oil weight debate

my 97 has 170K on it. the engine is emaculate....the person i bought from was a toyota guy(fj's)...but the oil he used: rotella 5w-40. any thoughts...the pros, the cons.....so far i've one bud who said it's great because that oil has more detergent in it and will keep the engine clean....

 

Rotella is generally a diesel engine oil. I used it in my race bike for 2 years (constantly seeing 13k rpm) and the engine internals looked great after the first season! I havent used it in my Tacoma yet, Im going with 5W30 Mobil One now.

 

+1. Why change what works?

 

i just started using the high mileage 10w-30 valvoline for the taco. it sounds great and doesnt have as much of the noises on start up. if anything, up the thickness of the oil, but stick with the manufacturer

 

thanks for the feed back....i'll keep using rotella.....any theories on using oil that's not the recommended.

 

Frequency of oil changing has more to do with keeping the engine clean than anything. If you change it every 3k, then there's less chance that acids and sludge will build up in the oil. I've used straight 10w-30 the entire 217,000 miles I've owned mine, but recently went to 10w-40 since the engine seems to run a bit smoother on a heavier oil. Probably because of wear.

 

Use what the manufacturer specs.. These small 4cyl are being made to use the lighter 5w20, 0w20 oils.