Castrol Syntec

I do it ~ twice a year, simply to drain moisture, etc...

I only do about 7k a year.

Do not exceed the recommended service intervals from Toyota for the type of driving you do.

Toyota's oil change interval since 2004 has been downgraded to 5000 miles. Even their Lexus requires an oil change at 5000 miles or risk sludging up the engine. That's why I say Toyotas aren't designed for extended drain intervals.

Go 5001 miles and technically your warranty is void.

Thanks all, my next question would be if you change your own oil how would they know if you changed it at 3, 4, 5, or 6k, except for the lousy gas mileage (11-12 mpg city) the truck runs great and needs no other service. Do you technically have to take the truck in to be cover by warranty?

Thanks.

I knew someone here in California that lost a turbo and had missed one oil change by about 1500 miles. The dealer claimed that the warranty was void and it cost a couple of grand to replace. Later, the car owner chanced to talk to an attorney who was well versed in consumer law, and he pointed out that it was up to the dealer to prove that the oil change interval was the cause of the failure, and that since the failure came several oil changes, and many thousands of miles after the missed oil change, it was unlikely the dealer could make the assertion stick. Furthermore, since the dealer had continued to service the vehicle at the sheduled intervals, ostensibly to keep the warranty intact, they were implying that the warranty was still in place. Long story short, the owner eventually was re-imbursed for the turbo. I have an '05 Tundra with the 4.7L V-8. I have used Amsoil 0-30 in it since the second oil change, and I change the filter every 5K, then a filter and oil every third time, or 15K. I do the same with an old 22RE I have. At

237K I had occasion to tear down the 22RE because it ate a spark plug insulator. The lower end was PRISTINE, and the bores were still crosshatched the full length of the ring contact area all the way around the bore. I installed a new head, and bored the block 30 over and put it back together with the same lower end. The only real wear on the thing was from the rear main seal, and I had a sleeve installed over that to make up for the groove the seal had left. You are on your own with the warranty, but I think a set of records, and receipts for the materials suffices as proof for your warranty. I also think that when I dispose of my oil at 15K it is still better than any "conventional" oil when new. As far as sludging goes, I don't have any in either truck.

I think that the point is that why would you want to risk problems?

Don't trust the marketing claims made by synthetic oil sellers, stick to the recommended change interval. There's no need to visit the dealer for this, but OTOH, they are better trained to do it than the average oil change shop. I stopped using oil change shops after my drain plug was messed up for the

3rd time. Doing it yourself is a fine alternative as long as you know what you're doing. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on over-priced synthetic, since there's no credible evidence that it offers any benefits in terms of engine life. Any gas savings are more than offset by the increased cost of the oil.

Save your receipts for the oil and filter and you have all the evidence you need if there's a warranty issue.

I run Amsoil 5W-30 in my 2001 4.7L Sequoia and change the oil every December, running 12-20 thousand miles per year. I change the oil filter in June and December and use one of the very best oil filters on the market (mobile 1 filter). My Sequoia doesn't use any measurable amount of oil in the 6 months between filter changes. I check the Ph of my oil for acidity and it has always been fine throughout the year. I am in no way affiliated or market Amsoil I just believe in their product and have been using it for over 20 years. If you think this is a fluke, my "old" truck is a 1991 3.0 V-6 Toyota 4x4 with over 310,000 miles on it. I recently swapped the engine due to a bad exhaust valve and figured it was time for a tear down on the original for new gaskets and seals. The original motor still had all connecting rod and main bearings well within spec, still some cross hatch in the cylinders, the cams with no noticeable wear and no sludge. The machine shop that did the head work was amazed at how many miles were on the heads judging by their condition. I basically had the valves seats redone, made sure the surfaces were true. Installed all new gaskets and seals and have the engine ready for a reinstall if I ever need it. My point here is that it is well worth the money to buy the best oil you can if you plan on keeping the vehicle.

You can do your own oil changes, but at least keep the receipts.

But Long Ranger is right, it's good to have a good lawyer on your side and the courts on the consumers' side, but a lawyer costs more than an oil change. ;)

Interesting.

Was there any ridge at the top of the poston bore?

GC

Virtually no ridge at the top of the bore, just a faint line. I was able to slip the pistons right out to check the rings and clean the grooves. The bearings, connecting rods, rings, valve guides, crank, cylinders and cams all looked great. Just had the valve seats redone and installed all new seals and gaskets.

I forgot to mention two other key items I do as well with in my vehicles. In the 4.7L Sequoia there is enough room to use the larger Mobile1 filter, I believe it is a M1-205. The important thing with extended oil changes is to change the oil before the oil filter goes into bypass and stops filtering the oil all together. With a larger filter, that obviously takes longer. The second thing the oil filter does is help cool the oil, larger filter = more cooling. The second thing I do is put a rare earth magnet on the end of the oil filter, then remove it after I change oil filters and put it on the new filter. You can pick up a rare earth magnet for a couple of bucks, a good source for them is old computer hard drives otherwise. I've always run magnetic drain plugs in my vehicles and once I started using synthetic oil with the magnet on the filter my oil plug magnet debris is almost gone. With conventional oil there was always a slight buildup between 3,000 mile oil changes.

I change mine twice a year +filter,as most of my driving is 70% severe service(in town)

2002 Toyota Camry 4cyl. auto over 125,000 k (77,500 miles)on it now and NO sludging evident.

I use mobil 1 , 5w30 gray cap in the spring as I drive more then in the summer months on the highway. And I use Mobil1 Extended Service

5w30 , yellow cap in the fall, as my driving is limited to 70% in town with 2 trips a month on the highway of over 100 miles both ways , in the winter. This is enough to burn off any water or acid that has accumulated in the oil from in town driving.

Incidentally , I cant see that this vehicle uses ANY oil between changes , judging by the dipstick level, and thats after a hard highway run at and above the limits.

I think thats probably due to increased engine tolerances + the quality of synthetic oil is far superiour to the old time dino oil.

Dont get me wrong , dino oil is good IF? you change it MORE often than synthetic oil./

When I had my `92 accord (which the wife totaled ) I used to change the oil + filter around every 4000 k(24-2500 miles) but then I used dino oil of the best quality.(Usually Shell Rotella diesel rated oil)It had about 350,000 on it at the time, and barely used any oil between changes

In my `86 accord which is long gone now it had over 315,000 on it with no problems when a 72 year old retard rear-ended it and totaled it.It still ran like new and only used a liter of oil every 1000 -1200 miles on the highway , high speed trip driving.

When there was a prima facie speed limit in Montana I set the cruise at 110 MPH and never had a problem.

I believe the biggest and best thing you can do for a car is frequent oil + filter changes.

I forgot to mention that I pushed the pistons right on out of the bore. No ridge at all.