. It has been my experince that their is no need for an extensive break in period before switching to synthetics!
 
quote:

Hi, I just picked up an 04 Tacoma 4X4 with a 3.4 V6, does anybody have an oil recommendation for this vehicle. Can I switch oils right away? I was considering Mobil 1 5W-40. Would it work well in this application?

Thanks.

I've been told by several Toyota mechanics that it takes between 10-15,000 miles for a Toyota engine to get fully broken in.

With my '03 2.7L 4x4 Tacoma, after changing my oil and filter at 500, 1000, 2500, and 5000 miles, I switched over to synthetic, Mobil One 5-30 wt. From that point on, I've been changing my oil/filter every 3,000 miles. I've also been using the Lexus 90915-20004 oil filter.

Today my truck just turned 10,000 miles on the odometer on a trip. On my trip, I got 200 miles on half a tank of gas, doing 70 mph, which is approx. 25 mpg. This is the best I've gotten so far w/it.

I personally believe the first oil change is the most important. Not only have you the metal particles from the initial engine break in, but possible metal shavings and casting sand that are left over from the engine's manufacturing process.

I just bought a brand new Harley today, and it's going to go through the same oil and filter change process as my truck went through.
 
GoHack is right. I read a study once and it indicated that it takes any car about 8-12k miles to completely break in with DINO oil. With synthetics complete break in interval is about 6-10k miles.

In your case I would keep a factory oil for about 2k miles (recent UAO on factory fill oils show decent results), and switch to Mobil 1 5/10W-30 for a first one or two oil changes (up to about 9k-10k miles; do an analysis on the second one), afterwards use whatever you like.

Another thing you can do: switch to Mobil 1 (or any other major brand you like) at 500-1000 miles, then do another oil change (preferably using the same oil) at about 4000 miles.

P.S. Changing oil 4 times during 5000 miles like GoHack did is just a waste of resources - doesn't help anything. (But some people have their own "scientific"
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approach).

Regards,
 
I have a 2002 Tacoma with 15K now and I switched to Mobil 1 5W30 at 2K miles. I just recently switched to Mobil Delvac 1 5W40 and I can tell you it purs like a kitten. It's so quiet now, I cannot hear/feel the motor idle while sitting inside the truck!

And mileage has always been over 25/MPG on the freeway to the V6 with synthetic!

I would run Delvac 5W40 or Mobil SUV 5W40 (same thing) year round at 7.5K-10K miles OCI with 2 filter changes.
 
The "break in" myth is just that, a myth. Indeed, if you drive it like a granny, you WILL have problems.

I've never subscribed to an "easy" break-in. My Uncle, who was a mechanic from the "old school" used to always tell us to do the initial oil change very early, at 100 miles, and work the motor hard.

Indeed, for HD diesel motors, if you don't work the motor near 100% load, the rings won't seat properly.

I've recently come across a VERY touchy break-in guide that makes sense to me. I almost followed this guy's break-in except I did my first oil change at 600 miles, then again at 1,200 miles after 600 miles of heavy towing.

I special ordered a 2000 GMC Sierra with Vortec 5.3 V8 and 4.10 gears. Compared to other GM trucks, mine seems to run a LOT better and gets WAY better fuel economy, all stock too.

I switched to Mobil 1 after the "break-in." Due to my extreme cold winters, I run Mobil 1 0W-30 winter, Mobil 1 10W-30 summer. This April, I'll try Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 5W-40 for summer.

FWIW my oil consumption running Mobil 1 0W-30 is around 1 litre every 6,700 km (1 quart every 4,200 miles). Almost the same running Mobil 1 5W-30.

Running Mobil 1 10W-30, my oil consumption is 1 litre every 11,000 km (1 quart every 6,800 miles). This is amazing compared to other Vortec truck owners, though I consider this to be somewhat high oil use. Next new rig I'll try the controversial "break in secrets."

The URL for that break-in guide is at:

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Depending on your climate, I wouldn't be afraid to run either Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 5W-40 or Mobil 1 15W-50. In other countries, Toyota recommends much heavier than 5W-30 and in fact usually recommends to NOT use a 5W-30 in temps over +10 C / +50 F.

Here in North America the dictators at EPA and CAFE tell us what oil to run. They figure instead of allowing an economical turbodiesel like the VW Lupo 3L (Around 100 MPG) they'll squeeze 0.01 MPG across hundreds of thousands of pickup trucks and Ford Excursion V-10's.

A little common sense goes a long way, but try telling that to the gov.

I bought new a 1990 Toyota 4Runner 3.0 V6 and the shop manual recommended a wide range of viscosities. I ran Mobil Devac 1 5W-40 year round except for the 4 years I lived in Salt Lake City when I ran Mobil 1 15W-50 year round.

Compared to other 4Runners the same vintage, my motor was smooth and almost silent. No effect on fuel economy.

Hope this helps.

Jerry
 
quote:

P.S. Changing oil 4 times during 5000 miles like GoHack did is just a waste of resources - doesn't help anything. (But some people have their own "scientific" approach).

Again, the first one being the most important, thus my 500 mile, w/it's, essentially, flushing the engine. At 500 miles, the engine is still breaking in, thus my 1000 mile. The 2500 to 3000 oil change is the normal recommended first oil change, at least w/the dealerships.
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quote:

I read a study once and it indicated that it takes any car about 8-12k miles to completely break in with DINO oil. With synthetics complete break in interval is about 6-10k miles.

Shouldn't that be the other way around, w/6-10K for the Dino and 8-12K for the synthetic? The synthetic provides less wear, and thus a longer break in.
 
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