Hey guys, What is the best oil for my 2001 4runner 3.4L v6??
it has 164k miles on it, and last time i changed the oil was about 11k miles ago.
Those 11k miles worry me about sludge ... should i do a engine flush, or should i get the best oil (one that cleans sludge...do those even work?)...synthetic?.

thnx for ur help guys!

Welcome aboard! Buy some Restore Motor Flush. Pour it in. Turn on engine for a good 10-15 mins. Turn off engine. Then do your oil change.

i heard that flushes could clog up some parts, thats why i am hesitant to do it :/

The best would be staying with 5k oil changes. If this the only one time you've missed an oil change and have consistently changed it at recommended interval, I wouldn't worry about it. The mileage is probably a bit high to be switching to synthetics.

As stated above, it would be a good idea to try an engine flush. Be sure to read the directions on the back carefully, as they vary from product to product. You may also wish to drop the oil pan and remove the sediment that has accumulated there over 160k+ miles. I would not recommend switching to synthetic until after you have rebuilt your engine, as the existing seals and bearings have adjusted to dino (regular) oil. Basically if you switched now, the oil would not fully penetrate into the seals, and there would be rubbing without lubrication, hence slowly destroying the seals... and increasing wear on your engine. I would also recommend against switching between oil types or brands, as you will not have complete mixing of the two. Just pick a good one, such as Mobil 1 5W-30, and stick with it... and figure out a schedule for yourself so you can make sure it gets changed regularly. All these engines really need to run forever is a little regular maintenance.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

so mobil 1 5w-30 would be the best oil out there for my 4runner???

Its all I use, but it does not mix with other oils well. Just get a good name brand oil and stick with it.

okay

can anyone name me a few good name brands .... yes, i'm new to all this :/

and wat are the numbers on the bottle for? the thickness of the oil??
i'm in los angeles california, so most mornings are about 60F degrees wen i start my 4runner. any recommendations on which oil to use?

I've been using Castrol GTX.

5w-30, 5 is the viscosity when the engine and oil is cold in winter months. 'W' means winter. 30 is the viscosity when the oil and engine reaches operating temperatures. This is otherwise known as multi-grade oil.

cool, so should i get 5w-30, or 10w-30, which would be better?

Where do you operate? In theory 5w-30 is better, period. In reality when operating in a warmer climate a 10w-30 can have an advantage. As the oil ages, especially in a high heat environment, 10w-30 seems to retain more of it's "30" properties than a 5w-30. Also in the warmer climate the 5w part of the equation is less important.


Years ago I studied this a bit. At the time Castrol 5w-50 was the rage. In theory that's the perfect oil. Back in the day the people who sampled and were oil freaks decided it was perfect, for 1700-2500miles. The conclusion was the bigger the spread the less true to the numbers the oil became as it approached the change interval. There were other oils besides the Castrol involved and it was the same, 10w-30 held up better than 10w-40 or 20w-50. IMHO, with modern oils it's not a huge deal, regular oil changes are a huge deal. IMHO you can use ANY brand of oil and if you change it every 3-4k you'll be fine. Use a reputable, name-brand oil under normal, non-towing service, and change it in the 3k-6k range and your fine. Most use a 5k interval.

so should i do a flush cause i went 11k?? or not necessary?

If it were me... I would buy 4-5 quarts of the cheapest oil in 10w-30. I'd get a reputable filter and 1 quart of Marvel Mystery Oil. I'd change the oil and add the full quart of MMO leaving one quart of regular oil out. I'd go about 1000mi and change it again. Then I'd focus on staying "on track" with regularly scheduled good oil, good filter and 10w-30 or 5w-30, whichever was better suited to my needs. That's just how I'd do it...

What he said, except I would not change oil type. Change the oil and filter, drive 1000, and do it again. 5W-30 is the oil recommended by the engineers at Toyota for the 3.4L. I can pretty safely assume that they are smarter then most of us.

As CJ3Flyr was saying, 10W-30 will stay a little thicker when hot, and coat the internals "a little bit" better then 5W-30. When cold, it would be ideal to have, say a 3W-30, IF it was available (which its not). Running a 10W-30 oil in cold weather would be bad, because the oil would be too thick to make it up to the top of the engine right away, basically the engine would be running for the first 30 seconds without oil. 5W-30 is versatile enough to do both jobs well enough, so unless you are racing across the desert in 120 degree heat, I wouldn't worry about going to a thicker oil.

Hope this helps.

Valvoline, Castrol, Mobile 1 are a few reputable brand name oils. Everyone has their preference, but IMO, they all make good products.