abecedarian

uh, yeah... an oil rated for diesel which has far more blow by and particulates causes sludge in a gasoline engine? where's the facepalm emoticon/smiley when you need it?

Squeebs

i switched mine to synth when i got it at 194... 10-40, 10-30, 5-50, 15-50, 5-30, 15-50.... mobil, castrol, quaker, amsoil, penzoil, whatever...


wasnt an amazing improvement, but it definitely smoothed it out a bit and cleaned it out quite a bit. no leaks... even after i replaced my clutch and not my rear main seal.


all my gear boxes are synth as well.. except my rear end which has a dripping problem.

Grunnen

I'm not sure how long he has ran 20w-50 in there but I'm assuming since the last oil change.

Think this has done any harm?

Lummpus

I doubt it hurt anything.

Hilux808

I've been running 20w-50 since I bought my 4runner back when it had 97k miles on it. I switched to synthetic at about 110k. Running 20w-50 will not harm anything, your engine will just burn less oil. At the milage you have you should just continue to run 20w-50 or straight 50w in warmer climates. You can try dropping down to 40 weight and seeing how much oil your engine burns. Mine at 210k uses about 9-10 ounces per 1000 miles. 32 ounces are in a quart so I burn about a 3rd of a quart per 1000 miles. Not bad for an engine with 210K. This amount of less wear is the result of using synthetics and a good one. I use Royal Purple, change it every 10k/one year, ehich ever comes first and I think it's great stuff, even the gear oil, grease and Max ATF for my power steering. Most older engines can on average consume up to a quart of oil per 1000 miles but I'm sure your 4Runner is not doing that, assuming the previous owner changed the oil regularly.

If your 4Runner was mine I would do the switch to synthetics and just be prepared for any leaks that can happen and then fix it the right way instead of letting sludge inside plug the engine up. I would rather have a truly leak free engine but thats just me. If you don't want to spend any money in potential repairs then just use conventional oil.

Grunnen

So youre running 20w-50 RP?

Hilux808

Yes, 20w-50 or straight 50 Royal Purple, which ever is cheaper here in Phoenix AZ. It doesn't get that cold here so I can get away with using straight 50 all year. Every lubricant on my truck is Royal Purple.

abecedarian

I've seen snow in Phoenix, which is too cold for 50 weight.
Which part of Phoenix are you in? Oh, wait... Glendale.
I've seen snow there too.

Hilux808

Yeah but it's pretty rare and if it does it's only for a day, like a few hours or maybe less. Usually North Scottsdale and further north. The area I'm in has never snowed for years. I've been here for 10 years and I've actually only seen snow once in the city/Phoenix and it was probably cause it was raining too so it was extra cold that day. The flakes were so small it just melted once it hit the wet ground. I usually try to time it so that when winter comes I have 20w-50 in the crank case. I have that now cause for some reason straight weight is more expensive. It used to be the opposite.