simonsays

i know this is a very novice type question, but what type of engine oil do u guys use?
i'ma change my oil and oil filter tomorrow in the morning.
i looked in the owners manual, and it says used 5w-30 energy conserving II multigrade oil.
would it harm my engine if i use mobil one 5w-30?
and what kind of oil filter do i need?
sorry once again for the question.
i searched the site, and all i found is people changing their oil and what not.
please reply soon so i can know what i need to do.
this is the first time i'm changing oil on this car.
thank you in advance.

koolaidman

any type of 530 oil. at my shop we use vavoline
doesnt matter what kind of oil filter as long as it fits. go to a local auto parts store and ask for the 1 that firs ur car

simonsays

ok.
thanks.
i was stressing too much cuz its the first time i'm changing oil on this car.
the car has 197,000 miles, so i thought maybe i should use the top of the line stuff.

RON430

If you watch this, you are liable to get several other opinions. There are a lot of people here who have a lot of opinions. To me, oil changes are one of the cheapest things you can do to keep your engine happy. In the olden days, a lot of weird things would happen from deposits from oils that were not so swell. Personally, I find the extra heat stability of synthetic oil to be justified. Heat will kill an engin faster than anything, usually from breaking down the oil. Synthetics give you a bit more safety margin. Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated,even synthetics so don't buy the 20,000 mile change interval or whatever. Metal from normal wear, gasoline, or worse, other fluids, all are not good on the oil and all find their way in. I change my own oil sometimes and use quite a few different synthetics including RedLine, Royal Purple, Amsoil, Mobil One, and they are all uniformly quite good. My Lexus dealer uses Mobil 1.

I might argue about the filter though. Many cheap filters just don't do a good enough filtering job to match the oil and can have lousy or even nonexistent bypass valves. Cheap filters from some of the quickie lube places can be a lousy choice. We had a couple of work vehicles develop problems because of crappy cheap filters used at a quicky lube. I have gotten to be very unimpressed with Fram. The Mobil One filter is quite good, as are K&N and even Purolator. The welded on hex of the K&N is a nice touch. On any Lexus or Toyota, a 197,000 miles is nothing to be concerned about. There are those who argue that synthetic is not worth the money, including my Lexus dealer. I can buy this argument, especially if you change oil often. But at least for me, synthetic is very cheap insurance, as I have said. The Toyota/Lexus filter is quite good, or any of the ones I mentioned, or other people will mention. On a US motor, you could consider going to a slightly heavier weight oil due to bigger impact from engine wear but my experience with Toyota engines is they really don't wear that much so the 5W30 will give you a bit better starting in the cold and help mileage, although I doubt you would really see that in the real world.

Post any questions you might have, there are lots of opinions here on oils and filters, and a lot of experience to draw on.

koolaidman

i agree some what. going with syn on older engines tend to have more cleaning agents in the oil. more cleaning agents means less deposits in seals. well maybe that deposit is keeping it from leaking. yes syn is worth the money on newer engines
but as long as u stick with ur 3 months or 3000 miles. ur engine should hold up as long as u dont dive it like u do in nascar.

and about the filter. i was expecting him to get a name brand. wix ford oem or even a lexus filter. dont get me wrong the oil filters are only good for about a 1000 miles and its bypass is usually stuck open by then. ppl might argue with me on that 1. but ive takin apart many filters to test that theory. and my conclustion thats its true.

additude

Yeah, RON430 put it in a nut shell.

I agree.

I run Mobile 1 and Mobile 1 filters. 5w-30w. I just ordered some Mobile Extended life on line and will use it to change out my oil next week. Of course I wont keep it in my engine for 15,000 miles, but it has extra cleaners and additives so for 5,000 to 7,000 miles when I do change it again I'll have extra protection.

Good oil and a good filter is cheap insurance. A Mobile 1 Oil change is about the cost of a tank of gas anymore...

Wes

RON430

Once you take an engine apart and spend the time to get lead salts out from oil breakdown, you really get religion on oil changes. It just amazes me that a guy will just complain and complain about the cost of oil, especially synthetics, but will go out and blow a ton on wheels and tires or whatever. And of course we are talking about fine, read that expensive, automobiles here. Keeping the tires inflated, oil changes, air flters, and some gas additives are about all you can do for routine maintenance. I just find oil changes cheap. A guy who does an oil change for me who charges the same as everyone else but uses some $2 filter shouldn't be touching a Lexus, bimmer, merc, Toyota, or anything else. And I won't be back. Not saying anything about anyone here, just found out once that a quicky lube place was a ripoff.

I have cut a lot of oil filters apart. Automotive and especially aircraft. I have read test reports but not sure they impact me one way or another. One thing I can say is I appreciate design and workmanship. The cheap oil filters really look cheap inside. Looking at how they form the threads where it screws on is an indicator to me. A Mobil 1, K&N or other quality filter is worth every penny to me while the cheapie filters, especially those used at the quicky lube places are overpriced. So how can a filter that costs ten or twenty bucks be a better value than one that costs $2? Go look at them. I have a $50K car that I put around $.17 a a mile in gas into. I change oil every 3 to 5,000 miles. I really don't care what the economics or technology are about using those cheap filters, I go for the good one. And if you get one of the cheapies stuck or cross threaded, well, remember all that money you saved using it.

I really wish the oil filters on cars were easier to get to. Obviously on the GS you have to take a bunch of screws out to bend the under engine tray out of the way. If it were easier to get to, I would throw a new filter on half way to the oil change. The synthetic may have no problem but once a filter gets clogged and the bypass opens, the oil filter might as well be in the trunk.

simonsays

wow.
thanks a lot ron.
i ended up not changing oils, but the coolant.
thanks for all the advice CL members.
i will definitely change my oil with mobil 1 and change the oil filter with a mobil filter.

RON430

\

Changing coolant on a car with a few years under it is also a good thing. If it hasn't been done, flushing the brake system is another good thing. Just don't let Martha do it.

3000

I use mobil 1 oil. My SC uses 5w-30 while my ES uses 10w-30. The SC has a TRD oil filter and the ES just has a FRAM oil filter. I heard that AMS oil was better than Mobil 1 but it wasn't worth the price.

Lexusfreak

Amsoil ASL 5W 30!

damon

Just noticed a curious thing after an oil change. Went from Mobil 1 Extended Life to Castrol Syntec.

Ran up about 6500 miles or so on the Mobil 1 before the change. The first 5 cold engine starts on the Syntec produced a very visible plumes of exhaust smoke. I can only guess that this is some type of cleaning going on.

Not unhappy w Mobil 1 btw, just went in a store that had Syntec in stock.

175,000 mile 94 LS400

btanchors

At 175K miles, my guess is this has nothing to do with the oil - but more than likely your valve guide seals are worn....

damon

Btanchors,
Then perhaps you can tell me why it no longer occurs??

btanchors

damon,

It was just a guess. I've seen this happen a fair amount with high-mileage Japanese cars. Usually, it is worse when the engine is completely cold- like the first startup of the day. Other starts later in the day the symptoms may not be there or may be considerably less. I don't think it has anything to do with the Syntec "cleaning" anything....If the Syntec is cleaning anything, it should remain in suspension until the oil is drained the next time. I could well be completely wrong about this, but I don't think I am going out on a limb here, either...Anyone else care to comment? Also damon - is the smoke black, or blue?