0-20 oil too thin?

Anybody think 0-20 is too thin for a 6cyl? The motor sounds to ticky to me,
was thinking of going to 0-30 or 5-30? Either Amsoil or Mobil 1. I use amsoil
signature 10-30 in my S2000 and mobil one in my wife's rav4.
Thoughts?​

 

Use synthetic 0W-20, and welcome to TW.

Oil threads have a bit of a bad reputation around here, so keep your wits about you....

Cheers

 

Oil thread. These usually get interesting.

Welcome OP

 

The owner's manual says 0-20. The cap under the hood says 0-20. I'd use 0-20.

Part of the reason the engine sounds "ticky" at times is the Direct Injection cleaning cycle. That's real BTW lol.

An older mechanic at work was yapping at me beside my truck one day when that cycle kicked in. He immediately stopped talking and craned his head to have a listen. A frown furrowed his brow. I told him the same thing I just told you. He'd never heard of an injector cleaning cycle either, but alas...

 

I wouldn't deviate from the manufactures recommended oil weight. That oil viscosity was chosen by the product engineer to work with the engine design. You are more than likely hearing the direct injection of the motor as opposed to a lubricity issue.

 

I can delete the question, not a big deal.

 

1. 0W-20 might have been spec'd to improve MPG.
2. 0W-20 might have been spec'd due to very small oil passages in the engine.

If 1, then no problem running thicker oils.
If 2, you might have issues in the long run, especially in very cold weather.

Based upon the owner's manual, I'm leaning towards number two.

 

Nobody is saying you should delete your thread, but oil threads (like mpg threads) are like big sticks that repeatedly poke the hornet's nest that is TW opinion.

 

Totally fine, the exact same 3.5L engine specs 5W30 in Europe

 

I always understood the 0- was the flow rate at start and the second number was the thickness
That's why I was thinking 0-30. I know all manufacturers are going thin for fuel mileage but I don't
care about fuel mileage, more about engine life span. I ran 10-40 synthetic in my 88 pickup once I crossed
100k instead of 10-30, I ran it to 180k and gave it my brother who put another 20k on it and than
sold it. I know tolerances weren't as good back than, I was curious really if anybody had gone thicker and if the motor quieted down, but if it's
part of the direct ignition system than it won't help the noise but still may on life span.
Thanks for the replies and info.

 

At a specific cold temperature, 0w-20 has the flow viscosity of cold straight 0 weight.

At a specific hot temperature, it has the flow viscosity of hot straight 20 weight.

 

You can run a heavy 20wt oil, there’s plenty out there. Keep in mind, a 0W20 virgin oil analysis can show it’s a 0W29 and still be a 20wt by labeling standards, which is almost a 30wt. Others could be exactly 0W20.

 

1) as said the ticking is the direct injection. Even in non cleaning mode they tick

2) you do not need to use 0w20 as also said in other markets the same engine gets 5w30.

I run 5w30 in my wife’s Subaru which also specs 0w20, but likes to burn it (this is separate from the 2011-2014 cars that had bad rings), I do run 0w20 in the Toyota because it doesn’t burn any. That’s really the only reason I would run thicker oil. I haven’t seen a reason to in any of my many owned Toyota’s but all of my Subaru’s burned oil, it’s the nature of the engine design

 

I may be mistaken but all modern vehicles specify 0/20 in USA.

 

i use Rotella T6 0w40 full synthetic diesel oil, if its good enough to run in the big rigs than its good enough for the Taco, im not skimping when it comes to motor oil

 

It’s funny I clicked on an oil thread while waiting for the oil to be drained from this...(psst, don’t use this oil in your Toyota, unless it’s a Toyota forklift)

 

That’s one of the best oils made. Probably not the best for gas mileage in the 3.5L, though.

 

Ah yes, the Boxer Burn. My Outback cooks oil like a mf, but my ‘Yota runs really clean.

 

Someone always mentions the engine in another application using 5W-30. Does the engine use the same oil cooler in that application? Does it use the same sump? Is it mounted transversely?

I understand your logic and maybe this whole thing is just CAFE standards kludge. But perhaps there was another reason. Why assume the engineers are complete morons and/or Toyota is purposely reducing the longevity of the engine just to screw you into buying a new vehicle?

Is it really that hard just to run what the cap says? Change it as often as you like.