Burning Oil Toyota - What weight???

[Nick1994]

Another post about my brother's 96' Lexus ES300. 168,000 miles and it's got blue smoke on startup for 10 seconds or so. Also it burns about a quart of oil roughly every 800 miles. Initially he put in 0w30 Mobil 1 but we've added various types and weights for top off. The car actually runs great, it's the 3.0 V6 Toyota motor.

Next oil change - what weight of oil/ what kind? PCV has been changed.

I have tons of Valvoline NextGen MaxLife 10w40 in my stash

He wants to use 5w30 MaxLife or something similar.

He thinks my 10w40 is too thick and will do more damage to the seals

So now for the final question... What weight and what brand to use?

 

[Merkava_4]

Run a high mileage 20W-50 until you get the engine replaced.

 

[openroad]

I doubt MaxLife will be of any help at this stage. I would run SuperTech conventional or any other cheap oil. Don't throw good money after bad.

 

[901Memphis]

In Arizona a 10w40 isn't too thick. Try Quaker State defy 10w40. If you like good additives try Lubrimoly motor oil saver added to a high mileage 5w30 like Maxlife or Defy.

 

[Quest]

2 perceivable technical issues I see, based on your descriptions:

(1) puff of smoke 10 secs during start up---> indicators of bad valve stem seals and/or worn valve guides.

(2) 1 qt every 800 miles: oil control rings stuck and/or upper compression rings worn.

verdict: tired engine that needs a rebuild.

Q.

 

[michaelluscher]

Maybe it was just a neglected 1MZ-FE? They had sludge and oil ring sludge issues before the age/milage came into the equation, the bad valve stem seals are coincidental IMO

 

[901Memphis]

Obviously it's a mechanical problem but that doesn't mean he can't keep feeding it cheap api sn oil for another 100k. Supertech also makes a conventional 10w40 that would be OK. 20w50 actually isn't an awful idea but not the best idea for this stage. Maybe if it was one quart in 200 miles.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
He thinks my 10w40 is too thick and will do more damage to the seals


Tell your brother that if he continues to burn oil like that, he's gonna fry the catalytic converter.

10W-40 is still plenty thin enough to get past the worn valve guides and worn piston rings.

Go 20W-50 or straight SAE40.

 

[svhanc]

Maybe a MMO piston soak to try to free up the oil rings?

Burning oil will snowball to other things and become a money pit.

If the car is in good condition, maybe look at a rebuild. If not, maybe buy 20W50 in 5gal pails until it dies.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
He thinks my 10w40 is too thick and will do more damage to the seals


Tell your brother that if he continues to burn oil like that, he's gonna fry the catalytic converter.

10W-40 is still plenty thin enough to get past the worn valve guides and worn piston rings.

Go 20W-50 or straight SAE40.


How is 800/qt going to kill the cat but the current 1k/qt on a new motor not?

Also, at 168k how could one tell it was from oil burning and not just a tired cat?

 

[Bandito440]

Maxlife 10w-40 in your stash? Perfect.

 

[fdcg27]

In Phoenix I wouldn't worry about a 10W-40 being too thick.
Maxlife has worked well in every engine I've tried it in.
I ran the old BMW for quite a few miles over the last couple of summers on Maxlife Nextgen 10W-40 and posted a very nice looking UOA from it.
Great stuff FAR.
This oil might help with the car's consumption, so it's worth a try.
It appears that this engines has both valve guide seal problems as well as stuck rings.
The valve guide seals will be only a minor source of consumption.

 

[Donald]

I would not try to control the oil burning with a thick oil. Get ST oil. How is the compression?

Oil control rings are gummed up and bad valve stem seals.

Auto-Rx? Kreen? There are ways to try and clean the oil control rings.

Find a someone who will do a ring job and replace valve stem seals.

Its also a possibility of worn bearings shooting too much oil onto cylinder wall. Some is needed, but not an excess.

 

[RF Overlord]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
He thinks my 10w40 is too thick and will do more damage to the seals
Why do some people think using a thicker oil will damage seals?

To add my $0.02, once an engine starts burning oil at that rate, it's probably due to some internal issue, like bad valve seals or stuck oil rings...at this point it almost doesn't matter what oil you use, just don't go crazy (like 20W-50).

 

[fdcg27]

Right, if thicker oil damaged seals, then every winter driven car north of the Mason-Dixon line would be leaking like a sieve regardless of the grade used.
Anyway, even 20W-50 was probably among the recommended grades in some markets for this engine.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Run a high mileage 20W-50 until you get the engine replaced.


^^This

 

[toneydoc]

I would use that 10w40 out of your stash. And I think that weight is fine for AZ.

 

[Ken2]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Another post about my brother's 96' Lexus ES300. 168,000 miles and it's got blue smoke on startup for 10 seconds or so. Also it burns about a quart of oil roughly every 800 miles. Initially he put in 0w30 Mobil 1 but we've added various types and weights for top off. The car actually runs great, it's the 3.0 V6 Toyota motor.

Next oil change - what weight of oil/ what kind? PCV has been changed.

I have tons of Valvoline NextGen MaxLife 10w40 in my stash

He wants to use 5w30 MaxLife or something similar.

He thinks my 10w40 is too thick and will do more damage to the seals

So now for the final question... What weight and what brand to use?

It is always interesting to see what oils are commonly used in other countries for the same engines we have. Valvoline's Australian web site is a good one. For the 3.0L V-6 in the mid-'90's they recommend 15W-40, 10W-40, and 20W-50. In your warm climate, any of these will work fine. Synthetic is a waste of money in this engine.

 

[901Memphis]

Lucas makes one good product, SAE 70 plus conventional oil. Would certainly slow consumption.

 

[default]

15w40 diesel oil.