What would happen...

Lets say the dealership serviced a 4.0 with the 2.7 oil weight and amount? I liked to hear what could potentially happen.

 

just kidding lol. more than likely the engine would be scavenging for oil and your motor would sieze. the oil weight is not as much of an issue as the amount is

 

I would guess if it was low enough your oil light would come on, you'd add some, and all would be fine. Some might freak out and immediately drain/refill with correct oil, but in all likelihood you'd be just fine until your next oil change.

 

V6 folks take less oil than the I-4 guys so in theory you would be overfilled---not low. Its not the best idea to run and engine while more than the recommended oil level. If its over by a bit, I wouldn't worry to much--couple mm above--....if its over by a lot, I would take it back and ask them to make sure they do it correctly this time around.

Side note is its a 6-lug: The chances of this happening are slim to none. If anything the I-4 would get the oil amount the V6 requires....you have no idea how many sales/service people have argued with me that Toyota does not have a 4 cylinder Prerunner (6-lug) only to prove them all wrong by opening up the hood.

 

I stand corrected -- thanks. I'm surprised the four takes more oil than the six. My bad!

 

This happened to me 3 weeks ago. They were suppose to be putting in 5w30 Full synthetic(V6). They put in 0w20 Full synthetic(4cyl). When I looked in the manual(thanks to a TW member telling me it wasn't right) when I got home that night I had found that they screwed up. There was an error on my invoice about something else. I Talked to the CS person I had dealt with the day before and she said to bring the truck back in and they would drain and refill it back up(changing the oil filter as well). They ate the $30.00 difference that I would have had to pay for it. The only answer I got was, "we don't know why it happened". I'm e-mailing the dealership this week to find anything out. I can't say that I was impressed to say the least. The 0w20 was only in the truck for two days. The CS told me that the tech said "it would be fine".

 

Feel free to check the owners manual but if memory serves me correct (lots of times it doesn't) the V6 is 5.4 quarts and the I-4 is 6.1 quarts.

 

Well here's the story, my 1st service was done at darcar of frederick. I bought my truck from koons of westminster and was told that I would have to pay the difference cost of oil for synthetic. I was rushing when leaving, on the phone, due to work, just paid the tab and rolled. When I got home is when I noticed that they had charged me for 7qts of oil. I had a survey email sent to me and I filled it out indicating that I would never return over a qt of oil. Some emails went back and forth between some quality person there with the last indicating a service manager would contact me. Never did. I stated to her that it leaves a lot of questions unanswered, did they use 7qts?, did they spill a few qts and I'm the one that pays? Did they use the right oil weight? Did they change the oil? So I just had my 10k service done @ koons and they did a wonderful job as far as I can tell. I only paid the difference in cost of oil.

 

They both take between 5 and 6 quarts.

Weight is more of an issue. 4.0 requires 5w30, 2.7 specs 5w20 or 0w20.
The VVTi system may not operate properly with 0w20.
No damage to the engine, just a possible loss of power and economy.

 

Maybe from a dry fill... but my 2.7 reads pretty close to the "full" mark at 5.5.

 

What I'm trying to get at is the right amount of the wrong oil is better than almost no oil in the proper weight


Also, there is not enough of a difference in 5w-20 to 5w-30 to cause any significant issues. The base weight 5w(5 weight) is the same, where as only the secondary weight changes while at operating engine temp

 

Except that the difference between 5 and 6 quarts is not "almost no oil"

5 quarts in either truck is still on the dipstick and will not starve the pump.
You won't starve out until you're under 3 quarts, and even then only likely on a turn.

 

Yes I understand. At the time of my first post, I didn't realize that the two engines required similar amounts of oil. Also I'm not talking about the difference between 5 and 6 quarts. I'm talking more along the lines of a major screwup where the engine would be scavenging oil and being under-lubricated

 

Ya, but OP asked about the I-4 vs V6... even installing the amount of oil for my wife's Rav4 (around 4 or 4.5?) would not kill a Tacoma engine.

Overfilled is worse than underfilled (within reason).
Underfilled, but not enough to cause pressure issues, simply means that the oil runs hot and will not last as long.
Overfilled, and if the crank counterbalances dip into the oil, they whip it into a froth... air in the oil does not lubricate well.

 

Yes it won't kill a tacoma engine, but would you want an under or over fill every time?

No


Don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest with you. We're just talking about similar and different things at the same time lol


I've been a diesel mechanic for over 5 years now. I understand how a lubrication system operates

 

I wouldn't sweat it. Toyota specs 0W20 in the 1GR-FE in the Tundra, and they spec 5W30 in the 1GR-FE in the Tacoma. Go figure.

Just make sure its at the proper level on the dipstick and have some sucked out if it's over the maximum level.

 

I was thinking the same thing...