Any one have any opinions on using synthetic oil? My 95 3.0 uses a little oil and i was wondering if it would make a difference.

Nope, It will still burn oil....

I use Castrol Syntec 10W-40 which seems to work exceedingly well in the old 3.0. For me, synthetic is a better route due to the fact that these engines run on the hot side Having just pulled the valve covers to replace the gaskets, I got a view inside the engine and it was spotless. The Castrol does a good job of keeping debris in suspension, engine does not use/consume any, and no leaks.
Its nice having it in there, so when I run a little over(mile wise, 5k) it is not a concern(gets annual changes). We've been running synthetic in the 4runner since we got it at 50k with no issues at all.
regards

I got my 3.0 a few months back. I was burning oil from the valve covers. Asked the seller what kind of oil he was running. He wasn't too sure. I replaced the oil over a week ago. I went with the High Mileage GTX 10W-40 which I ran in an old 88 RE motor and was happy with it. Since changing it, the I don't smell oil burning any more. Don't see how this is possible, but so far so good.

thanks for the info. theres alot of advice and info for the 4th and 5th gens, but not much on how using synthetic in the 2gen 3.0.

Hmm, maybe ill try 10W-40 8)

Synthetic is more consistent and doesn't break down over time like conventional, and is in many ways better...


...however...

...Synthetic oil is a bit thinner than conventional, and will usually cause an older engine to leak a bit if you switch to it later on. I went to a synthetic blend at 80k in my '02 Jetta I had, and it started leaking.

I'm at around 220k in my 22RE, and I have no intention to switch from conventional 5W30.

Yeah I think when they did the Head Gasket they switched to Synthetic. There are more drips under the car (leaky rear main seal) than before I did the head gasket, but I still havnt had to top it up so Im not worried.

Oil change is due anyway, so ill ask them to stick with conventional.

Could also be the reason the oil pressure is lower than before the HG was done

I've been running 10w-30 mobil1 synth. for about thre months now, and had the same issue--it's burned about half a quart since I changed it. It's not bad, just enough that I notice it every time I fill up the tank and check the oil. Any opinions about 10W-30?

You might consider going to 10w-40, the 10w-30 is a bit light for these engines. It is also worth checking your crankcase ventilation system for coking or clogging/sludge. If it is failing in any way, you might develop higher then normal, or factory spec pressures allowing the engine to use oil(when it normally would not), or leak out of seals/gaskets.
I tried a number of different oils(standard and syn.) at differing weights, and Castrol's Syntec 10w-40 seemed to work best overall in the 3VZE(aka 3.0 slow).
regards

I switched to synthetic with 150,000 miles on my 2005 runners and switched back to conventional.

Synthetic dripped oil all over the garage floor - until I changed back to conventional (1 drip a week),

Overrated.

Good for new cars - maybe.

kilmer on synthetic - Bing video

Don't listen to anything this DB says. A quick search here will show you he's a nut job. Been running synthetic since day one, on both rigs, and never a drop of oil anywhere or loss of oil between changes.

+1 on the synthetic oil. My 4th gen hasn’t used or leaked a drop of oil in 114k miles of driving. Synthetic might not be appropriate in a 1st or 2nd gen, but it should be fine in 3rd gens and newer.

FWIW, I switched to Mobil 1 in my 1988 4Runner at about 100k miles (bought it new, drove it a little past 300k). I've owned a bunch of Toyotas since then, all pre-owned vehicles until my current 2019. Used nothing but Mobil 1 synthetic in all of them. Never have experienced a problem in a million+ miles. I have a gravel driveway, so any occasional drips I wouldn't have noticed. But a search reveals that there are about 18,900 drops in a quart of oil (anyone out there have OCD?). I simply check the level now and then, keep it topped off like you would do for any vehicle, and do the required changes. No oil-related problems ever, aside from the engine design flaw in my 2002 Prizm. Honestly, oil may be the most over-thought concern there is regarding engines.

Delo400 is my go to oil for engines that will be abused (or just high miles)