JoeT4R’s 2001 SR5 Build & Maintenance Thread

[96RedRunner]

Fram was the go to 70's-Y2K went OE YZZD3 shortly before bad stuff started surfacing,
no reason to give em a shot, my Euro trash Wix go to.

 

[JoeT4R]

I won't disagree with the facts that are out there. Are the Fram orange cans cheap filters? Yes, absolutely. Is their filter media less superior than that of others? Perhaps. I'm no scientist nor a developer of filters. But I wanted to try them to see for myself what kind of results I would get. And so far the results have been just fine.

I've mainly used D1 and D3 filters for the life of the truck since my ownership. You can verify this on the first page of my build/maintenance thread where I chronologically list everything to include parts used. I haven't had an issue with any filter I've ever run. Again, I just wanted to try it for myself.

I will likely go to something else at my next change. Maybe the Fram Ultra, maybe the YZZD3, or maybe even something completely different. We'll just have to see what happens when the time comes.

 

[JoeT4R]

Fram....:/

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John you'll be happy to know that when I went to Walmart yesterday, not only did I purchase my favorite oil (SuperTech Full Synthetic High Mileage) but I also bought a YZZD3 filter in preparation for my next oil change. Back to the Toyota filters for me!

No issues to report with the Fram, though. [emoji16]

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[Speedy]

Years ago I obsessed about things like oil change intervals, micron size for filters, anti drain back valve material, etc.

All that led me to either Purolator Pure One filters, or Mobil 1. They were basically neck and neck. Penzoil Platinum oil, or Mobil 1 oil. Again basically neck and neck. I followed all that research up with 10,000 mile oil analysis results. I think all that is still over on Bob's the Oil Guy forum from back when. I had too much time on my hands but I had to know, you know.

Are there better oils out there, for sure, but my requirements are it has to be easy to find and reasonably priced. Nothing boutique.

I went to a once a year or 10K mile (whichever came first) oil change interval about 18 years ago. People told me I was nuts and my motor wouldn't last, yet here it is 21 years later and the last oil analysis was still excellent. Hmmmmmm

 

[brillo_76]

I won't disagree with the facts that are out there. Are the Fram orange cans cheap filters? Yes, absolutely. Is their filter media less superior than that of others? Perhaps. I'm no scientist nor a developer of filters. But I wanted to try them to see for myself what kind of results I would get. And so far the results have been just fine.

I've mainly used D1 and D3 filters for the life of the truck since my ownership. You can verify this on the first page of my build/maintenance thread where I chronologically list everything to include parts used. I haven't had an issue with any filter I've ever run. Again, I just wanted to try it for myself.

I will likely go to something else at my next change. Maybe the Fram Ultra, maybe the YZZD3, or maybe even something completely different. We'll just have to see what happens when the time comes.

I only use Toyota oil filters now.. The only reason I am hard on Fram is because I have seen several of those fail on cars. At least 3 different times on various vehicles.

Most oil filters are fine, I would just stay away from Fram because of the failures.

I also checked the Toyota and they have had classes on the larger filters.. Some techs attended it and Toyota engineers even said folks are wasting their money. The original size filters are sufficient.

So you not gaining anything by running the super larger filter either.

However, folks can do as they wish.. its their rigs.

The good news is the larger filters will not hurt your engine.

The main thing is changing the oil and filter at the proper intervals.

 

[HiLife]

John you'll be happy to know that when I went to Walmart yesterday, not only did I purchase my favorite oil (SuperTech Full Synthetic High Mileage) but I also bought a YZZD3 filter in preparation for my next oil change. Back to the Toyota filters for me!

No issues to report with the Fram, though. [emoji16]

My Walmart near to me also sells the Toyota YZZD3, at $4 more than what the local Toyota dealer sells them.
I wish Walmart near to me sold the oil filters for less.

I ran out of Toyota oil filters and had to get a wix for $13. That shocked me cause last time I got a wix, it was for $6

 

[JoeT4R]

Years ago I obsessed about things like oil change intervals, micron size for filters, anti drain back valve material, etc.

All that led me to either Purolator Pure One filters, or Mobil 1. They were basically neck and neck. Penzoil Platinum oil, or Mobil 1 oil. Again basically neck and neck. I followed all that research up with 10,000 mile oil analysis results. I think all that is still over on Bob's the Oil Guy forum from back when. I had too much time on my hands but I had to know, you know.

Are there better oils out there, for sure, but my requirements are it has to be easy to find and reasonably priced. Nothing boutique.

I went to a once a year or 10K mile (whichever came first) oil change interval about 18 years ago. People told me I was nuts and my motor wouldn't last, yet here it is 21 years later and the last oil analysis was still excellent. Hmmmmmm

I too was obsessed with the data and the numbers to determine which filter and oil was "best" but realized that as long as you use something decent and change it on time you should be okay. I used AMSOIL for a long, long time. Talk about boutique! Lol.

10K changes makes me squirm to think about. Most I could reasonably do would be 6K. It feels too risky to me, especially as I get ready to close in on the 330K mark.

I only use Toyota oil filters now.. The only reason I am hard on Fram is because I have seen several of those fail on cars. At least 3 different times on various vehicles.

Most oil filters are fine, I would just stay away from Fram because of the failures.

I also checked the Toyota and they have had classes on the larger filters.. Some techs attended it and Toyota engineers even said folks are wasting their money. The original size filters are sufficient.

So you not gaining anything by running the super larger filter either.

However, folks can do as they wish.. its their rigs.

The good news is the larger filters will not hurt your engine.

The main thing is changing the oil and filter at the proper intervals.

You using D1's or D3's? Evidently the 4Runner calls for a D1, which I used for years on end the first few years of ownership but switched to D3's.

My Walmart near to me also sells the Toyota YZZD3, at $4 more than what the local Toyota dealer sells them.
I wish Walmart near to me sold the oil filters for less.

I ran out of Toyota oil filters and had to get a wix for $13. That shocked me cause last time I got a wix, it was for $6

I paid about $7 and some cents plus tax for the Toyota filter from Walmart. It was still less than a Fram XG3600, but more than the PH3600. I know I can always play it safe with Toyota filters. I just like to experiment sometimes.

No filter I've used has let me down, so that's cool.

 

[Speedy]

Have you run an oil analysis on yours? Pretty useful. I do one every few years and use Blackstone Labs. Shows how things are really doing.

 

[brillo_76]

Lots of major mechanics are against 10k oil changes. I personally keep all mine around 5k even in the newer engines.

Even the owners manual states. Lots of stop and go driving. Excessive idling and city driving,towing negates the 10k milage intervals.

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[Speedy]

Oil, filters, and change intervals will be debated for as long as ice engines exist I reckon.

Every car is different so I dial mine in based on oil analysis as that doesn't lie. 18 years and over 155k on mine so I have real world experience and you saw pics of the valve train when I did the vc gaskets.

I do 1 year or 5k interval on my wife's Q60 Red Sport due to the turbos even though the manual says 7500 or 10k depending on conditions.

What's really interesting is an oci listed in a new car manual is often way different for US manuals vs UK for same exact car. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Having said that if you enjoy tinkering it definitely won't hurt anything changing it more often.

 

[JoeT4R]

Have you run an oil analysis on yours? Pretty useful. I do one every few years and use Blackstone Labs. Shows how things are really doing.

I've done a Blackstone Labs analysis once, right before I closed in on the 300K mark. It was about two years ago at this point. Wanting to do another one soon. I was also running Pennzoil Ultra Platinum at that time, but run the SuperTech stuff now.

Lots of major mechanics are against 10k oil changes. I personally keep all mine around 5k even in the newer engines.

Even the owners manual states. Lots of stop and go driving. Excessive idling and city driving,towing negates the 10k milage intervals.

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Agreed. I feel like 10K is far too much. My Mom has a 2019 Camry and does 10K OCI's on it, so I hope it will last for years to come. It just makes me uneasy to think about going that long even if the analysis says it's okay. I'd rather be safe than sorry and do them early instead of on time or even late.

 

[brillo_76]

I get information from everywhere
But the advice of a Toyota master technician I kinda follow.

TOYOTA OWNERS! PLEASE Don't Make These Mistakes With Oil Filters! - YouTube



He also has a video on these 10k mile oil changes. As what they did, we sacrifice wear to keep the cost of maintenance lower. So oil consumption will start a lot earlier then it normally would have because of this 10k oil changes.




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[Speedy]

Mine's never used enough oil to even be detectable on the dip stick even at 155K miles and mine's supercharged to 11psi so I've been kinda surprised. I stopped obsessing over it years ago to be honest. Use good oil and filter and change whenever you're comfortable, and check the dip stick once a month. Mine hasn't seen 10K miles in a year for a while, last analysis was 8,100 when I was checking to make sure the water/meth injection didn't introduce any oil dilution. I avg about 6K a year though.

I have friends that change the oil in their Hellcats after every single time at the drag strip!

Toyota doesn't make oil filters I'm sure you know, but I expect the Denso is a good filter, at least the USA made ones.

 

[brillo_76]

Mine's never used enough oil to even be detectable on the dip stick even at 155K miles and mine's supercharged to 11psi so I've been kinda surprised. I stopped obsessing over it years ago to be honest. Use good oil and filter and change whenever you're comfortable, and check the dip stick once a month.

I have friends that change the oil in their Hellcats after every single time at the drag strip!

Hellcats insane but for the price of those engines... Might not be a bad idea. Probably overkill.


Mine (3rd gens) mostly leaks more then they ever use.. Works good for rust prevention...:dance: I only have one that had the engine resealed.

Toyota doesn't make oil filters I'm sure you know, but I expect the Denso is a good filter, at least the USA made ones.

That is if the users get genuine and not fake ones. Sadly, there is a major counterfeit market out there.. :-(

I never done any oil analysis as its not important as these are 3rd gen 4 runners.

I just listen to The Toyota master mechanics that work on thousands
of Toyota's a year. As i know with their experiences they know a lot more then I would.

As I am just a hobby mechanic. Trying to share information for folks to decide which way they want to go with their rigs...

They can always do as they wish. Can run Fram Filters and change their oil every 10K if that's they want to do..

 

[Speedy]

It's fun discussion and good info to share for sure. I went back and looked (edited my above post). Last analysis I had was 8100 miles to check for contamination from the water meth injection (wasn't any). It was Penzoil Platinum 5W30 and TBN was still 2.3. I've since switched to Penzoil Full Synthetic since it's shown to actually be a bit better than Platinum. The Ultra Platinum is better still, but for 50% more cost, not sure it's 50% better??

All the real hardcore testing I did was on a 1999 Honda Accord that saw 20K miles a year, so was easy to do 10K analysis with different oils and filters. Sold it to a college kid with 200K on the clock. I tested non-synthetic vs synthetic (same brands), change filter and not changing filter, etc. Was a fun experiment over a few year period.

I like knowing how the oil is doing in terms of TBN etc but once you dial in on a brand and OCI it stays the same unless something's "wrong". In terms of wear metals in the reports it's highly mileage dependent in my experience and those universal averages they include in the reports should be qualified with an avg OCI for reference. In my testing double the miles was about double the wear metals, which sorta makes sense, but in the end we're talking single digit parts per million.

Yeah Hellcat motor = pricey. I blew up my original at the drag strip, broke a rod, and have a Redeye engine in mine now. ~1000HP but change the oil once a year. It only sees about 4,000 miles a year anyway but some racing here and there. I'd change it every 5K otherwise.

 

[JoeT4R]

I get information from everywhere
But the advice of a Toyota master technician I kinda follow.

TOYOTA OWNERS! PLEASE Don't Make These Mistakes With Oil Filters! - YouTube



He also has a video on these 10k mile oil changes. As what they did, we sacrifice wear to keep the cost of maintenance lower. So oil consumption will start a lot earlier then it normally would have because of this 10k oil changes.




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I read somewhere, I think in my owner's manual that 5K oci's are for "extreme conditions" or something like that and 7,500 oci's are for normal operation. I couldn't see myself going that long. I would never sacrifice longevity of my engine for the sake of saving a few pennies in between oil changes. It costs right around 30 bucks to do an oil change with Toyota filter for my truck, I can manage that.

Mine's never used enough oil to even be detectable on the dip stick even at 155K miles and mine's supercharged to 11psi so I've been kinda surprised. I stopped obsessing over it years ago to be honest. Use good oil and filter and change whenever you're comfortable, and check the dip stick once a month. Mine hasn't seen 10K miles in a year for a while, last analysis was 8,100 when I was checking to make sure the water/meth injection didn't introduce any oil dilution. I avg about 6K a year though.

I have friends that change the oil in their Hellcats after every single time at the drag strip!

Toyota doesn't make oil filters I'm sure you know, but I expect the Denso is a good filter, at least the USA made ones.

So, over the past few years I've noticed a visible increase in oil consumption, merely basing it upon the levels on the dipstick in between oil changes. If I go about 4K without adding any oil, it'll be right above the "low" dot on the dipstick. Which is a bit disheartening. So I end up changing my oil ahead of time as a result. Not sure if that's concerning, but a good buddy of mine, who's mechanical opinion I trust greatly, seems to express no concern relating to it as my truck is 22 years old at this point.

I plan to do another oil analysis relatively soon, like at either my next oil change or the one thereafter. The last one I did was at 299.4K miles I think. I'm at 328K right now. I also switched oil brands last summer (2022) and have been exclusively using SuperTech Full Synthetic High Mileage 5W-30. So far, I've had really good results with it, my truck was noticeably quieter after switching to it and the price is unbeatable. Took me a long time to recognize that sometimes simple is best.

This is, of course, after years of chasing "wHaT oIl bRaNd iS tHe BeSt fOr mY tRuCk?!" I started off with AMSOIL sig series, then switched to Pennz Plat. then to Pennz Ultra Platinum, tried Kirkland synthetic once and now the ST Full synthetic high mileage. I plan to stick with this stuff as long as my oil analysis yields a good, solid report.

I also want a good report, so I'll probably wait until the following oil change so that a YZZD3 is coupled with it, hahaha. I know I wanted to try the Fram, but I want to run the oil for as close to 5K as possible without having to add any. When I change it at 330K, it'll have about 3,200 on that interval.

 

[brillo_76]

That's what it says. However, the newer Toyota engines will not last as long as the 3rd gen if you don't. All vvti engines wear faster if you don't stick to 6 months 5 k mile intervals. It's been proven as the engines have enough miles on them now . I know my 3rd gens love that interval in keeping the engine cleaner inside.

Toyota also wants to sale you a new car every 10 years or so too.

Just thoughts.

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[Speedy]

I'd say just about any synthetic oil will be sufficient these days. Not like it's new tech or anything. Amsoil is a great oil but falls in to that boutique category I avoid and honestly unless you're shooting for some crazy long OCI my personal opinion is that it's overkill. From what I've seen nothing wrong with the SuperTech oil. I just run Penzoil Full Synthetic in everything but the Hellcat and it's only like $3 more a 5qt jug than SuperTech. I run Mobil1 0W40 in the Hellcat since I can't find 5qt jugs of Penzoil Full Synthetic in 0W40.

Interesting note, SRT Challengers called for Mobil 1 oil (printed right on the oil cap) for years. Suddenly Dodge was bought by FCA and now Mobil 1 supposedly didn't meet requirements and Penzoil Ultra Platinum took it's place. Contract negotiations anyone?? I ran Penzoil Platinum 0W40 in the Hellcat for a while, but Penzoil pulled the 5qt jugs from production, likely due to the Dodge agreement. Shady if you ask me.

Your engine has over 300K miles on it. I'd expect it to use a bit of oil at that point. Rings don't last forever afterall. Personally I wouldn't let the oil level get below the half way point on the dip stick. I believe the difference from the bottom dot to the top is a smidge over a quart. Sounds like yours is using just shy of that over 4,000 miles which isn't bad IMO for a 330K motor. You "might" consider a slightly heavier oil, maybe 5W40 just to see if that might help.

 

[JoeT4R]

Took a day trip to the mountains, had to get some shots. Not the most glamorous ones, but decent ones nonetheless. Ending mileage today was 328,992 miles.

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[HiLife]

Your still rocking the TRD/LC lift?
Looks great!