2.7 Liter, Oil & Filter Question

I've been reading a lot about oil and filters, cold engine start noise etc. It got me wondering:

Should I switch to synthetic oil?
What brand oil and filter are you using in your 2.7 liter engine?
Roughly how long have you been using it?

I have a 2012 Tacoma reg cab: I now have 47012 miles on the 2.7 liter engine. I think it's fair to say I'm asking about the oil & filter with long term in mind.

 

Use the Toyota filter from the dealer or get them online. They are cheap and high quality.

For oil, use anything that is ok with the manual. I use 5-20 Mobil1, but that’s just me. Any oil will be fine if you change it. Just stick to the right weight.

 

I've been using synthetic on mine since 75000, at 133000 now. I believe the previous owner used synthetic as well. I've always heard it was better for these motors, and have had no issues. I just use whatever is on sale, or whatever the shop uses if I take it in.

 

I use Toyota filters (bought a case of them along with drain plug gaskets).
For oil I use Mobil 1 0W-20.

 

Just changed mine in my '08. Don't over think it. Used Castol Edge Full Syn High Mileage (170K) and a Mobil-1 filter I had in stock. My go-to filters for the fleet are usually Napa Gold, which is Wix, which is near the top of the heap as filters go.

 

really depends on enviroment

consistent daily driving

reasonable expectations...............................U can compare to any1 elses results

‘ synths ‘ typically provide better mileage

less internal wear/friction

 

Are you getting cold start noises with your 2.7? If so, it is likely to be piston slap which is usually harmless. But you might want to get a confirmation what the noise is, if you have any. I have piston slap on my 2006 2.7 when temps are below around 30F. Problems occur when people push these motors too hard before they are warmed up. The general approach to piston slap is to let the engine idle a little longer after cold start, give it some extra time to warm up and the noise quiets down, then you can drive away gently. 1-2 minutes should be enough so don't worry about spending too much time. Just don't push it hard until it's near or at full temperature. Good thing they warm up quickly lol.
I've been using M1 synthetic oil, Motorcraft FL400s and WIX 51516 filters for about 5 years now. (Note that the FL400s is a longer version of the

$9 FL910s Motorcraft - Oil Filter (FL910S)

FL910s spec'd for this motor; they are equal in every way other than the length. Same story with the WIX 51516 and 51348 filters.) I used Chevron Supreme until 120k miles then switched to full syn. Chevron Supreme is a good oil but not full synthetic, it's comparable to Castrol GTX, Pennzoil yellow bottle and Valvoline daily protection. I have also used Denso and Bosch filters. Never had an issue with anything mentioned here, the truck now has 168k miles and runs perfect. I'll soon be running Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and Napa Full Syn which is Valvoline... very unlikely to have problems there either. Basically I run whatever name brand synthetic oil currently has a rebate, but it's been mostly M1 because their rebates are annual and good for 2 jugs each time. Synthetic oil & filter changes cost me about $20 which is quite ridiculous LOL.
The benefit to synthetic oils is mostly that they resist thermal breakdown better which means they *can* be run longer, but keep in mind the manufacturer's recommendation when extending the oil change interval. (I run mine around 6500-7000 miles instead of the mfg recommended 5000 because I am using syn oil plus using an oversize oil filter.) Also synthetic oils flow better at very low temperatures and don't thin out as much at very high temperatures. So they do lubricate a bit better than conventional oils. Besides, there are very few modern oils that are truly conventional, usually there is some synthetic content so they are actually blends. This is especially true for the 0w20 and 5w20 oils, they are generally always synthetic.

 

9yrs and 47k miles. At that rate it will be another 20yrs before you hit 150k. I think you can do almost anything and it will still reach 150k.

 

Thank you everyone I really appreciate all the great advice. At this time I don't have any cold start noise and want to avoid that if possible. I agree with you guys I'm switching to synthetic oil.

 

I change my oil for about $25 with synthetic every 5K - a new truck would be around 40K - I don't think it makes any sense to go for 20K between changes.

 

Z Max is really good for cleaning crud out of higher mileage engines, it could quiet the start-up noise's.

 

I don't have the guts to go 20K, I get the shakes at 7.5K.

 

I totally agree with you I’ve only let it go almost past 7k once or twice. And it’s been just about to turn black and still has some clarity when drained.

 

I've always used Mobil 1 5W-30 Full Synthetic High Mileage Formula for my '05 with 225000 miles along with Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer and a

$16 K&N HP-1002 K&N Premium Oil Filter: Protects your Engine: Compatible with Select FORD/LINCOLN/TOYOTA/VOLKSWAGEN Vehicle Models (See Product Description for Full List of Compatible Vehicles), HP-1002

K&N HP-1002 Filter. Always go with what Toyota recommends in the manual as far as oil goes but in my experience you can never go wrong with a high quality filter and additive especially for high mileage engines.

 

This 2008 2WD 2.7 owner from North Carolina used Castrol 5W-20 High Mileage Synthetic Blend for 880,000 miles and the engine was burning only 1 quart per 4,000 miles at the 880,000 mark. Then his head gasket blew and he had a used 2.7 installed that had 100,000 on it. He has since put about 560,000 additional miles on the used 2TR-FE engine, so that engine now has about 660,000 total miles and is still going strong. https://youtu.be/8glWcEuxw3U

 

The 2.7 doesn't much care what oil viscosity you use. It was spec'd for 5w-30 for many years. In later years Toyota recommended 0/5w-20 for CAFE reasons and their are many fine 20w oils out there. In fact, all 0w-20 are synthetic. 5w-20 can be found in conventional, synthetic or blend.

Personally, if it were my engine, I would run 5w-30 Mobil1, Valvoline or one of the Warren product clones (SuperTech/Amazon Basics/Kirkland/Harvest King/Meijer).

If you like 20w oils, check out Mobil1 5w-20 Extended Performance. It scores a 9 at 100° C making it a heavy 20. Most 30w oils start at around 9.5.

In reality anything 0w-20 to 5w-40 will be fine in this motor.

 

Good analogy Bill. In a nutshell, keep it changed, & use good stuff. It's by far the cheapest insurance that can be had for your vehicle. In my 50+ years of driving, I've taken quite a few over the 200K mark, which was not the norm in the early 70s when I started driving. Back then, 90K, time to peddle it. Even to this day, I can probably count on one hand the times I 'had' my oil changed. Be adamant, if DIY isn't your thing, find a trusted indie shop and latch onto 'em like a houndog on a soup bone. Definitely pays dividends, especially if you're one who likes to run 'em for the long haul.