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Car Forum / Toyota / Camry / September 2007

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Synthetic Oil ??

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Willy in Santa Fe - 24 Sep 2007 18:01 GMT
I have a 1996 Toyota Camry. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 cylinder; and I
know it's a 4 door. I've got about 90K miles on it. I should also say
that at one point the oil had not been changed for some time and
sludge was produced just inside the oil cap at top of engine.

I'm wondering if replacing conventional oil with synthetic is a good
idea. Last time I thought about this was 10 years ago, and at that
point it was discouraged. These days I see a lot of synthetic oil
around.

Any thoughts would be quite appreciated.

Thanks.

Willy
mack - 24 Sep 2007 19:40 GMT
> I have a 1996 Toyota Camry. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 cylinder; and I
> know it's a 4 door. I've got about 90K miles on it. I should also say
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Willy

To answer your question with a question.....

If you do change from dinosaur oil to synthetic (at four or five times the
cost) what do you hope to gain?  Increased engine life?   Cooler running?
etc etc?
Bob H - 24 Sep 2007 22:12 GMT
> I have a 1996 Toyota Camry. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 cylinder; and I
> know it's a 4 door. I've got about 90K miles on it. I should also say
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Willy

Synthetic oil is great stuff.  In the three Toyota's we have we don't use it
at all.  Changing your oil every 3k - 5k miles depending on conditions
should be plenty.

If you've a turbo engine or some other high-performance stressed out engine,
then I'd use synthetic even if the mfr. did not recommend it.

I think you'd be wasting your money on it, and its not going to clean up any
sludge, real or imagined.
sharx35 - 25 Sep 2007 05:17 GMT
>> I have a 1996 Toyota Camry. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 cylinder; and I
>> know it's a 4 door. I've got about 90K miles on it. I should also say
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> I think you'd be wasting your money on it, and its not going to clean up any sludge, real or imagined.

Syn is great in areas with temp extremes. Here, in Alberta, where we bottom out in winter at -40 all too
often, 5W-30 kicks a.s....car can sit all day long OUTSIDE, not plugged in, and start in an instant as
there is no drag caused by thick, cold dino oil.
mred - 25 Sep 2007 13:43 GMT
On Sep 24, 5:12 pm, "Bob H" <dontcallmeillcall...@nullandvoid.net>
wrote:

> > I have a 1996 Toyota Camry. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 cylinder; and I
> > know it's a 4 door. I've got about 90K miles on it. I should also say
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

Synthetic oil is the best in extreme climates in regular car engines
as it doesnt even BEGIN to thicken until ambient reaches -45*F.

You can imagine how well this will lubricate your engine on cold
starts wherever you live.(Instant lubrication )

However having said that > it has been reported that synthetic oil
will start leaking gaskets  because it dissolves the crud that is
sealing the gaskets.

If your car , regardless of mileage has been neglected for regular
FREQUENT oil changes over the years I would hesitate to use synthetic
at this point in its life

Synthetic WILL dissolve all the crud in your engine and may cause MORE
problems than you can tolerate.

I would use dino oil and change it every 1000 miles for the next 3
changes  to dissolve all the crud in your engine and drain it out with
each oil change .

Then I would start a REGULAR oil and filter change program under the
"severe service " designation of your owners manual.

Hope this helps
sharx35 - 26 Sep 2007 05:07 GMT
> On Sep 24, 5:12 pm, "Bob H" <dontcallmeillcall...@nullandvoid.net>
> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
>
> Hope this helps

I was told to use dino for the first 24,000 kilometres, and THEN switch to syn. It was suggested to delay
too long before switching to syn could result in gasket leaks.
Mark A - 26 Sep 2007 05:32 GMT
> I was told to use dino for the first 24,000 kilometres, and THEN switch to
> syn. It was suggested to delay too long before switching to syn could
> result in gasket leaks.

10,000 kilometers (6000 miles) is more than enough time to wait to switch to
synthetic.

In the old days, synthetic oil could cause gaskets to leak. But that is not
a problem anymore.

The problem now when switching too late is that excessive engine wear may
have already occurred, and the slippy synthetic oil will slide past the
piston rings too easily.
mred - 27 Sep 2007 12:48 GMT
> > On Sep 24, 5:12 pm, "Bob H" <dontcallmeillcall...@nullandvoid.net>
> > wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 57 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

THIS IS WHAT PUZZLES ME ? I KNOW VEHICLES HAVE TOP BE "BROKEN "
IN ,BUT WHY DO SOME CAR MANUFACTURERS INSTALL MOBIL 1 SYNTHETIC RIGHT
AT THE FACTORY ?
(PORSCHE, LAMBORGHINI, FERRARI ETC.AND I THINK MERCEDES.Also I heard
Chrysler was using it in the Viper
Sorry about the caps , lock was stuck.
Tom K. - 27 Sep 2007 15:45 GMT
> THIS IS WHAT PUZZLES ME ? I KNOW VEHICLES HAVE TOP BE "BROKEN "
> IN ,BUT WHY DO SOME CAR MANUFACTURERS INSTALL MOBIL 1 SYNTHETIC RIGHT
> AT THE FACTORY ?
> (PORSCHE, LAMBORGHINI, FERRARI ETC.AND I THINK MERCEDES.Also I heard
> Chrysler was using it in the Viper
> Sorry about the caps , lock was stuck.

Since 1999, all US BMW cars have come with synthetic oil, and the previous
recommended change interval has doubled.

Tom K.
Mark A - 28 Sep 2007 02:28 GMT
> THIS IS WHAT PUZZLES ME ? I KNOW VEHICLES HAVE TOP BE "BROKEN "
> IN ,BUT WHY DO SOME CAR MANUFACTURERS INSTALL MOBIL 1 SYNTHETIC RIGHT
> AT THE FACTORY ?
> (PORSCHE, LAMBORGHINI, FERRARI ETC.AND I THINK MERCEDES.Also I heard
> Chrysler was using it in the Viper
> Sorry about the caps , lock was stuck.

Because their high performance engines require synthetic oil, and the
warranty requires it. Therefore, they could hardly put in conventional oil
for first fill if they required owners to use synthetic.
johngdole@hotmail.com - 28 Sep 2007 23:24 GMT
Modern engines no longer need the regular break-in period. At least
for better cars. So the factory-filled synthetics in VW, BMW, etc can
easily go 15,000 miles with oil sensors telling you when to change (as
low as 12,000 miles).

Just don't play the extended drain game in a Toyota. It's small filter
and crankcase size aren't designed for extended drain intervals.

> THIS IS WHAT PUZZLES ME ? I KNOW VEHICLES HAVE TOP BE "BROKEN "
> IN ,BUT WHY DO SOME CAR MANUFACTURERS INSTALL MOBIL 1 SYNTHETIC RIGHT
> AT THE FACTORY ?
> (PORSCHE, LAMBORGHINI, FERRARI ETC.AND I THINK MERCEDES.Also I heard
> Chrysler was using it in the Viper
> Sorry about the caps , lock was stuck.
Daniel - 26 Sep 2007 18:52 GMT
> sludge was produced just inside the oil cap at top of engine.
==
see:
auto-rx.com
johngdole@hotmail.com - 27 Sep 2007 02:24 GMT
The 1996 engine is not a Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV) rated engine. It
runs cooler than the 97+ sludge makers and are less likely to sludge
up than Toyota engines produced after 1997. In fact, the 96 even has
an oil cooler. How cool!

The concern is with sludge on the bottom of the cylinder head, and
that's seen only when you pull the valve cover. At around $15 you
might want to do that. Just follow the Haynes manual. If you do any
maintenance work it's a 10 minute job with a large socket (30/32mm?)
and a few dabs of RTV (sensor safe, 99 cents at your local 99 cent
store). Yeah I know, Camrys are worth it ;-)

> I have a 1996 Toyota Camry. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 cylinder; and I
> know it's a 4 door. I've got about 90K miles on it. I should also say
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Willy
 
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