What oil for a 2002 Tacoma 3RZ?

[frmtbiker]

Greetings,

I have a 2002 Toyota Tacoma with the 2.7L 4-cylinder (3RZ motor) with 123,000+ miles. I just performed a valve adjustment on it following the Toyota FSM and replaced 7 shims. Only 2 valves were out of spec (and only slightly) and the other 4 were just on the bottom end of range. Following the adjustment all 16 are now right in the middle of the correct specifications.

I did the adjustment because it's recommended every 60,000 miles and I don't know if it had ever been done. In addition the 3RZ is known to burn valves when the exhaust valves get to far out of spec, which is because as the valve clearance gets to low, the valves don't fully seat which allows them to get too hot. Anyway, following the valve adjustment I performed a compression test just to be sure everything was good. I got 165psi/130/165/175. You can imagine my dissapointment... However, upon adding a little oil to cylinder 2 and testing it again I got almost 160psi, which points to worn rings/cylinder walls, not a valve issue.

The truck runs/idles/drives perfect and uses ZERO oil between changes. I had been running Castrol 5W-30 but last oil change I switched to Valvoline Synthetic 5W-30. Now I'm debating switching back to a High MIleage oil like Castrol High Mileage or Valvoline Max Life synthetic blend because I'm concerned about blowby.

I not going to do anything about the engine as tearing it apart would cost more than I could find a good low mileage used engine. Besides, it could last another 50,000 miles like this.

So should I go for a High mileage oil and if so which one? Should I go up to 10W-30? Or should I just stick with what I've got?

Thanks in advance...

 

[beast3300]

It not burning oil, you don't need high mileage oil. 5w30 is fine. My Regal doesn't use oil at 202,000 all on 5w30 (cap says 10w30).

Stick with a quality conventional. My fav of course a Pennzoil as you can see in my signature.

 

[FL_Rob]

Maybe the ring lands are gummed up,worn rings at 123k thats extreme,or is this common on Toyota's.Come to think of it, try a ring soak with SEAFOAM ,whats to lose?

 

[frmtbiker]

It was CLEAN under the valve cover, if that's any indicator of the rings???

I Seafoamed it 5000 miles ago, but I will try it before my next oil change as well.

Thanks for the replies do far.

 

[frmtbiker]

Originally Posted By: FL_Rob
Maybe the ring lands are gummed up,worn rings at 123k thats extreme,or is this common on Toyota's.Come to think of it, try a ring soak with SEAFOAM ,whats to lose?


I just put Seafoam through the intake vacuum line, waited 10 min, then started it and drove about 10 mins to clear all the exhaust fumes.

I also added about 8 oz to the engine oil (per the recommended 1.5 oz per quart). It put the oil level over the full line on the dipstick so I'm leary about running it too long. The can does say you can run it long term and change the oil when it appears dirty, but how long/how many miles should I go? Is there a rule of thumb for freeing a possible sticky ring?

 

[FL_Rob]

Sorry for the long wait on the reply,no I meant pull the spark plugs and with a tube and funnel,fill the cylinders with seafoam,then, some say turn the engine by hand for a few turns of the crank ,by hand.Do this overnight on a day you wont need to use it of course, then change the oil replace the plus,rather than an engine swap,at least try this first.

 

[frmtbiker]

Originally Posted By: FL_Rob
Sorry for the long wait on the reply,no I meant pull the spark plugs and with a tube and funnel,fill the cylinders with seafoam,then, some say turn the engine by hand for a few turns of the crank ,by hand.Do this overnight on a day you wont need to use it of course, then change the oil replace the plus,rather than an engine swap,at least try this first.


Ahh, well I just followed the instructions on the can for freeing a sticky ring and added 1.5oz per quart of oil directly to the crankcase. And since I had 8 oz left over I did the vacuum line induction as well. I'm going to run it a few days and then change the oil. Perhaps I'll try your method before the next oil change.

Like I said it's running perfect, so I'm not to worried about it.

Thanks for the replies.