Oil/Service recommendation for 97 Camry 2.2

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Hello happy people! We just bought a 97 Camry with the 5S-FE engine. Now as far as I know, these engines have problems with sludging up. This car has 290,000km's on the clock and they are mostly highway miles. The previous owner followed the regular OCIs and there doesnt seem to be a problem with the way it run, other than a noisy valvetrain over 4000rpm. Looking through the oil fil cap shows a lot of varnishing, but again thats not really the best diagnosis.

Would you guys recommend flushing this engine out with kerosene a few times at the next oil change? Also I wanted to use Mobil 1 5w-30 or GC 0W-30 oil afterwards as we head into winter. Which of those would you recommend or any other suggestions for oil?

Thanks
 
Don't worry about the black film under the oil cap, there is a baffle that covers things up. Both our 99 ES300 V6 (aka sludge monster) and its replacement 04 RX330 V6 have the black build up under the oil cap.

If you are in doubt, you can pull the valve cover. That is the best way to tell how things look.

I would treat it with a dose of Auto-RX if you think it needs it....based upon from what I have seen/read, it would have sludged up by now (290,000km).

If it were mine, I would stick with whatever oil and oil change interval the person was using before.
 
I drive a '92 Toyota Camry 2.2L, think its also the 5S-FE engine. The car has about 153,000+ miles(247,000km) on it so far. Has been running on mostly 10W-30 or 10W-40 conventional oil. Currently running 10W-30 Valvoline Maxlife. The oil gets dark very quick for some reason. I thought only the V6 engines had sludge problems. I don't know about switching to synthetic on a high mileage engine. I agree just stick with the same oil. You can use high mileage oil if you like. Flush with kerosene? don't know if thats safe for the engine. If I wanted to flush the engine, I would use one of those engine flushes you use at oil change.
 
There are only three engine cleaners I consider safe...Schaeffer's Neutra, Lube Control, and Auto-Rx. You can buy any of the three from sponsers on this forum, and I've used two of the three products and had very good results. For Neutra info, you might PM "Patman."

I'd use a top quality 5W-30 oil in your winters and a 10W-30 in the summer.


Ken
 
Guys, I have owned a 92 camry (2.2), 99 camry v6, and a 04 camry (2.4). As to sludge dont worry about pre 1996 models, I opened my 99 cover and no sludge was there. As to oil I use in the 92 Castrol 5w-30, 99 camry Mobil1 5w-30, and in the 04 camry Mobil1 5w-30.....but the 92 has always run dino 5w-30..no problem!
 
Since you are in Canada, you have access to Esso XD-3 0W30 group IV synthetic oil (the 'real' synthetic, not the hydrocracked/hydroisomerized dino stuff) at slightly over $4/quart. It uses a PAO base, and has been discussed extensively on other threads, and actually has the 'thickness' of a 10W30.

Spec sheet at:

http://www.imperialoil.com/Canada-English/Files/Products_Lubes/IOCAENCVLESEsso_Xd-3_extra.pdf

Pours down to -48C and is only slightly more expensive than decent dino.

Since its a diesel-rated oil, it should also do a decent job of getting the cleaning process in the engine underway, so don't be alarmed if it turns dark quickly. Should be a cheap stop-gap measure at least till you get an Auto-RX cycle going.
 
Hello Oil Dealer! I have the same '97 Camry with the same 4-Cyl engine. I bought it new, and changed the oil & filter every 3000 miles / 3 months with 10W-30 Conventional oil. Car now has 70K miles and no sludge, verified by dropping the oil pan to fix the gasket. Several months ago I switched to Synth (M1 5W-30) after considering that this engine runs a hot head and learning that Synth would give me additional high-temp margin. This car is parked outside, so I also wanted quick pump-up on my frequent cold starts. Finally, I want to extend my OCI to 6 months and I think that Synth is necessary for my in-town driving.

From what I hear, the V6 (1997 - 2001) is the big "Sludge Motor", and the 4-Cyl is "Sludge Jr" with less of the sludge problem. From the pictures of sludged 4-cyls that I have seen, sludge is evident when removing the oil filter and looking at the internals, but I don't know if this is 100% reliable.

Part of the sludge problem involves marginal crankcase ventilation, so change the PCV valve and verify that the hose is clear. This will give you another indication of sludge.

Since new, my engine was also rather noisy above 4000 rpm with 10W-30 Conventional oil - I have observed that with M1 5W-30 that it is now quieter at all engine speeds. It also seems to rev a little less freely. The feedback on this board is that Synth "holds grade" better when hot compared to Conventional oil.

Best Wishes as you motor along!
 
Kerosene flushes are not the best way to go, especially if you are going to run the engine with it inside.

I am interested to try Auto RX, as is JohnERTW. We are close by... want to share a shipment?


Before joining this board I have done a quick 3 minute run with a litre of diesel as flush WITH THE EXITING MOTOR OIL would be better as it does keep lubrication, but the amount of cleaning is non existent for varnish. I really doubt if any sludge or build up came out.
 
Pull a valve cover to see if you have a sludge problem, compression test will tell you if the ring pack is stuck.

Determine the problem - research solutions - develop plan to fix problems.

Happy motoring!
 
Thanks for the great suggestions guys! I think I'm going to run Mobil 1 5w-30 this winter with an oversized filter! I don't have a prob switching to synth because outside, the engine looks almost NEW! Valve COver gasket is clean and supple, etc. Its probably going to be a short/moderate trip car in the winter. I have seen XD-3 in Walmarts here, but they only have the 0w-40 grade. I'm gonna run that in the summer in my MX-6 V6. I bought 10 bottles of GC previously (the boards influence lol) which the MX-6 will see this winter.

Thanks again!
 
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