Conventional Or Synthetic Oil Question

I have a 2005 Taco Sport with 35,000 miles. I purchased my Taco Supreme on Dec 30th 2006 with 25,000 miles, the first oil change I had at 30,000 the local dealer did along with the 30k service.

Now to my question I plan on doing this oil change myself, I have been told and read that a full Synthetic oil is superior to conventional, however I have been informed it may leak easier do to its thinner weight.

I am sure that conventional oil was used for the first 35,000 miles. Is there any benefit or draw-back to using the Synthetic that I should be aware of.

Lastley I plan on keeping this Taco a long time...therefore if the Synthetic is better I have no problemo paying extra for better life blood for my baby, she is definatley worth it.

Any info or your shared experiance is greatly appreciated.

Adam

 

It is true that synthetic can be more prone to leak but not on your truck. If you had an existing leak already it might make it worse, but it won't cause a leak, in fact it is better for your seals and gaskets so in the long run it could help prevent leaks. Moreover, it is a much better lubricant, so if you plan on keeping your Taco for a long time I say change to synthetic for sure. I changed my fiance's 98 4Runner to synthetic when she bough it @67,000 miles, it now has 150,000 miles and runs fantastic, and NO LEAKS. My first oil change on my Taco is coming up and I'll be putting Mobil 1 5w30 in with a quart of fully synthetic LUCAS oil additive. Do the same and I bet you're truck will go 300,000 miles easy.

 

I agree with everything said by SLOTaco, except about the Lucas additive. Have you seen this yet?

http://bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

Oil today is made much better than it was 10 or so years ago. Even dino oil is far superior to what it was a few years ago. You really don't need crap like Lucas, Slick50 etc. Just stick with an oil of your choice and change them at regular intervals and I bet your truck will go at least 200K.

 

Interesting, however, do you see the color of the lucas oil they are adding in the last demo, at the tip of the bottle where they are pouring it it looks brown. Lucas fully synthetic is perfectly clear. Furthermore, I was referring to the motor oil additive, where it gets pumped through the motor and does not rely on climbing. Interesting study, though I wonder if it was bias.

 

Appreciate the info, I am looking at using Synthetic motor oil 5.2 quarts as opposed to an additive or conventional oil. The rating on the Synthetic I have looked at meets or exceedes Toyotas rating in the owners manual. Does anyone have any experiance with Synthetic over conventional, not an additive.

adam

 

Go back to that site and check out their forums.... it will leave your head spinning for days about oils.

 

Pretty thourough stuff on that site. I will probably just stick to the Mobil 1 5w30 Fully Synthetic. No Lucas.

 

Sound decision there, SLO!

 

Everybody I know that has high mileage has nothing but dino oil in them, I am staying with dino oil, regular oil changes w/ filters-everytime, and drive like an old man. I'll see you at the end. Drive on.

 

My service guy say no diferrence between synthetic and "real oil" except for price! I was wondering about a longer interval, I gues it doesn't matter, my former dealership DODGE told me I could go to 10000kms from 5000kms. Toyoya says 8000kms (5000 miles) between services....go figger!!

 

This seems to be an unbiased site for information about synthetic oils and has a direct comparo between Mobile 1 and Amsoil.........

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

 

I've heard of a lot of new Toys have had a problem with oil gumming up and failing,My outlook is convential oil has served man well for a long time why change a good thing I've never seen a properly lubricated engine under normal operating temps have any problems Synthetic or Conventional.If it isn't broken don't fix it I choose Conventional

 

My service guy told me today (first oil change) that even if I were to switch to synthetic I should still not go more than 5k between changes. I thought this was odd considering Toyota now says 5k for normal oil and yet the sticker the dealer put on my windsheild truck says 3k. I don't have the time to go to the shop every 3 weeks to change the oil!

 

My 2 cents worth (some will disagree ).

Dino oil will do well enough if changed regularly.
Sludge forms quicker with Dino.
Good Synthetic brands don't brake down as quick as Dino.
Good Synthetic brands build sludge at a slower rate.
Good Synthetic brands hold up longer than Dino.

In short, if one changes oil/filter every 3-5k miles under normal driving conditions with a good Dino oil and filter they can expect good longevity/performance from their engine;

If one changes oil/filter every 5-7k miles under normal driving conditions with a good Synthetic oil and good filter they can expect good to great longevity/performance from their engine.

I changed out my Dino at 1,400 miles (initial break-in) with a high quality 0w20 synthetic oil and mobile 1 filter. Plan on changing again at 5k and ever 5k thereafter (5, 10, 15k etc.) with synthetic and plan to have this engine for many years.

I said this in earlier threads, I've owned many cars/trucks and have done this style of maintenance on all of them and they all ran long/hard. My wifes 1990 Nissan Sentra's engine is still running strong.

Both get the job done. I believe no one will disagree that whichever type of oil you use the key is regulated, systematic oil/filter changes on a schedule. How often you should change depends on type/quality of oil/filter used and driving conditions.

I believe the numbers leans towards sythetic though if you don't want to change your oil/filter "EVERY THREE WEEKS"!

NOW FOR THE REPONSES

 

My dealership says 8000kms(5000miles) no matter what is used. Its a new truck, so 8000kms it is. I was taught to change every 5000miles when we used to drive in mile in canada

 

GSM I do not have a new car but the way your thread reads is that the dealer initally filled your engine with Dino oil is this for their price or is there some truth to Syn being no good for breakins...If Syn is not good for breakins (which is a crutial lubrication time in the engins life) how could it properly lubricate after breakin.

 

The breakin is for the parts to wear a bit which smooths out machine rough contact surfaces and lets the engine "loosen up" which gives more power and better economy than when crate fresh. In theory an oil that lubricated too well would extend the amount of time and miles it would take to reach optimal performance. Once the engine is broken in, the best quality slickest longest lasting fluids you can provide will hopefully give you a long happy relationship with your baby.... eer, truck.

 

Hmmm. Let's see.

1. Manufacturers, business is about making money. Dino is cheaper.
2. Warranty is for how long? Short term in the life of an engine. Long term, Synthetic is the way to go (just my opinion - see above post). Average vehicle owner only keeps the vehicle something like 5 years. Not me.
3. I have never seen anything official stating Synthetic is bad for break-ins. I've been using only Synthetics for over 20 years and have never had a problem. In fact, Synthetics are even better today. So is Dino compared to so many years ago.

But as I stated above, Dino is fine. Just that Synthetic is better and I plan on this Taco being my last truck and want it last till DMV pulls my license

Added note. After changing my oil with Synthetic 0w20 I immeditely noticed improved performance and possibly better fuel milege. Toyota states that 5w20, 0w20 are for use with my Taco in both the owners manual and on the oil cap. And that 0w20 for optimum energy savings! And the only 0w20 the toyota dealership has is synthetic. (at least in my area).

 

Sounds like good information to me. I couldn't agree with you more

Which is one reason I waited till 1,400 miles before I changed my oil.

 

Myself, I don't rely too heavily on the 6 months period as I too don't drive much either. I bought my Taco in October and it took me 4 months just to get her to 1,400 miles. Another reason I use Synthetic, as "I feel" it holds up better over time. I wouldn't do this with Dino.

In the past, and I plan on doing the same with the Taco, I stick closer to the 5k mile mark than the 6 months. I check the oil regularly and unless I am seeing a degragation (spelling) in the oil on the dip stick (color/smell/feel etc), I go beyond 6 months. Sometime to 8 - 9 months or 5k miles. But with my wifes 18 year old Sentra, I find that I am now sticking closer to the 6 months timeline. The engine runs nearly as good as the day we bought it, but it's wear is showing up earlier on the dipstick.

If going beyond 6 months bothers you, and with only 1 to 1.5K miles on it per 6 month period, then a good quality Dino oil and filter will get you by. If you don't want to be bothered with low milege 6 month oil changes and want to stretch it out reasonably - I'd recommend synthetic for sure, even with the low mileage.