Oil Survey

[ptothej]

What oil does everyone use in their tercs?

Im just wondering, because I used havoline 10/40, then just did an oil change but I forgot that I did 10/40 and put 10/30 in it, now the car smokes like no other.

[waynehoc]

I've used Castrol GTX 10W40 the entire time I've had the car - since January 1993. Burns very little oil, but had rings, valve stem seals and con rod bearings done at 200,000km. At the time it was burning about a litre between oil changes (every four months).

[Neu]

I did 10w/30 cuz that's what i had. I'll be putting 40 in there next oil change. it brand was napa brand.



The smoking you describe sounds more like you dropped some on the exhaust....different oil types shouldn't play any role in smoking.

[ptothej]

its only when you have your foot into it.. didnt do it prior to the change.. not saying it didnt smoke at all, but just not as much as it does now.

[neonsport]

I did 10w/30 cuz that's what i had. I'll be putting 40 in there next oil change. it brand was napa brand.



The smoking you describe sounds more like you dropped some on the exhaust....different oil types shouldn't play any role in smoking.

A different oil weight can make a big difference in oil consumption and smoking. I ran 20w50 crutched with a can of STP at every oil change for years, to keep the consumption at a minimum. Without the STP, the Tercel used about a quart every 500-600 miles. With the STP, the interval went to a quart every 1000. I then decided to see how much it actually used, and switched to running what my dealership had on tap, either 5w50 or 10w30, depending on who you ask. Consumption went up to a quart every 2 days, which was approximately 250 miles. Guys in my service department started asking what was wrong with my car, it was smoking so much.

I then put in a new set of valve seals, and didn't have to add a quart for the next 1200 miles, using the same lighter weight oil. Now, after over 40k miles on the new valve seals, and switch to Castrol High Mileage oil, I'm at about a quart every 2500 miles.

I'd try Super Tech high mileage oil at the next change, but I'll be installing a 4AC in the next week or two.

[Mac]

I wouldn't expect 10W-30 to be much different than 10W40 if it wasn't for the fact my tercels oil consumption was significantly better when running 10W40, with the old engine. running 15-40 and 20-50 didn't do much to improving oil consumption.

with the new engine i run 10W30 wal mart synthetic and the level goes down mabey 5-10 MM between oil changes. two of my cylinders are burning a minute amount of oil (i suspect valve seals) and theres minor seepage from the front drivers side of the cyl head gasket.

[Typrus]

My Silver's consumption before switching and then ultimately totaling.
10W-30 Valvoline High Mileage. Approx 1 quart every oil change (so every 3k)
Mileage-roughly 180k to 190k on this oil. So, used for 10k miles roughly.

Switch to Schaeffer's Supreme 7000 15W-40 (its what we had for our diesels, so I figured I'd try it)
Approx .5 quarts every 3k miles, (I'd change filter and drop in a can of MOA at 3k and go another 3k)
Used from roughly 190k to now, which is probably right around 210k.

Miles by the way.

My car was the shiz-nit. Ran great compression, good fuel economy, and it was never afraid of 6500RPM. sigh.... Poor thing... And now my bloody Camry is out of commission till I do the clutch, seals, and t-belt. (grumble)

[ptothej]

Thanks for all the input.. so I was pretty much bang on with my worn tercel to run the 10/40.. I have to correct myself with the oil burning.. it is after decelerating down a hill for example for a period of time.. other then that it doesnt really smoke too bad, so looks like some valve seals have had enough

[ptothej]

My car finally ate/leaked enough oil so I could add some, so I slammed some 15/40 in there and the smoke is non existant now! Next oil change will be back to 10/40

[Lazymechanic]

I always use a straight weight oil in all my engines especially the high mileage ones. Here's why. A two weight oil (10w40 for instance) is just the lighter weight with microscopic noodles in it. when the oil is cold, the noodles are rolled up in a ball. when it gets hot, the noodles unravel and straighten out. The friction of the noodles sliding against each other symulates a heavier weight. This works perfectly well until the noodles break up. Heat can break them up, but the unburnt fuel and exhaust that blows past the rings really does the trick. In a high mileage engine, your really just getting the heavier weight for a couple of weeks. A straight weight oil doesn't thin out hardly at all, although the dirt in it eventually wears on the bearings. If the starter motor can do its job and the engine can stay running long enough to warm up, even in the dead of winter, I use 50w on my high mileage engines. The extra drag of a heavy oil is worth the comfort of knowing the wrist pins and rockers are getting theirs.

[Lazymechanic]

Duh, tercels have Sohc's. Wrist pins and valve guides.

[Lazymechanic]

Der, uh, no that's right. I've been phoning it in so much lately.

[GTSSportCoupe]

Mobil1 10W30 synthetic. Incredible oil...

[ESI-RStarion]

I use Valvoline Racing(VR1) 30w 3 qts of that with 1 qt of I forget the name of it racing supplement, claims to increase hp, mpg, and compression, and make for easier cold starts. Seems to work for me.*shrug*

[hberdan]

I use that Valvoline high mileage 10W-40 stuff, works great. 300,000 miles, original engine. Oil changes every 3000 miles, thats about every seven weeks for me.