Hiya everyone! First time posting so please go easy on me!
Anyways, I bought a 1998 Toyota MR2 a few months back. Previous owner had obviously not taken good care of it, paint was in less than perfect condition and everything was dirty. Engine ran ok, no leaks. Oil was on the low end of the dipstick, but PO said it had been a while since oil change, so it wasn't such a big deal.
Drive home, changed oil in next few days. Oil came out thick and gooey, inconsistent viscosity and completely black in colour. PO said that he had put in Castrol GTX 20W-50 about 15000km ago which was way too thick and way to long. Changed to thinner GTX 15W-40, but still thicker than manufacturer ratings, and ran for a few months.
It's time for its next oil change now, so I was wondering if I should put 10W-30 (manufacturer's rating) or continue to put in 15W-40. After running the 15W-40 for a few months, there is no oil on the ground, but I see maybe 2-3 drops worth of oil in the spark plug wells around the spark plug when I pull the boot off. Not sure if this happened with the 20W-50 as I didn't check. In 3000km, car has burnt 1mm of oil according to the 2cm shaded part of the dipstick- don't know how much this actually is. I'm assuming that it's not significant amount.
So... 10W-30 or 15W-40?
I'm from Australia if anyone needs to know.
Also, a question on air filters. Old man says they hardly ever need changing, hasn't changed it on his car for maybe 3-4 years. I don't feel like I can trust him enough, so any opinions/ advice/ horror stories would be nice. Filter is in a terrible position so I gave up trying to check the condition of it.
Thanks in advance
Anyways, I bought a 1998 Toyota MR2 a few months back. Previous owner had obviously not taken good care of it, paint was in less than perfect condition and everything was dirty. Engine ran ok, no leaks. Oil was on the low end of the dipstick, but PO said it had been a while since oil change, so it wasn't such a big deal.
Drive home, changed oil in next few days. Oil came out thick and gooey, inconsistent viscosity and completely black in colour. PO said that he had put in Castrol GTX 20W-50 about 15000km ago which was way too thick and way to long. Changed to thinner GTX 15W-40, but still thicker than manufacturer ratings, and ran for a few months.
It's time for its next oil change now, so I was wondering if I should put 10W-30 (manufacturer's rating) or continue to put in 15W-40. After running the 15W-40 for a few months, there is no oil on the ground, but I see maybe 2-3 drops worth of oil in the spark plug wells around the spark plug when I pull the boot off. Not sure if this happened with the 20W-50 as I didn't check. In 3000km, car has burnt 1mm of oil according to the 2cm shaded part of the dipstick- don't know how much this actually is. I'm assuming that it's not significant amount.
So... 10W-30 or 15W-40?
I'm from Australia if anyone needs to know.
Also, a question on air filters. Old man says they hardly ever need changing, hasn't changed it on his car for maybe 3-4 years. I don't feel like I can trust him enough, so any opinions/ advice/ horror stories would be nice. Filter is in a terrible position so I gave up trying to check the condition of it.
Thanks in advance
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