1999 Camry and other help

[Cooter69]

Hello all, I recentlty picked up a 1999 Toyota Camry with 183k miles on it and I am wanting to do a oil change on it for peace of mind. The gentleman before me changed the oil every 3k miles and used some type of high mileage oil, I can not remember exactly what kind so I am coming to you for help! I live in Las Vegas, NV where temps range from 30 degrees in winter and 110 degress in summer and the factory says to run a 5w-30 oil in the car. I was wondering would it hurt anything to run Shell Rotella T6 (5w40 synthetic oil) or should I stick with a 5w30 and if that is the case what is best oil for it? The car has no signs of starting issues, burning oil, ticks, or funny noises.

Also I have a 2006 Dodge ram 2500 with the Cummins motor, has 34k miles on it. I drive the truck roughly 1-2k miles a year. About every other week with no load for 30 miles and than I use it to tow my toy hauler roughly 10k pounds loaded in the speing and fall. I use Rotella T6 oil in the truck and was wondering if it is hurting the truck any by changing the oil out every year. I change the oil, oil filter, and fuel filter every year in the fall before my camping trips start. Can I extened the oil changes so they are every other year or at least change the oil every year?

Looking forward to gaining knowledge and advice, as well as helping out anywhere I can.

 

[edwardh1]

use what the camry manual says to use

 

[Artem]

Is it a V6 or 4 cylinder?

I have T6 5w40 in my 98 Camry V6 with 233k miles on it (previously used 5w30 it's whole life) and it seems to be just slightly quieter with the thicker oil. You can definitely use the T6.

 

[eagle23]

First off,

Not sure what the Camry manual says to use, but it would certainly be easier to have one oil for both vehicles.

The T6 5w40 could be a bit thicker than Toyota recommends but then your temps are a lot hotter and the engine has 186k.

I guess my best answer is if it were me, I'd probably use the T6 as one oil for both units. I can't imagine the Camry engine caring much one way or another. They're easy on oil, and sounds like the one you have has been pretty well maintained. Was the seller the original owner?

I have to think you could go at least 2-3 years, maybe longer between oil changes on the diesel given how few miles, how easy they are, and the stoutness of T6.

 

[nitehawk55]

Hello Cooter and welcome .

I would continue to use a high milage 5W30 in the Camry , a synthetic might be a better choice with your temp range where you live . If the former owner did 3K changes that's good . Depending on how you use the car you could likely go a bit further than 3K with synthetic ....5-6K would be fine .

With the truck I would still want to change oil at least once a year , fuel filter could go much longer .
You could likely change the oil filter every 2nd change . When an engine sits condensation can build and contaminate it so that's why I recommend just changing the oil yearly .

 

[147_Grain]

Run the 5W-40 in the Nevada heat in the engine that is well worn (wider tolerances between parts) and then switch to 5W-30 in the winter.

 

[JimPghPA]

BTW, some of them there older Toyotas have a recall regarding the chip that controls the transmission. I don't know what years and/or what models, but you should check with a dealer to find out if yous requires the upgrade computer program chip for the transmission, and if it is one of the ones requiring the upgrade check that it has been done, and if it has not then get it upgraded.

 

[Cooter69]

Artem it is the 4 cylinder, great news to hear!

eagle23- Thank you for the welcome! Manual says to use 5w40 dino oil, nothing about synthetic. I use T6 in my trucks, quad, dirt bikes, everything and have had great results! It would be nice to use T6 in the camry as well, make it easier as than I could buy 5 gallon bucket of it once a year and use it throughout the year. Yes he was the original owner and a good friend of mine. he is not to technical or mechanical side of things, yet ALWAYS takes great care of his cars, home, and everything else.

nitehawk55 thanks for the welcome! I guess I should try the T6 and keep an eye on it during its first use. I guess I am old school on the miles driven thing. My truck manual says I can go 7500 miles on the oil, which with me using it would be 6-7 years! I guess I will just change the oil, oil filter, and fuel filter every year on it, total will cost me $80 per change and to me that is a cheaper alternative than a $10k motor going south because I wanted to skimp out on changing the oil.

147_Grain I guess I could do a compression test on it to see if the rings are still good. These cars are known for running well into 300k miles plus on them with regular maintenance done to them.

JimPghPA Thank I will take a look around and see what i can found out on that,

Overall I guess I will try the Rotella T6 in the car with a toyota oil filter for it and see how the car does throughout the 3k miles. On my truck I will stick with doing a yearly oil change and filter change as well on it. Thanks again for all the help! I will report back and I am sure ask more questions as time goes on, LOL. Again thanks for all the help!

 

[Cooter69]

Artem it is the 4 cylinder, great news to hear!

eagle23- Thank you for the welcome! Manual says to use 5w40 dino oil, nothing about synthetic. I use T6 in my trucks, quad, dirt bikes, everything and have had great results! It would be nice to use T6 in the camry as well, make it easier as than I could buy 5 gallon bucket of it once a year and use it throughout the year. Yes he was the original owner and a good friend of mine. he is not to technical or mechanical side of things, yet ALWAYS takes great care of his cars, home, and everything else.

nitehawk55 thanks for the welcome! I guess I should try the T6 and keep an eye on it during its first use. I guess I am old school on the miles driven thing. My truck manual says I can go 7500 miles on the oil, which with me using it would be 6-7 years! I guess I will just change the oil, oil filter, and fuel filter every year on it, total will cost me $80 per change and to me that is a cheaper alternative than a $10k motor going south because I wanted to skimp out on changing the oil.

147_Grain I guess I could do a compression test on it to see if the rings are still good. These cars are known for running well into 300k miles plus on them with regular maintenance done to them.

JimPghPA Thank I will take a look around and see what i can found out on that,

Overall I guess I will try the Rotella T6 in the car with a toyota oil filter for it and see how the car does throughout the 3k miles. On my truck I will stick with doing a yearly oil change and filter change as well on it. Thanks again for all the help! I will report back and I am sure ask more questions as time goes on, LOL. Again thanks for all the help!

Edit- I guess I should add I am extremely anal when it comes to taking care of my vehicles and heck anything I own. On my quads and dirtbikes I change the oil after everytime we go riding versus every other ride like the other guys in my group. Again my thing is this $20 I feel is better spend now than $2k+ later on a rebuild.

 

[Cooter69]

Update, the gentleman before me used SAE 5W-30 high mileage O'Reilly Oil (local auto chain). The car is in need of an oil change, hoping to do it this weekend. Did some digging around and going to stick with a 5w-30 oil as these motors have a sludge issues if not changed every 3-5k miles. My plan is to check it at 3k and probably change it every 4-5k miles, Car takes about 3-1/2 quarts with a filter change and they seem to be easy on oils. I plan to go with Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil or Valvoline MaxLife 5W30 Synthetic, whatever one is on sale and see how it does. Or should I give the Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic a shot? This is all new to me with high mileage cars and using ol other than Rotella. I want to help the car more than hurt it, also to just stick with on oil for it and not change it out in the summer and winter months.

 

[eagle23]

Originally Posted By: Cooter69
Update, the gentleman before me used SAE 5W-30 high mileage O'Reilly Oil (local auto chain). The car is in need of an oil change, hoping to do it this weekend. Did some digging around and going to stick with a 5w-30 oil as these motors have a sludge issues if not changed every 3-5k miles. My plan is to check it at 3k and probably change it every 4-5k miles, Car takes about 3-1/2 quarts with a filter change and they seem to be easy on oils. I plan to go with Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil or Valvoline MaxLife 5W30 Synthetic, whatever one is on sale and see how it does. Or should I give the Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic a shot? This is all new to me with high mileage cars and using ol other than Rotella. I want to help the car more than hurt it, also to just stick with on oil for it and not change it out in the summer and winter months.


If concerned about sludge, I'd probably go with a synthetic for 5-6k oil changes. Some will say that's a waste. I call it peace of mind

. Same idea as changing your oil annually on the diesel. We all have diffent things we do for sleeping peacefully at night.

If it doesn't leak any oil, there may not be any need for a HM oil. The Rotella T6 is really good stuff...as you know. There would be no mistake using it, unless you discover the engine leaks or otherwise consumes it prodigously.

If you notice leaking or consumption, I would think either the M1 or ML would be fine. Whichever was on sale, and ML tends to be a bit cheaper, at least around here.

Good to hear your friend gave it such TLC! Even with an engine prone to sludge...and at this point yours probably won't develop any...regular, conservative oil changes often do the job.

 

[Cooter69]

I run synthetic in everything! It cost what an extra $2-3 a gallon to me, yet I think it is worth it. it does not leak a drop of anything! I am worried about oil consumption mainly, oil getting past the rings or something along those lines. My thing the car calls for 5w-30 and the T6 is a 5w-40. In the cold is when the motor will suffer, which in my neck of the woods it gets to 20-30 degrees at that time. I will stick to changing the oil every 4k miles, just need to find what one to use, LOL. Which will be a 5w-30 synthetic oil of either M1 or ML, guess what ever one is on sale this weekend.

 

[Cooter69]

I run synthetic in everything! It cost what an extra $2-3 a gallon to me, yet I think it is worth it. it does not leak a drop of anything! I am worried about oil consumption mainly, oil getting past the rings or something along those lines. My thing the car calls for 5w-30 and the T6 is a 5w-40. In the cold is when the motor will suffer, which in my neck of the woods it gets to 20-30 degrees at that time. I will stick to changing the oil every 4k miles, just need to find what one to use, LOL. Which will be a 5w-30 synthetic oil of either M1 or ML, guess what ever one is on sale this weekend.

 

[artificialist]

Actually, HM oil does benefit engines even if they don't leak. Many HM oils are a higher viscosity than the non-HM oils, and this can be a benefit.

 

[teddyboy]

We have 97 and 98 Camrys with the same engine. Both have around 250K on them with a steady diet of M1 10W30 and/or 5W30 using a 5K oci. We live in NC and have summers roughly comparable to your's. The XW30 has never been an issue in our climate and I can't imagine it would be in your's. That being said, it won't hurt a thing to use 5W40 except perhaps a slight reduction in gas mileage.

The advice I wouuld give you is to KEEP THE PCV VALVE CHANGED

 

[KitaCam]

I'm with you Coot....Change oil 2x a year...buy a couple of 5w-30 syn OCs when on sale and get a good night's sleep....

Kitacamry's I4 likes PP so I got a couple jugs with AAP/PP + K&N filter rebate OCs for $5 and I'm good for a while.

 

[Cooter69]

Artificialist, that is what I was thinking/wondering and now I know for certain.

Teddyboy, thanks for that info! I will just saty with 5w-30 either M1 or ML, both seem to be good oils and thanks for reminding me to pick a new PCV valve up! I plan to buy a few to have in hand.

Kitacam, sounds like I can go 5k miles a year which works out nicely as means just 2 oil changes a year for me like you. The car is my daily driver, just driving back and forth to work, running errands and such. So I want to make sure it will last for years and years to come as I love driving the car!

Thank you all for the help and advice, also educating me with knowledge to better understand the car, oil, and save money in the process! Thank you all again!

 

[Cooter69]

Did some digging around and going with Mobil one this time around, a local auto chain store has a 5 qt. M1 high mileage syn for $15 and also has M1 oil filters in stock for $9 a piece. I plan to buy six oil filters at that price or whatever they have in stock and be good to go with them for years to come!