Anyone using Rotella T6 5w40?

[1engineer]

Not sure what a picture of some ugly dude has to do with it either. You ask a question genuinely interested on this forum and you get some good info and a bunch of people with nothing nice to say. After seeing how some people are treated here I actually hesitated to post this question but decided what the hell. Now I see why I hesitated. Im a mechanic and a pretty good one. I understand a lot about how engines and fluids work but this engine is new to me so these types of questions help me understand better if there is good info to be had. It is possible to share knowledge and opinions without being snarky and condescending.

Forum life is no different than real life. There is always good, bad and everything in between. There are some really smart and good people here and if you stick around you can't help but learn. Just ignore the posts that you don't like and listen to the ones that do help. Enjoy reading those posts and websites!

 

[96r50]

I know how oil threads go, get the popcorn. I did several searches on Rotella and didn't get anything on the 5th gen 4runners. I run Rotella T6 synthetic in my Suzuki Hayabusa, Turbo Subaru, Cummins diesel, Revcon motorhome, 85 Ford pickup and my 78 4x4 Ford van all with great results. Mobil one broke down very quickly in the Subaru and I had to top the oil off every week. When I switched to Rotella there were no more top offs. I know you might lose some gas mileage running a thicker oil and that's ok with me but Im wondering if there is anything specific to the 4L Toyota engines that would suffer from a thicker oil. Whacha think?

I ran Rotella in either 5w40 or 0w40 grades in my 80 series Land Cruiser which was essentially a tractor engine and in my turbo Legacy which didn't have the greatest lubrication system design. It seemed to work well in both those engines and the occasional oil analysis I did said everything was great. The owners manual for the LC said you could run all sorts of grades of oil depending on expected ambient temperatures. I think it even listed 20w50 as acceptable in hot climates.

With that said, the 4Runner has a fairly modern engine design with a number of newer technologies such as dual VVTI that depend on the lubrication system to work properly. They may work just fine with 5w40 in the crankcase but what benefit are you really gaining? And if these parts don't play nice with heavier oils your wallet is going to get a whole lot lighter pretty fast when something seizes or spins! As already noted above Toyota designed the engine to run 0w20 for up to 10k miles, plus it's easy to find that oil, so why mess with a good thing?

If it helps I'm about to ship off a sample of Toyota 0w20 with 10,000 km (6250mi) to Blackstone to see what they have to say about its condition at that mileage. I'll start a new thread when I get the results.

 

[voodoolord]

I ran Rotella in either 5w40 or 0w40 grades in my 80 series Land Cruiser which was essentially a tractor engine and in my turbo Legacy which didn't have the greatest lubrication system design. It seemed to work well in both those engines and the occasional oil analysis I did said everything was great. The owners manual for the LC said you could run all sorts of grades of oil depending on expected ambient temperatures. I think it even listed 20w50 as acceptable in hot climates.

With that said, the 4Runner has a fairly modern engine design with a number of newer technologies such as dual VVTI that depend on the lubrication system to work properly. They may work just fine with 5w40 in the crankcase but what benefit are you really gaining? And if these parts don't play nice with heavier oils your wallet is going to get a whole lot lighter pretty fast when something seizes or spins! As already noted above Toyota designed the engine to run 0w20 for up to 10k miles, plus it's easy to find that oil, so why mess with a good thing?

If it helps I'm about to ship off a sample of Toyota 0w20 with 10,000 km (6250mi) to Blackstone to see what they have to say about its condition at that mileage. I'll start a new thread when I get the results.

I would love to see the results and thanks. It's nice when one oil works for all your rigs, it makes it easier to stock a bunch of oil and filters. I know Rotella is a very good oil and that is why I was looking into the compatibility with the 4runner. Now that I know about the cat situation it pretty much rules that out. Anyone ever delete the cat in these? That should get some flaming going.

 

[77Bronc]

96r50's comments above got me to thinking...

When I first purchased my 2005 F150 with a 5.4 Triton, I stated with 10W30 Mobil1, what I had used almost exclusively over the years. Was at the dealership one day, mentioned to the service tech and he said not to use this weight, go back to the 5W20, reason being Ford uses pressure (not sure this is true or accurate, but I was still under warranty, so I listened) to set a number or parameters on the cam operation, said there is a pressure transducer in the oil return passage off of the cam area.

The engine had 15K at the time, had 165K when I traded it in, never any issues.

The one time I did not use Mobil1 over the years was with my 1986 Volvo 740 GLE, 2.3L 4 cylinder. Let me tell you, the finest car I ever owned, what a well made vehicle. I used the factory recommended Valvoline 20W50 Turbo V. Put 150K miles on that engine without any issues. Other than this, all other vehicles were Mobil1...

Now I need to get some sleep.

77

 

[96r50]

I would love to see the results and thanks. It's nice when one oil works for all your rigs, it makes it easier to stock a bunch of oil and filters. I know Rotella is a very good oil and that is why I was looking into the compatibility with the 4runner. Now that I know about the cat situation it pretty much rules that out. Anyone ever delete the cat in these? That should get some flaming going.

I finally got around to posting those results: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/124761-blackstone-oil-report-3.html#post2186670

 

[STX4Runner]

I finally got around to posting those results: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/124761-blackstone-oil-report-3.html#post2186670

Exactly! I appreciate the OPs question and there is nothing wrong with being curious or just asking why. But my risk your engine just so you can run one oil in all your vehicles? It's just not worth it at all. As the old saying goes, oil and grease are cheap, parts ain't.

And also, I live in South Texas where it gets hot in April and stays hot until October and have never had trouble with the thin 0w20 oil. Same with all the Phoenix and Vegas members here, as far as I know.

 

[smokeatrr]

I have used Mobil 1 in my 05 corolla (275K) and 92 toyota pu (285K) internals still look new and no failures. My kids still own these vehicle and they still run great

 

[PinellMKIV]

1. What does the manual say.
2. Are you smarter than the engineers who designed it.
3. Are you willing to buy a new engine if it screws up because as far as I know that oil is outside the operating parameters. Warranty will be denied.

Your call.

Hi guys new owner of a 19 limited Nightshade. When I read the manual it actually states a wide range of oil viscosities that are acceptable 0w20 all the way to 15w40. The factors on choosing said weight depend on what your driving conditions are I.e colder weather necessitates thinner oil so it can travel through the engine easier to lubricate parts quickly, hot weather requires a thicker viscosity to help draw heat away from engine components. 5w40 falls right within the operating specs. perfect weight in my opinion, light enough on cold starts that it flows easily through the motor and gets thick enough when hot to help cool down the motor when stuck in heavy California traffic/ towing / driving in the desert. Also machining tolerances haven’t really changed in the last 20yrs. Oil tech has though, 0-5w20 helps with parasitic loss while still being durable enough for most regular driving conditions.

 

[Hammer0313]

Not sure how I feel about the 5w40 but the 0w30 looks like a good option. I just picked up a 2019 and was considering the 0w30; manual says a heavier oil can be used if the vehicle is operated at high speed or towing. Anyone running a 0w30 or 5w30 on a 5th Gen?

 

[SlickTRD]

Not sure how I feel about the 5w40 but the 0w30 looks like a good option. I just picked up a 2019 and was considering the 0w30; manual says a heavier oil can be used if the vehicle is operated at high speed or towing. Anyone running a 0w30 or 5w30 on a 5th Gen?

I have run 0w-30 before and saw a slight decrease in engine noise on idle as well as a small loss of mpg. Went back to 0W-20 to see if it was just in my head but it's not. I probably will go back to 0W-30.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

Hi guys new owner of a 19 limited Nightshade. When I read the manual it actually states a wide range of oil viscosities that are acceptable 0w20 all the way to 15w40.

Out of curiosity I pulled up the 2019 4R Owners manual. Pages 631 and 632 outline oil specs. As in the past, 0W-20 is the oil Toyota recommends.

There was no mention of 15W40 on these 2 pages.

 

[zonzin]

Not sure how I feel about the 5w40 but the 0w30 looks like a good option. I just picked up a 2019 and was considering the 0w30; manual says a heavier oil can be used if the vehicle is operated at high speed or towing. Anyone running a 0w30 or 5w30 on a 5th Gen?

During the summer I tow a travel trailer over some pretty steep passes and the engine really gets a workout so in summer I switch to 0-30 Mobile 1. No issues at all and at 70,000 miles it is still running like a top.




.

 

[kenwilliams0803]

Not sure how I feel about the 5w40 but the 0w30 looks like a good option. I just picked up a 2019 and was considering the 0w30; manual says a heavier oil can be used if the vehicle is operated at high speed or towing. Anyone running a 0w30 or 5w30 on a 5th Gen?

I run the 0w-20 and am 98% highway travel. Still dieseling along at 135k.

You could probably run canola oil in these things and it would still come out clean after 7-10k.

I did run 5w-30 once because I had a moment of mental lapse when buying oil -- the wife's car takes 5w-30 as does my Jeep. I noticed before I put it in but decided to go ahead anyway. It was the dead of winter in the NE and no issues, no noticeable mileage change.