5,000 Mile Oil Change

[DEWFPO]

jr1 previously said:

I was always told not to put Synthetic oil in the engine till everything is well seated. About 30,000 miles or when factory warrenty is up. Also 0 w 30 here in Florida? Mabe in Alaska but here I think 10 w 40 at least. I also plan on using synthetic in the diffs and trasfer case but not till around 15,000 miles so they have time to polish and seat together. Just my .02 and I'm leaning toward Redline Synthetic Oil.

Welcome JR1,

Based on the vast experience of the forum members here (almost 20,000 as of today), you would be well advised to change out your rear differential fluid at about 5k miles or so. You can wait till 10k or 15k on the transfer case and front differential if you want.

The 1GR-GE engine is spec'd (here in the US) for 5W30. That being said, a 0W30, 5W30 or 10W30 will all have similar viscosities (within a specified range) at operating temperature (100 degrees C). So a 0W30 is not necessarily thinner than a 10W30 at operating temperature.

Redline makes good products and they will serve you well.

DEWFPO

[jayman]

jr1 previously said:

I was always told not to put Synthetic oil in the engine till everything is well seated. About 30,000 miles or when factory warrenty is up.

That's an old woman's tale. Almost every motor made in the past 15 years is fully CNC machined, automated assembly, and briefly run-in at the factory. Modern motors have very low blowby and oil use, otherwise the ODB II emissions wouldn't last very long.

If the motor isn't broken in after 2,000-5,000 miles, it never will be.

The exception is HD motors, such as Cummins, Mack, Cat, Detroit Diesel, etc. The motor used in the Dodge Ram HD trucks is a Cummins, and they state to wait 20,000 miles. That motor has nothing in common with the FJ Cruiser

On the other hand, the Dodge Sprinter - made in Germany by Mercedes, uses a 3.0 litre common rail turbodiesel V6. It's factory filled with a synthetic 0W-40. A lot of cars are now factory filled with synthetic oils

jr1 previously said:

Also 0 w 30 here in Florida? Mabe in Alaska but here I think 10 w 40 at least.

I've gone into detail - some forum members would say *painful* detail - about how oil viscosity is rated. A search will uncover this information. Executive Summary: at normal test temp of +100 C, a 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30, and SAE 30 will rate 9.3-12.5 cSt. At extended high temp high shear of +150 C, they *must* have a minimum 2.9 mPa s viscosity

I would avoid that 10W-40 s***. That conventional garbage makes heavy use of polymeric additives that will actually cause deposits to form in the motor. Amsoil makes a 10W-40 synthetic that folks swear by, especially for classic factory hotrods as it protects the solid lifters and cam from wear

In other parts of the world, Toyota has a wide range of viscosity for the same motor. For example, although they now suggest a 5W-30 is appropriate beyond +40 C, at one time they had a high temp cutoff of +10 C for a 5W-30

Toyota will recommend oils like 15W-40 as long as the temp is above -10 C. This is a heavy duty diesel oil that provides good service, although Toyota would frown on its use in North America

If you have your heart set on some sort of 40 weight, I use Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Formula. I have very good used oil analysis results with this oil, and it is specifically approved for ACEA A3, B3/B4 and Opel/BMW LL service: that means in the EU up to 24 months or 30,000 miles before an oil change

Mobil 1 0W-40

This oil won't form deposits, and is quite appropriate to use even at -30 C, which I doubt you would ever see in Florida. What I am unsure about is how Toyota would react if you ever had a warranty claim. In the EU they would probably honor the claim, here they would probably deny it

jr1 previously said:

I also plan on using synthetic in the diffs and trasfer case but not till around 15,000 miles so they have time to polish and seat together.

There is a TSB out from Toyota regarding new factory fill with a synthetic 75W-85 oil on the axles, and to require dealerships to always use this oil from now on.

Some of us changed the gear oil early. I did all my gear oil at 1,600 km, the front axle and TC looked clean. Rear axle was already black. I put in Mobil Delvac Synthetic 75W-90

Also an old woman's tale about axles and synthetic oil. A lot of axles are factory filled with synthetic. Apparently, all 2008 TOyota including FJ have synthetic gear oil. Almost all HD trucking axles have synthetic oil, as do most domestic trucks

Here is our discussion of the Toyota synthetic gear oil TSB
Differential Gear OIL *TSB*

[Brock]

I personally dont think there is a difference between seating valves with synthetic versus dino oil. If there was then BMW and other manufacturers would not use it straight from the factory.

I think it is just more "lore" passed down through the ages... it is JUST OIL that has had its molecular structure modified. It is not different as it still lubes. It just resists the detriments of heat longer and maintains a consistent performance under widely varying conditions.....so better viscosity and protection. It is still oil though....nothing super secret.

Sorry did not read the post before mine....and I did not want to be my normally verbose self.. agree agree agree. Use the synthetic and dont worry.

[DEWFPO]

jayman previously said:

Also an old woman's tale about axles and synthetic oil. A lot of axles are factory filled with synthetic. Apparently, all 2008 TOyota including FJ have synthetic gear oil. Almost all HD trucking axles have synthetic oil, as do most domestic trucks

Here is our discussion of the Toyota synthetic gear oil TSB
Differential Gear OIL *TSB*

My '05 Silverado 2500HD built in '04 came from the factory with GM's synthetic 'grape juice' in the rear differential.

DEWFPO

[jayman]

DEWFPO previously said:

My '05 Silverado 2500HD built in '04 came from the factory with GM's synthetic 'grape juice' in the rear differential.

DEWFPO

So did my year 2000 Sierra 1500. At +$25 a quart, I went with Mobil 1 Gear Oil 75W-90

[jr1]

Ok, you young fellows seem to know what you are talking about. So we will give it a try. The FJ is my wifes ride but I have to take care of it. I plan to change the rear diff with Redline 75w90 at 5k but the front and transfer at 15k with same. I still plan to use Castrol 5w30 in the engine for at least two more oil changes till I start using Redline 5w30. I can't help it I'm old school, any reason I shouldn't? Myself I have a Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 six speed manual with a Cummins and run Rotella in the engine and Redline in all running gear with no problems. We live pretty far out in the sticks and my wife got the good out of two Rav4's and wanted to buy a third and I said why don't you try a FJ, and she just loves it. It came with the off road package: Nitto Dune Grapplers 305-70X16's on TRD rims with a lift, not sure how much, Borla duel exaust and air filter, front brush guard and PIAA lights plus othe stuff. Will post pic and profile when I get time. Thanks for your insite,help and advise. Oh ya, I kinda like the dam thing myself.

[fatbrat40]

Welcome to the forums..congrats on the FJ..the thing kinda grows on ya

[Brock]

Welcome....I had (until the FJ) a Dodge 2500 Cummins 4x4 myself.....ran AMSOIL in it all around. Expensive to get it all changed but it definitely made a difference. I waited until 10,000 miles on my Dodge...not sure why. LOL

[FJDave]

In my Mustang, I changed all fluids to Royal Purple at about 10K miles. I'm at 12K miles now with the FJ, so next change is going to Royal Purple.

[Blown383]

Maybe its personal preference but on my 96' Honda Accord EX-V6, I've used the cheapest conventional dino oil I could find. I changed the oil and filter every 3,000 miles and on a few occasions probably went a few thousand over.

Fast forward 12 years and 190,000 I still get 24-25 miles to the gallon and the motor runs smooth. I highly doubt that using synthetic oil for the past 12 years would have made a HUGE difference. The car will probably go another 50,000 miles anything major needs to be done.

As for my 2008 FJ I'm not sure which oil I plan on running just yet.

YMMV

-B