Oil type
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
From: CA
Oil type
HEY FELLAS I HAVE a 99 GS WITH 114K MILES, I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT TYPE OF OIL SHOULD I RUN MY GS WITH, MY BUDDY WHO IS A TOYOTA TECH SUGGESTED I SHOULD USE 20/50W, ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,043
Likes: 31
From: CA
Why don't you open the hood and it says right there on the cap 5w-30. Or read the instruction manual.
If you don"t know how to open the hood, then god help you. Give up on car maintenance and just let your local (certified) mechanic do all the work. Even if it's wrong, at least when your car blows up you can sue them.
If you don"t know how to open the hood, then god help you. Give up on car maintenance and just let your local (certified) mechanic do all the work. Even if it's wrong, at least when your car blows up you can sue them.
Why don't you open the hood and it says right there on the cap 5w-30. Or read the instruction manual.
If you don"t know how to open the hood, then god help you. Give up on car maintenance and just let your local (certified) mechanic do all the work. Even if it's wrong, at least when your car blows up you can sue them.
If you don"t know how to open the hood, then god help you. Give up on car maintenance and just let your local (certified) mechanic do all the work. Even if it's wrong, at least when your car blows up you can sue them.
anyways..i would put in 10w 30 because of the higher miles..synthetic is best..but if you have been using normal motor oil you will probably have a small leak (most likely at gaskets)
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,043
Likes: 31
From: CA
If your car is working correctly, it should be fine with what is originally recommended by Toyota/Lexus which is 5W-30 until the end of life of your car. It got you that far, no sense in changing.
If your car is not working correctly, then you'll need to give some feedback on what is wrong with your car or what symptoms you are seeing (smoke, oil loss, rattling, etc).
Changing grades of oil is a stop-gap solution for when something is not right with your car and it is not cost effective to fix the real problem properly.
If you've already made up your mind that something different is got to be better, then you've already made up your mind that you are smarter then Toyota/Lexus, and there is probably not much anyone can say to change it
. Just try whatever floats your boat, and if it makes you feel better, it worked for you!
There are many different schools of thought on oil and it's almost religious (go see bobistheoilguy forum), but personally I'd either just stick with manufacturer's rec, or the mechanic who will warranty the work and pay out if something goes wrong. Everything else is YMMV and something you heard from some guy on the internetz.
If your car is not working correctly, then you'll need to give some feedback on what is wrong with your car or what symptoms you are seeing (smoke, oil loss, rattling, etc).
Changing grades of oil is a stop-gap solution for when something is not right with your car and it is not cost effective to fix the real problem properly.
If you've already made up your mind that something different is got to be better, then you've already made up your mind that you are smarter then Toyota/Lexus, and there is probably not much anyone can say to change it
. Just try whatever floats your boat, and if it makes you feel better, it worked for you! There are many different schools of thought on oil and it's almost religious (go see bobistheoilguy forum), but personally I'd either just stick with manufacturer's rec, or the mechanic who will warranty the work and pay out if something goes wrong. Everything else is YMMV and something you heard from some guy on the internetz.
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[QUOTE=raytseng;4123812]If your car is working correctly, it should be fine with what is originally recommended by Toyota/Lexus which is 5W-30 until the end of life of your car. It got you that far, no sense in changing.
well...your partially correct...toyota/lexus recommends 5w30 OR 10w30... you would only run 5w30 if you lived in a state where you might see sub zero temps, and i dont think the OP is going to be seeing that in CA
well...your partially correct...toyota/lexus recommends 5w30 OR 10w30... you would only run 5w30 if you lived in a state where you might see sub zero temps, and i dont think the OP is going to be seeing that in CA
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and, a cars engine does wear down..your theory of (it got you that far, no sense in changing...) is not based on anything scientific..(would you say that about tires? no..) a engine does wear down..and get leaks/etc.. and at 114K...that engine has tons of life left..so why would you not want to do something to keep it running at optimal performance?
I'm sure its possible to get, but i don't think that is something we sell in the states. or at least at local our car places...plus isn't it like 43-58 for 2 liters on it? u gonna ship me over some of it...........pretty please? i promise i wont call you a frog nemore seriously though can u ship me some?
seriously though can u ship me some?
wow..not at all..if you have been using normal oil and switch to synthetic...with that high of miles..you will almost certainly get a small leak of some kind
find me a scientific proof that high mileage cars will certainly leak oil going from conventional to synthetic.
if you went from conventional to synthetic and you're getting leaks, that means your seals are bad in the first place; conventional oil just masks the problem because of less cleaning agents in the oil.
Lexus Champion
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,347
Likes: 6
From: RI
find me a scientific proof that high mileage cars will certainly leak oil going from conventional to synthetic.
if you went from conventional to synthetic and you're getting leaks, that means your seals are bad in the first place; conventional oil just masks the problem because of less cleaning agents in the oil.
im not positive about leaks or anything but i do know that in switching from dino oil to synthetic you should run a blend for a couple oil change cycles to condition your seals to the new oil and flush out the dino sludge. As far as weight, i'm in new england and personally go by manufacturer's recommendation no matter what the case (my old ML used 0w-40 full synthetic year round). But in my GS particularly, I'll probably switch to synthetic in the summer, it'll last longer and maybe be a bit more forgiving if i miss my oil changes by a couple hundred miles.