Changing my oil and stupid question here

4

4mymalamute

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Just wanted to bounce this off you guys.....Im in a tight budget this time of year (hey im a teacher what can you expect! lol) and I have two five quart bottles of Castrol Syntec 5-20 in the garage (from previous car that I didnt get around to changing oil in). Question is, YES I have been running synthetic and the correct weight since I got the beast a few months back BUTI want to know if I use this oil will it harm the beast to much? Seriously, I am kinda down in the funds and cant afford to go get my reg oil so want to see if I can save a few bucks with this stuff IF its not going to be the death of my beast. Please let me know your thoughts or ideas.
Thanks,
Chans
 
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No, as long as the engine is not leaking oil, and in overall good condition. You may see the oil burn off a little faster than when using 5w-30, so keep an eye on the fill level.

Is it rated SL, SM?
 
Wait, what? I am aware that newer toyota's, including 4th gen runners, have been OK'ed by Toyota to run 5w20, but I do not believe that was true for 3rd gen.

I found the TSB and it states 2006 and newer vehicles. What year? If it is a 3rd gen... I would run what toyota recommends. They designed the engine and would know what it is safe to run..
 
My 5th gen is running 0w-20 synth. and it came with toyotacare where dealer does the oil changes. And they will only change it every 10k.
 
Again. I noted that newer Toyota's were built with that weight oil in mind. As he was posting in the 3rd gen area, I assumed (perhaps wrongly, but OP has not clarified) that he was driving a 3rd gen Toyota. It is well known that the past 20 years has seen increasing precision in manufacturer of automobiles, and I totally get that newer Toyota's were built with the higher tolerances and components meant to run the lighter oil.

No one would suggest throwing a lighter oil in a 30 year old truck. My 92 runner ran 10w30. My point was, on a truck that could potentially be 16 years old, I don't know if suggesting they run a lighter oil... without knowing the vehicle specifics; in light when the manufacturer states 5w30 or 10w30 is a wise move.


I get that NEWER trucks do.. That isn't really relevant to the question, unless the OP is running a newer truck and mis-posted in the incorrect forum.

Edit: Also. If you are SO tight on funds, you need to do a little cost benefit discussion. If you are so hard up that the 32.00 that I just paid for 7 qts of premium full Mobil one synthetic is breaking the bank... would you want to risk reducing the lifespan of your engine by running an incorrect weight? I have looked and looked, and other than the occasional owner saying they are running it, I have found no mention of Toyota officially supporting that weight oil in 3rd gen 4runners.


You can run almost any weight oil in any engine, but there are consequences. I guess I read that you are super broke, and I get that, but I would hate attempting to save 30 dollars take miles off your engine. Is it worth it?
 
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it will be ok, but it is not recommended to do, IE do not change to that oil and run it from now on, but one oil cycle is not going to hurt it. now say you where going up one to like 10w-40, that i would never do, you run the risk of starving critical engine components of oil and damaging them. running a lighter/thinner viscosity oil is better than a heavier/thicker. now with that being said, it will not have the same protection values as the 5w-30 the motor was designed for, but again one oil cycle will not kill anything nor shorten the motors life span noticeably.
 
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Why don't you just bring the oil you have in your garage to the auto store and exchange it. They shouldn't have a problem exchanging without a receipt. I''ve done it before with odd bottles of oil I had in the garage and exchanged for what I needed.
 
maybe you could cut the cost with a compromise.

go buy the same brand oil you got in the garage, but in the right weight. Then just do a 50/50 mix.

Still not ideal, but i agree with the kid. One or two cycles won't hurt it.
 
I wasnt suggesting 20w oil by the way. I would say bite the bullet and buy the right stuff if at all possible. I switched from conv to synth at 70k miles and 5.5 years old on my dodge truck and more than 2 quarts of the 7 disappeared between changes.
 
Thanks everyone for their ideas and thoughts. I totally get that this is NOT going to be a normal oil change in the future, I was just trying to use up what I have since funds are low...ie really low due to time of year, bills, etc. YES for who mentioned to rethink my general cost and spending (not exactly the words but you know what I meant) and this is the BEST cost savings to do at this very moment due to circumstances.
Now, I never thought about returning the oil (its been a year sitting in my garage) so I think I will try that and see if they will exchange it..if not, I will run it for one cycle and then next paycheck get the correct oil.
Thanks again everyone for your input....this site kicks ass!
Cheers!
 
Both my parents were elementary school teachers; my father was a vice principal for ten years, but the political BS drove him back to the classroom. My mother taught for 43 years. I would say one, if not the biggest, change they saw was that as time progressed, teachers were relied on to be disciplinarians as well as teachers. And that is hard to do.

Try Mobil Super High Mileage. $15 for 5qts at Walmart. $4.50 for each additional qt. It seems to be a good oil.
 
you're not going to hurt anything. especially for just one cycle. just make sure you don't run long on your next oil change, and check your oil level frequently, as little caesar said the 5w-20 may burn off a bit.
 
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DC runner said:
Just curious, are you teaching in a private school? Just out of curiosity, I went a looked up the average public school teacher salary in Sacramento, CA; 67k.

Um. Dang! That is much better than most other areas.
See how well your school district pays its teachers, superintendent - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
Click to expand...

I work for a charter school which equals HALF the pay scale as public. There are few jobs (and if there are, you have to deal with getting a pink slip monthly in the public school around here) sad but true. Owell, I do it for the love of it, and the money issue is something you just deal with (side jobs, etc) but have to save money anyway I can. :-)
 
4mymalamute said:
I work for a charter school which equals HALF the pay scale as public. There are few jobs (and if there are, you have to deal with getting a pink slip monthly in the public school around here) sad but true. Owell, I do it for the love of it, and the money issue is something you just deal with (side jobs, etc) but have to save money anyway I can. :-)
Click to expand...

well that and the cost of living in sac isnt exactly cheap, its not marin co, or napa co, but its not barstow either...
 
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