[jayman]

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

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

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
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/maintenance-tech/60405-differential-gear-oil-tsb.html

 

[jayman]

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

 

[jayman]

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

Cummins, like most HD diesel engine companies, will usually recommend waiting up to 20 K before switching to synthetic. If you work the truck at max tow rating from day 1, you're safe to switch at 5 K.

 

[jayman]

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.
-B

In a moderate climate, that is fine. I guess the biggest issue I have with our crap minimum-spec North American oils is that we are encouraged to have among the shortest oil change intervals on the planet

In the EU, running their "minimum spec" ACEA A1 oils, most cars have a 12 month or 10,000 mile interval. No apparent issues I have seen. The Opel, VW, BMW, etc with LongLife servicing (Oil monitor, special synthetic oils, etc) offer up to a 2 year or 30,000 mile interval

Where a synthetic is essential is any climate where the ambient temps are consistently colder than -30 C. Min spec API oils don't offer any protection against ring land fill, crown land fill, cold sludge, etc. They also don't offer cold start pumping protection

 

[jayman]

Warranty question, what if on the outside chance something goes wrong with your motor and you didn't follow Toyota's recommended oil change intervals of 5K or 6 months? Toyota will wiggle out of a warranty claim if they can.

That's a good question

Let's suppose there is a hidden manufacturing defect somewhere, say a hairline crack in a connecting rod that made it past routine inspection. You're driving along and BANG steam and oil are all over the place.

In that case, let's also suppose you were running Amsoil and changing the oil and filter every 12 months. With a hidden defect, you could change the oil and filter every Saturday morning and that wouldn't prevent the failure. Could Toyota wiggle out of a warranty repair? Sure, I guess

Or, how about the sludge issue that Toyota had to cough up in that class action? I wonder how many of those motors had the 7.5 K interval done at Toyota dealerships, running crap min-spec bulk dealership oil?

When my Prius was about half a year old, I had already gone through the 2 free oil changes at the dealership. Switched to Mobil 1, ran it 10,000 km, changed it and had it sampled. Had *alarming* levels of sodium, sulfur, and nitration

Presented this to the dealership and Toyota Canada. TC came back with a snotty letter stating my use of Mobil 1 was to blame, hinting my warranty might be voided. I contacted Mobil and they stepped up to bat for me

We chased a lot of dead ends. The next oil change, results were *better* not worse. Matter of fact, 2 oil changes of Mobil 1 later, lab results were still getting *better*

The Mobil engineer assigned to my case then suggested I try to obtain a sample of the oil used previously. Duh, I should have thought of that. Dealership had no problem with this, I guess they assumed all motor oil was exactly the same, especialy the bulk stuff sitting in the tote bin outside with TC's approval

That stuff was s***, I wouldn't run it in a 20 year old lawnmower: contaminated with free moisture and dust, high sodium, high sulfur, high iron, etc. A 3,000 mile interval was probably pushing it with that garbage

The tote bin should have had a desiccant breather, instead just an inverted pipe with a screen. That explained the dirt and moisture, the rest was just crap no-name low-bid-of-the-month oil

In the meantime, TC was still acting pretty smart, suggesting my engine was toast and it was *my* fault

So Mobil - armed with this damning evidence - contacted Toyota Canada. Very quickly, they STFU.

So if I had had a problem with my Prius motor, probably barely off warranty, TC would have laughed at me for using a non-recommended viscosity and interval. When the garbage sitting in the dealership tote bin was probably to blame

 

[jayman]

To clarify ACEA test sequences

A1/B1: The "standard" low friction low viscosity oil for EU drivers

A3/B3: A "stable" oil for high performance applications, highly extended oil drains, and very severe service, for EU drivers

A5/B5: A low friction low viscosity oil for extended oil changes, for EU drivers

Ax is for light duty gasoline motors, eg passenger cars, SUV's, etc

Bx is for light duty diesel motors, eg VW Golf TDI, etc

Regular oil change intervals in the EU are 12 months or 10,000 miles. Extended oil changes are 18 months or 16,000 miles. Highly extended oil change intervals are 24 months or 30,000 miles

The only Mobil 1 synthetic oil that meets the ACEA highly extended oil drain and very severe service requirements is Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Forumula. This is a "light" 40 oil

In summer, comparing Mobil 1 0W-40 to Mobil 1 0W-30, there was no difference in fuel economy that I noticed. Perhaps lab testing, eg chassis dynometer, might have uncovered fuel economy differences.

I now intend to run the 0W-40 year round