Toyota Tacoma 4.0L V6 0w20 vs. 0w30

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philobeddoe

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Hey guys and gals, I am soliciting a little advice for my application,
here's my ride and situation:

2010 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 4door Double Cab Short Bed 4.0L V6
with 52,000 miles

Sees severe duty, stop and go, SoCal freeways, on/off road, towing, hauling,
temps from 55F to 105F, dusty conditions.

My last oil change was 550 miles ago,
ran Mobil-1 0w30 for 7500 on a Purolator filter.

I had the truck up on the lift for some maintenance at my buddy's shop,
and had a 5gal jug +1 quart of the Mobil-1 "Advanced Fuel Economy"
(green cap) 0w20 in my toolbox and a Bosch Filter,
so I used it for the change.

My buddy was complaining that 0w20 was all wrong for my truck,
and I should be using 5w40 ... although the factory spec is 5w30.

In any event, I used the 0w20 because I had it (for an ex-friends Prius),
and the truck was on the lift, and it needed the oil change.

So if any and all experts or laymen would please chime in, my question is simply

"Leave the 0w20 in the truck, or change it?"
and if change it, then change it to what?

I have a jug of Amsoil 0w30 handy, as well as a jug of Rotella T6 5w40,
and stopping by the shop and picking up 5w30 is really no hassle in time or expense.

So is the 0w20 a problem, if so why?
Is there any benefit or harm to leaving it in for another 4500 miles,
or should I quickly change it for something else?

I run the Rotella T 5w40 in the motorcycles, but didn't think it was appropriate for the Tacoma, but what do I know?

And again, 0w30 or 5w30 is no real skin or expense off my back.

I'm going to stick with Synthetic, but have no aversion to dino,
and probably even have enough Castrol GTX conventional on hand in 5w30 if
that is worthwhile.

So guys, what do I do, leave it or switch it and why?

There is no oil pressure gauge, and my butt dyno broke years ago.

I want this truck to run great for as long as possible, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so

I'm open to hear any and all suggestions, so please have it.

Thank you.
 
I'd leave it in, it's M1 so it will be fine. If you're towing anything heavy in the summer, I'd at least use a good synthetic 5W-30 or even M1 0W-40 in the future. For example, I don't consider a 2000lb boat that heavy.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Toyota specifies a 5W-30 in your 1GR-FE engine, right? Towing or not towing? According to ExxonMobil you can use 0W-30 in any application of 5W-30.

5000 mile limit too I think.


Yes, Toyota specifies 5w30 with 5000 mile OCI's.
 
Well, then the only problem is that 0W-20 is not specified by the manufacturer for your vehicle.

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
Yes, Toyota specifies 5w30 with 5000 mile OCI's.
 
I know Ford has speced their same Ford engines in the U.S. with 0w-20 or 5w-20 while the same Ford engines in Europe "required" 5w-30. However, I wouldn't be completely sure about Toyota since the journal bearings in your Toyota may not be wide enough to handle the high-torque conditions using a 20. Safer to go with a 30. GM truck 5.3L V8s can use 0w-20, yet thats gm-approved, so maybe they use wider bearings to account for it.
 
Yes, and Toyota back-specified even my ancient 1MZ-FE to 5W-20 and my (somewhat less ancient) 1NZ-FE to 0W-20, but they still specify 5W-30 for the OP's 1GR-FE.

Originally Posted By: boundarylayer
I know Ford has speced their same Ford engines in the U.S. with 0w-20 or 5w-20 while the same Ford engines in Europe "required" 5w-30. However, I wouldn't be completely sure about Toyota since the journal bearings in your Toyota may not be wide enough to handle the high-torque conditions using a 20. Safer to go with a 30. GM truck 5.3L V8s can use 0w-20, yet thats gm-approved, so maybe they use wider bearings to account for it.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Well, then the only problem is that 0W-20 is not specified by the manufacturer for your vehicle.

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
Yes, Toyota specifies 5w30 with 5000 mile OCI's.




Yes, I understand that, but I prefer the advice of strangers on the Internet to the recommendations of the manufacturer, and since I know very little,
it seemed fair to solicit some information and advice from BITOG.

Is there any benefit to or harm from running the 0w20?

Because if it's a good idea, then I'd like credit for it,
but if it's a bad idea I'd like to remedy the situation and keep my truck happy.
 
Great. Seems like you have your mind made up then, eh?

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
Yes, I understand that, but I prefer the advice of strangers on the Internet to the recommendations of the manufacturer
 
If I were you I would use nothing less than a 30 weight. No need to go up a grade, but I certainly would not go down a grade. Bearing clearances might be different than the overseas engines that take the heavier weights.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Great. Seems like you have your mind made up then, eh?

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
Yes, I understand that, but I prefer the advice of strangers on the Internet to the recommendations of the manufacturer


No, I have not.

If you have a recommendation aside from read the manual,
then I'd love to read what you have to say.

There's 0w20 in the truck because that is what I had on hand 550 miles ago,
and it seemed like a good idea at the time. My question is simply, "leave it, change it, and why?"

I'd appreciate any and all advice.

Thank you.
 
Except apparently, from the manufacturer. You know, the ones that built the engine.
wink.gif


I find it striking that they would go to the trouble to back-specify thinner oils for some really old engines (like mine) and in general appear to have this push for -20 weight oils in everything under the sun - except for the one engine in your truck. That one they stick to -30 weight for some reason. Considering CAFE and all that it must be a good reason.

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
There's 0w20 in the truck because that is what I had on hand 550 miles ago, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. My question is simply, "leave it, change it, and why?"

I'd appreciate any and all advice.

Thank you.
 
I had 0W-20 on hand when I changed the oil in my BMW too. I went to the store and bought 0W-40.

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
There's 0w20 in the truck because that is what I had on hand 550 miles ago, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
 
Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Great. Seems like you have your mind made up then, eh?

Originally Posted By: philobeddoe
Yes, I understand that, but I prefer the advice of strangers on the Internet to the recommendations of the manufacturer


No, I have not.

If you have a recommendation aside from read the manual,
then I'd love to read what you have to say.

There's 0w20 in the truck because that is what I had on hand 550 miles ago,
and it seemed like a good idea at the time. My question is simply, "leave it, change it, and why?"

I'd appreciate any and all advice.

Thank you.


I'd change it to 5w/30 or 0w/30 asap. With Toyota's 0w/20 tendencies these days, they certainly would have back-spec'd your truck to 0w/20 if it was really safe to do so, as they have with many models. You might be OK with 0w/20, but why take the chance for the modest cost of an oil change?
 
Why not dump/pump half and top it off with the 5W40? Save the half and use it on your next change with the 5W40 again. No waste.
 
I would run whichever 5w30 synthetic is on sale. Plenty of good choices these days.

As others have said, you can mix the 0w20 and a 5w40 in a 1:1 ratio to [roughly] get a 5w30.
 
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