Dealer put 15W40. Is it a problem?

All the life of my 95.5 Tacoma 4cyl 2.7 with 320k miles on the clock I used dino oil 05W30. Zero leak, zero oil burn. Today I just found out that for the last oil change dealer put 15W40 in it. I did 3k miles since that change. Still zero burn and no leaks.

1. Is it a problem?
2. I'm going to to oil change soon. Can I go back to 05W30. Service guy said once it is on 15W40 I should not ho lower anymore. True?

 

Not true. You can go back to the other weight of oil with no issues

 

I like thw 5w-30 and even better the Euro spec Mobil 1 0w-40 has excellent test results. Porsche uses this to fill from factory

 

Thank you, this is what I thought but what do I know. It got me thinking what would happen to the engine in 3k miles when 15W40 was used that would not allow it to run on factory recommended oil, especially when the engine was well maintained with oil changed every 3k miles for the last 23 years.

And the other question about the filter cap-wrench. I used 74mm cap wrench but when I check my stock pile of Toyota OEM oil filters I found the diameter (distance between flat surfaces) is 72mm. I have not see 72mm wrench, only 73mm. Do you think it will be OK to use 73 wrench on OEM oil filter? O know 74mm is spinning freely.

 

No damage with 15W40, but likely some extra wear as the oil will take longer to thin out and flow on cold start. I would change it back to 5W30 at your next opportunity.

 

you can put whateverthehell weight oil you want in it, you're not going to hurt it. I'm really not even convinced you can't go from synthetic to dino oil like I hear some people say.

Just use whatever the manual says is the proper weight oil for your weather conditions and you'll be fine.

 

Thanks guys. I got Toyota 5W30 for my truck and my wife's Nissan Versa Note (they both take the same oil). I got also wrenches for cheap (about 3 dollars each). Funny thing the wrench 73mm fits 72mm filter with just enough slack to put it easy over the filter top. On the other hand 65mm wrench just barely goes over 64mm filter top. Chinese tolerances

 

I mean the oil weight is written ON THE FILL CAP. that mechanic is an idiot. if anything with colder temps I've been using 0w-30 synthetic for the easier starts.

also I use a "claw" type adapter for loosening the oil filter, it's adjustable and only cost ~$30 US

 

I don't think the mechanic decided - It ma my fault that I did not read the order carefully. The service advisor must put it in there, I signed and did not catch it. Yah, it is possible that mechanic might notice but the order is the order. Probably did not have time to question it.

On the other hand service advisors are quite often stumped when they see American cars. Not only Toyota - everywhere. They are thrown out of "domestic cars" comfort zone and many of them are not knowledgeable enough to figure out how to deal with it. At local Nissan I had to show the gut what oil filter I need as he wanted to give me some "similar looking" for other Nissan engine. It is just because US Nissan part numbers do not exist in local Nissan database.

When I was doing the inspection for the first time (registration process) the guy did not know how to read the door sticker, nor how to convert lbs to kg or miles to km. I ended up filling up the form myself, he just typed it into computer. These are the things I need to deal with here, but that time I lowered my guard (my excuse is that I had to deal with so many things is the same time, that was almost overwhelming) and I take the fault on myself.

As for the wrench, I wanted to see for the first time how torque numbers published in FSM are related to "hand tight". So the "cap type" wrench is the best for it.

 

You should only use a tool to take it off if necessary not to put it on if you expect to get it off latter! Yeah dump the 15-30 and use 5-30.

 

Hey man, it's not a big deal on your oil. I mean it is, but kinda not. Doubt there was any damage or anything going on. You can save some of the used oil and have it tested and analyzed for wear metals if you really want. But I'll bet it's just fine.

 

And if I remember right, Toyota has even spec'd that weight for 3RZ in other parts of world. So, again, you're likely just fine. I mean I'd replace it, but nothing hurt from it. Besides feelings lol

 

The only oil test I can run here is look at it, smell it or taste it . I have not seen any company here that would to such testing for retail customers. Yah, there are many things that I took for granted in USA .

 

tools like the one linked above prevent that from happening. you can only loosen with it.

 

I am not going to use wrench to tighten a filter. Just want to measure the torque of "hand tight" and compare it with that FSM says.