Heavier oils?

hello,

I have a 2nd gen 06 Tacoma off-road and was wondering if people still use a heavier oil for older vehicles

And if so my truck has about 195k, I’ve been using 5w-30 like most people, but lately have been noticing some low viscosity issues on my dip stick (barley sticking to dip stick) any advice would be great!

 

The dip sticks on our trucks are borderline impossible to read anyways. Stick with 5w-30 and preferably a full synthetic like Mobil 1 or Quaker State Ultimate Durability.

 

maybe the dipstick isn't reaching the oil lol? I have no issues reading my stick been running Pennzoil 5w30 since I've owned the truck

 

i got 186k on my taco. ive been adding lucas oil heavy duty oil stabilizer seems to work.

 

Ive heard you can take a piece of steel wool or scotch bright to the bottom area of the dipstick and that will make reading it easier (the oil will stick better)

 

you can just get the High Mileage version of the oil, in the preferred weight

 

What makes you think it works?

 

He gets better Mpg as his wallet is lighter.

 

By "barely sticking", I presume you mean the oil barely shows at the tip of the dip stick? Or, is the oil sliding right off when you check it?

In high mileage cars, the oil is likely entering the cylinder(s) past worn rings. Could also be worn valve stem guides; the car will usually smoke a bit at start up, especially when starting the engine after sitting a couple of days. A compression check can identify worn rings. Go to a 10/30 high mileage oil to see how much that helps. It helped our 07 ES350 with 220K+. There are additives that treat hardened valve stem guides you can look into if that is the issue. Are you doing 5K or 10K oil changes, or in between?

If you mean that the oil really is sliding off the dip stick, then that's more a quality or condition of the oil. You may have coolant or ATF mixed in it. check your coolant and ATF levels to see if you are low. Coolant would give the oil a milky color, if you have enough of it.

 

In the winter stick with 5-30. If you live in a very hot environment, maybe consider a heavier oil in the summer.

 

What are low viscosity issues?

There is no logical reason to get a heavier weight oil. It means it will not coat the engine as well.

Less viscous oils coat colder engines better.

 

aw man don't do him like that, plus its just 05s that get the ol razzle dazzle coolant in the oil isn't it

 

Don't mean to scare him; just trying to cover multi bases. Yes, 05-06 models have a propensity for head gaskets to malfunction prematurely. However, if you neglect maintenance or drive in the red-line, any head gasket is likely to go kaput sooner than later.

 

I don't think you should change oil grades. The problem is that oil gets stuck inside the dipstick tube and you can't get a good reading until the oil drains down, which takes longer when the stick is in the tube. Wait at least 30 minutes after running the engine before pulling the dipstick. Sometimes I pull the stick when it's hot and leave it out, then wait 10 minutes because it the tube drains better when the stick is out... then do a quick in/out with the stick for a good reading. I used sandpaper to put some hash marks on my dipstick, makes it easier to read and the oil sticks better too.

 

Get you some of those safety glasses with the bi-focal reading lenses in them. You can see the oil better. It works for me.

 

Seems to not stay on the stick, not a complete run off but different than normal

levels are good ATF and coolant, I live in a very hot climate in the summers (Louisiana)

I do 3-5k changes, 5k if I’m pushing it, no smoke on start or noises

Main part of the post was to see if a heavier oil would fix

 

@Dtodd87
That's generally not a reason to change oil viscosity. I will admit it's a bit odd - did you change oil brands or add an oil treatment? One would only change viscosity if your engine is burning oil or your gaskets have hardened and oil is seeping through. If you go thicker, you will get worse mpg and the oil pump will strain a little more; both of these are worth the trade off to lessen oil burning/loss but not otherwise, imo. You should consider submitting an oil sample for analysis to Blackstone or ALS Tribilogy (Wix brand). This will reveal abnormal levels of contaminants and if you op for the TBN value (standard with Wix package), you will find out how much oil life, if any, is left in your oil from when you took the sample.

 

Like already stated, our dip stick is shit. When you hear hooves hit the ground, think horses not zebras.

 

What I did like others here have mentioned was to take a sharp metal scribe and make a cross-hatch on the end of the dipstick, as you see on metal files, which really hold the oil well. My last truck was a Nissan and it's a night and day difference between the 2 dipsticks, my old Nissan had a dipstick with a cross-hatch design, making the oil really cling which made reading it very accurate.

I would just scribe the end of your DS like this:

 

I’ll give it a try man, thank you for the advice