PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

@Taco critter thinks I may have put some strain on the engine while driving for DoorDash A LOT during a brief period of unemployment last year, LOL; I generally put about 10-12K miles a year on my truck, but last year I put around 18K miles on it! I had three oil changes last year when in previous years I've had two!

 

FWIW, I traded my last Tacoma in with almost 50k on it.
It had the 2.7, I never had any issues with losing oil.
But 50k is a good ways from 110k

 

mines consumed about half a quart every oil change since new. never worried too much about it as there's no obvious signs of it burning oil beyond that. ive never ran anything but the factory

$54 0w-20 oil Toyota/ exxon mobil Case of 6 Quarts Full Synthetic TGMO SN 0W-20 Oil

0w-20 oil.

 

There's a guy from the Southeast who put around 880K miles on his '07, then replaced the engine when it started having seriously problems, and now it has over 1.2 million miles!

 

I switched to 0W-20 full synthetic in 2018, at about 80K, primarily so I can go longer between oil changes and lubricate my engine a bit better.

 

Switch to 5-30 see if the issues recede. If they do, then you know where the obvious issue is.

 

Really? 5W-30? I thought 0W-20 and 5W-20 were the two recommended oils for the 2TR-FE?

 

Nope. 5-30.

Nothing less and nothing more for the time being. Run 5-30 for 5,000 miles before your next change and monitor the level every 1000 miles to see where it is at. You are dragging out the intervals too long and your internals are probably starting to look like garbage because of it. The 2TR is not designed to go that long between intervals without at least adding some oil to it, but if you are adding oil especially after 5K, it is time for an oil change.

 

So change it at 110K? And 5W-30 full synthetic?

 

It's also been less than 3K since my last oil change...

 

Oh crap, really?

Valve guides are probably starting to get worn. It's not terribly uncommon on the 2TR to do that, however, 0-20 is water thin. Run 5-30 for 3-5,000 miles, monitor every 1000 miles.

Acceptable oil consumption is 1 quart every 1,500 miles. If it is burning more than that every 1,500 miles then you have a big problem.

Going by that, if you go 3,000 miles you should burn no more than 2 quarts before your next change.

 

According to the Owners Manual

“The maximum amount of oil consumption is 1.1qt. / 600miles.
If more than 1.1qt is used Per 600 miles, you should contact you Toyota Dealership”

All good here. Drive it. LOL

Seriously, it’s on page 367 of the Owners Manual.


I’d just add oil as needed.

 

Not a "rebuild or replace the engine" kind of big problem, I hope?

 

No, it is a rebuild sort of issue. Valve guide seals are internal to the head and replacement of them requires removal of the cylinder head assembly to do so.

Don't panic though, like is said, run your 5-30 no more than 5,000 miles and check your oil every 1,000 miles. See what your results net you.

The best that can happen in this situation is you now run thicker oil than recommended. (Their oil recommendations are crap anyways IMO) The worst that can happen is you are tearing into the engine to replace seals, and the absolute worst case scenario, piston rings.

 

So my engine is not totally gone on the inside? And running a thicker oil will not harm anything? That’s my biggest fear here...

 

People have been running thicker oil in their engines since the invention of the internal combustion engine. Going up a grade or two will not hurt a thing. Hell it will probably HELP if anything.

 

So my mom’s 2013 Nissan Murano uses 5W-30 (recommended by the owner’s manual); Should I start running a thicker oil than that in her car?

 

No. Her oil burning is occurring for a different reason than yours. Nissan 3.5 engines of the 2000s which came in the Murano/ Infiniti G35 and similar other models of the Nissan Inifiniti line up came equipped with low tension piston rings. They burned oil right off the showroom floor and there is no way around it, not even switching out to a heavier weight oil. By going with a heavier weight, not only would you do nothing for the oil burning issue, but you would counteract the power gains which are associated with using those type of piston rings. Those cars and SUVs equipped with the 3.5 engines are a lost cause. All you can do is do your oil changes on time when you own one of those and that's about it.

The most I would ever tell anyone to use in their engine would be 10W-40 before starting to consider a rebuild or retiring their engine and start searching for a lower mile suitable replacement.

 

I didn’t even think my mom’s was burning oil! Her car has less than 38K miles on it!

Also, what do you think the inside of the engine in my Taco looks like?

 

Yep. They burn it and that's all there is to it. Nissan quality man. Gotta love them, but hey, as long as you stay on top of your maintenance on those, the engines are surprisingly bulletproof. Them and the 3.0L engines.

The internals are probably all carboned up and dirty. I go 5,000 miles every oil change on dino 5-30 oil. I have since new. I pulled my valve covers recently to do cam gears and replace the valve cover gaskets on them, let's just say I was less than pleased with what the insides looked like. Like, it made me want to step down mileage between intervals and run multiple bottles of seafoam/ fuel induction cleaner.

Just to give you an idea, my oil at 5K comes out BLACK. My internals are mostly of a reflection of how dirty the oil is. Carbon deposits were not horrible, but I was not happy with it either. At 7K, I don't even want to know what the inside of yours looks like.