Preserving Compression?

3

3rdgenT4R

New member
So i was reading the other post about compression numbers and I got to thinking.....my last 4runner had 357k when i sold it, running but a little tired

All i did was Sea Foam a couple times and change oil and run high test once or twice a month and i did BK 44 it once

Are there any additives or particular oils that really work ...ie QS High Milage oil or Marvel Oil, Drydene, Injector cleaners, BK44... ect, ect.....is all it all the same....just maintinance and change oil...because she's a 'yota and she'll last

Some have said Sea Foam...(ie decarbing) killed their boat motor or truck engine, other swear by the stuff

Thoughts?
 
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3rdgenT4R said:
So i was reading the other post about compression numbers and I got to thinking.....my last 4runner had 357k when i sold it, running but a little tired

All i did was Sea Foam a couple times and change oil and run high test once or twice a month and i did BK 44 it once

Are there any additives or particular oils that really work ...ie QS High Milage oil or Marvel Oil, Drydene, Injector cleaners, BK44... ect, ect.....is all it all the same....just maintinance and change oil...because she's a 'yota and she'll last

Some have said Sea Foam...(ie decarbing) killed their boat motor or truck engine, other swear by the stuff

Thoughts?
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SeaFoam will indeed kill a 2 stroke boat motor.

I ONLY use seafood one time per year in each of my vehicles and the lawnmower, used it in a boat motor only once.... You have to be careful with cleaners cause they can eat at your seals in the engine.

Buy good gas (top tier rated not necessarily premium), use good oil (Rotella T) , keep up with maintenance items. I do not plan on messing with any additives whatsoever, as a teen I tried that stuff on a 72 Nova and ended up having to buy a new block so I sort of don't trust them much.
 
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Use a good tier synthetic oil and change it on time, no extended drain intervals.

When my father's tranny died in his first Gen Explorer in March, he donated it but before he did I performed a compression check and at 276,000 miles the engine still had between 180 and 190 psi in all cylinders. It had been on a steady diet of Mobil 1 10w-30 since 1997 every 5,000 miles.

There is no silver bullet in a can, but don't tell that to fellow member Bama Drewski.
 
Best way to keep the valves happy (besides the fuel injector cleaning and quality gas) is to check the valve clearances and adjust them as necessarily. Putting that off will eventually lead to damaged or burnt valves.

Good valves + good piston rings = good compression.
 
gamefreakgc said:
Best way to keep the valves happy (besides the fuel injector cleaning and quality gas) is to check the valve clearances and adjust them as necessarily. Putting that off will eventually lead to damaged or burnt valves.

Good valves + good piston rings = good compression.
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Our valve clearances are automatically adjusted correct?
 
gamefreakgc said:
Best way to keep the valves happy (besides the fuel injector cleaning and quality gas) is to check the valve clearances and adjust them as necessarily. Putting that off will eventually lead to damaged or burnt valves.

Good valves + good piston rings = good compression.
Click to expand...


Quite a few people have said the exact opposite. Specifically that with this engine, if it isn't broken or showing symptoms then don't take it apart.
 
I should have clarified, that is for the V6. The 4-Cylinder uses a different valve system than the V6 since you just adjust the valve lash if needed which is MUCH simpler.

Our V6's cannot adjust on their own since they use shims to dictate the spacing of the valves. If the clearances are off they will eventually not seal completely, causing loss of compression. It's a lot of work that takes a lot of patience but it pays off in the long run. It's non-intrusive though, you don't need to remove the cams or anything it's just slow work. Checking the valve clearance is real easy though, just pop off the valve cover and measure.
 
jhfleet said:
In the unlikely event that you're being serious, a resounding no for the 3rd gen V-6! I don't know about any other T4R engine. And, it isn't a simple job on the 5VZ.
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Very true on both accounts. Wow looking at procedure, looks very tedious. Seems like the jury is out on hitting 200k and doing it. Some say yes, some say never unless you have issues.

I've done plenty of Hondas with VTEC and it's pretty easy compared with the 5VZ

Prevention of burnt valves is important.
 
The secret recipe to preserve compression is 1 quart of Rotella T6, 2 quarts of LiquiMoly 10W30, 3 quarts of Valvoline Maxlife 20W50, a full bottle of Ceratec, and a pint of Marvel Mystery oil.
 
T4R2014 said:
The secret recipe to preserve compression is 1 quart of Rotella T6, 2 quarts of LiquiMoly 10W30, 3 quarts of Valvoline Maxlife 20W50, a full bottle of Ceratec, and a pint of Marvel Mystery oil.
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Quite the concoction. How did you come up with that?

Right now, I'm using Penzoil Ultra Platnium 5w30 with Prolong. Got better than average UOA about 1k miles ago just using that.
 
stir_fry_boy said:
Quite the concoction. How did you come up with that?
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Years of reading oil threads on various forums. :naughty:

How could I forget a full bottle of old school Duralube in that mix?

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8QWPIcGjjZo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Gotta have that in case you decide to redline your engine with no oil pressure.
 
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