160K Mile Move to Synthetic?

I have a 2001 Tacoma with now 163,800 miles. I bought it with 161,000 miles. The truck was dealer maintained. Runs perfectly.

After calling the dealership service department, they confirmed they use conventional dino oil 5W-30 made by Chevron. (I don't know if it's Chevron Supreme, or something else made by Chevron).

Here's the deal, I'm ready for my first oil change with the truck (I know the truck got serviced by the same dealership right before I bought it).

What to do? What to do? Do I go and buy a case of Chevron Supreme 5W-30 or do I jump to synthetic? I usually only run synthetic in my cars, but given this one has seen 160K miles on the same dino oil, maybe it's smart to stick to that. What do you think?

 

Personally, I'd stick to conventional. Doesn't have to be Chevron, though.

 

Well, I looked up Chevron Supreme and it has pretty good rep, so I figured, why not?

 

I run 5w30 Royal purple high mileage full synthetic but use a Toyota OEM oil filter in my 3.4 V6. I also run Royal purple in both diffs, transfer case and transmission. I bought my truck with no maintenance records but when I drained all oils it was dino oil. So I made the switch. To each their own!

 

^^^ Well see, I'm not saying I don't want to switch to synthetic. I actually want to. I'm just trying to gauge opinions because I've never switch a high mileage car to synthetic before. I believe you can go from dino to synthetic at any time, but you can't go back... but don't quote me cause I'm not sure. That's what I'm trying to find out.

 

You can go back and forth between synthetic and dino anytime, you can even buy blends and semi-synthetic. only thing is that you may find you may start leaking oil or the leaks you have can get worse because the synthetic is very good at seeping out.

 

That's what I meant... leaks. I don't have any. But I also don't want to coax any out.

 

IMO this might be best to search on Bob is the Oil Guy.

I would feel hesitant switching. However, if it does start leaking, usually a "high mileage" synthetic is good at closing up any leaks. The high mileage stuff has some chemicals in it to swell up seals and stop leaks. However, you will have to keep using it forever, or until you decided to replace the seals.

 

Funny, on on Bob is the Oil Guy right now.

Well, the truck doesn't leak, it runs really smooth, 3K miles into a change and the oil still looks clean and healthy. Maybe "If it aint' broke" I'll still with dino... I think what I'll do is pull out a sample in the oil change, add the same dino oil and send a sample to Blackstone. They should be able to tell me if I should switch or not.

-D

 

it kinda depends on the previous owner. If they were good about doing frequent oil changes, switching to synthetic should be no big deal. If they weren't, the synthetic will probably knock some sludge loose from your motor.

When I have switched older vehicles from dino to synthetic in the past, I've made sure I used a good oil filter and then changed the oil/filter again after only maybe 2k-3k miles on the synthetic in order to get the worst of the crap out of the motor. Then I went to 5000-7000 mile intervals.

My 2.7 Taco had 216k miles on it when I got it, and I switched it to synthetic (Mobile1) right away. I'm around 290k miles now and no problems.

 

Yeah, I have nearly full records on this one... oil changes every 5K... sometimes a little sooner than that - Always at the same dealership with the same oil. I believe I read in the records that it once had a leak in the valve cover gasket which was then replaced. No other leaks reported and no leaks that I can find either.

 

Valve cover gasket leaks are common. Sounds like you have nothing to worry about.

 

it's really hit and miss game. you don't know for sure until you try it. mine has 220k when I got it. bolt the supercharger on and switch to golden 5w30 mobil 1 with the longer high capacity oil filter. No sighs of leaking.

 

I switched my 03 to Mobil 1 at about 150k with zero issues. The oil would actually turn dark within 2500 miles and then 3000, 3500 and so on. Until I could easily go 5000 and it still be fairly clean looking. It ran better each oil change and better than it ever had previously. Just do it!

 

I'd switch, the seals in these newer engines are lightyears better than the old cork seals found in cars of the past. Most newer engines use o-rings which are much more leak proof and last a whole lot longer. I've been running synthetic for 30k miles now, no leaks to be found. Engine runs quieter, starts beautifully, and is cleaner. That's the main reason I use synthetic in everything is for it's ability to clean and resist heat and varnish build up in the engine. Synthetic oils were originally designed for airplane engines where temperatures can reach 500 degrees, if it can handle that kind of heat it's definitely overkill for a car engine which is why I like it! Average car engine shouldn't get much higher than 210 degrees at the most.

 

move to synthetic. i think every vehicle should be on synthetic.

 

Wow, thanks for the feedback. Definitely, lots of recommendations to go synthetic.

 

I just did my own oil change on my 99 3.4L V6 S/C. I put mobil 1 5w30 full syn, it was $22 shipped on Amazon for the 5 quart. added another 0.5quart to make it 5.5, and im running the toyota filter. Total cost: $35. Truck has been running great and I am at ~800 miles so far. I plan to do another oil change at 3k (instead of 5K), because I do not know the full history of the truck.

 

If you had 450k on the clock....No way Jose. 160K? Your engine is just now getting broke in. I bet the hash marks are still on the cylinder walls. These days conventional motor oil is good for lawn equipment and motor break-in's. Go full synthetic and don't look back. Your engine will love you for it.

 

Here Walmart has Mobil 1 for $25 and I get the Toyota filters for $5 at my local dealership.