Oil recommendation for 2000 Camry?

[douger]

Hello,

I have a 2000 Camry with a 3.0L, 6-cyl engine. I drive around 425 miles a week. 400 of them are highway miles from driving to Dubuque from Chicago and back on the weekends.

I was thinking about trying Amsoil so I don't have to change the oil for 30,000 miles, or something like that. From what I've read on Amsoil's site and here, the engine in my car is sludge machine and I would have to change the oil every 7500 miles no matter what I use. I currently change my oil every 3000 miles. I usually use Valvoline with a Fram filter.

I would like to go as long as possible between changes. What do you recommend that I use? What filter? Thanks for your help.

 

[Hemi426]

Try Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 and a better filter(Wix, Purolator, Napa Gold, Baldwin, etc). Second choices would be Pennzoil Platinum or Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30.

 

[addyguy]

M1 EP, Amsoil SSO/ASL/ATM, Castrol Edge, Redline, Pennzoil Ultra should all do 10-12k miles in your Camry easily.

Do a couple of UOA's to see if you can go longer.

 

[IntegraVT]

Our Camrys don't take so well to extended drain intervals for the reason you mentioned. I'd stick to your current regimen of 3k mile Valvoline changes.

I use MaxLife on my 2000 Camry V6 just because it's strictly a city car; if it saw the highway as often as yours I'd probably use the regular white bottle Valvoline.

 

[Hemi426]

Hey Addyguy,
Do you have the Ecotec 2.2 up north?

 

[The Critic]

For conventional oil, stick to every 3,000 miles.

For most over-the-counter synthetic oils, stick to every 5,000 miles or less.

The 1MZ-FE engine is fairly hard on oil and it is risky to do longer drains.

 

[bepperb]

"the engine in my car is sludge machine and I would have to change the oil every 7500 miles no matter what I use"

Yes. I'd buy whatever suits your fancy and stick to 5000 miles.

 

[sangyup81]

The engines in the 2000s are the same as the ones in 1996 or 1997 but the difference is that there is no oil cooler anymore so the oil gets hotter which leads to the sludge in some severe cases.

If you really want an extended interval, I would give Shell Rotella T6 5w40 Full Synthetic a shot with an over sized filter.

I use M1-209 as an oversized filter and an M1-301 as a really oversized filter. It's supposed to help a little bit with the oil cooling. Both work well on my 2000 Camry but it's a 4 cylinder and not a 6 like yours.

 

[sangyup81]

OK to be fair to other brands, I'd be comfortable with German Castrol 0w30 or M1 0w40 European Formula. Those are known to be acceptable in applications with Turbos which put A LOT of heat on oils.

 

[Bill in Utah]

KNOWN SLUDGER = OFTEN OIL CHANGES period.

I'd use Pennzoil conventional, QS, Mobil 5000, Halvoline DS (all 5w-30) up to 5000 miles with any filter in 5w-30 wt.

How much longer would I run a syn? Not any longer in this engine.

Take care, Bill

 

[synthetic_crazy]

For the ultimate level of protection (and peace of mind) use Pennzoil Ultra or Castrol Edge and change every 3,000! We change our 02 Avalon's oil every 3k with Castrol Edge; this is probably overkill but it is sure ALOT cheaper than an engine replacement due to sludge. In fact our Avalon sheared the Castrol Edge down to a 20 weight oil in about 3,000 miles...proof that the 1mzfe will give even the best of oils a run for their money!

 

[Gary Allan]

Oil recommendation for 2000 Camry?

Frequent oil changes or a hobby in confirming what works.

 

[CarNewb]

My dad's 04 Sienna loves Castrol GTX so if you wanna try that see how it goes for ya

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
KNOWN SLUDGER = OFTEN OIL CHANGES period.





I guess my OCI of 10-15000 KMs on a known sludger is just a bad idea then?

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: ItsuMitsubishi
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
KNOWN SLUDGER = OFTEN OIL CHANGES period.





I guess my OCI of 10-15000 KMs on a known sludger is just a bad idea then?

Yep.

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

You two will be the first to know when the engine fails or even gets the slightest hint of sludge. I guess you guys didnt see my post about correcting the ventilation defect! But right now, it's smooth, clean, quiet and has over 250K miles.

 

[Gene K]

ItsuMitsubishi dont you have a 4? My understanding is on the V6 the issue is a bit more problematic in that the oil returns from the head are also undersized. If they ever start to plug the problem just gets worse from their

Congratulations on solving (not treating) the problem on your 4.

If I am misinformed on the problem I apologize.

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

Yes Gene, it was the 4 cyl I was talking about. The 1MZ 6cyl I would imagine suffers from the same lack of ventilation, but not having looked at it, it's just imagination!

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted By: ItsuMitsubishi
Yes Gene, it was the 4 cyl I was talking about. The 1MZ 6cyl I would imagine suffers from the same lack of ventilation, but not having looked at it, it's just imagination!

I believe it also needs some work on the PCV. I just wanted to point out that might not completely solve the problem on the V6.

 

[lexus114]

The 1MZ-FE had the poor pcv system. And the 3MZ-FE (which is what I have now) has the up dated pcv system,among other upgrades. All you can rally do for the 1MZ-FE motor is change the pcv valve,and the oil regularly. Dont try to extend oci`s too much.