2001 camry v6 oil

[The Don]

Hello all new member here, what sort of engine oil should i use in a v6 that has 215000kms this car has always been seviced by toyota just bought it, but i am a mechanic so no more toyota i have serched but get diferent oils eg fully synthetic 5 /30 semi synthetic10/40 ....... cheers Neill.

[Topdog]

I have used only ever used "Castrol GTX(3) For Modern Engines" in my 2001 V6 in 12 years. Never had a problem. Renew filter and oil every 6 months, regardless of Kms travelled...Mine has not seen a Toyota Service centre in over 10 years, I do my own servicing..I also use the same oil in my 2005 Corolla....

Edited April 19, 2013 by Topdog

[Andrew357]

A wise old Viking like man told me to use a good quality semi- or full synthetic oil.

I have been using Mobil1 5-50w and Penrite SIN 0-50w with no issues whatsoever.

[The Don]

I thought i would get a few conflicting reports any one use castrol magnatec 10/40 or penrite semi synthetic 10/40 thank for the replys Neill. ps what grade oil would toyota have been using cheers.

[Topdog]

Check out your Users Manual. They (Toyota) will tell you what grades to use and the temperature ranges for different grades etc. for all conditions. The same information is in the Toyota 1Mz-FE Workshop Manual Lubrication Section....Quote: "API Grade or SH, Energy-Conserving II Multigrade engine oil or ILSAC Multigrade".

Edited April 19, 2013 by Topdog

[trentmeyer23]

I would use a higher quality oil than Castrol due to the 1MZ being a heavy sludging engine.

[STYLSH]

I have hear not to use full syn straight away if there is any signs of leaks. They sometimes have a cleaning agent in them and can clean up those little bits of sludge that is actually plugging the leaks. Unless of course it has always been using synthetic fuels from the get go.

I was using Castrol edge in mine for the early part of its life but have changed to Mobil 1 for a few years with no problems

[ZZT86]

Howdy all !

 

Keen to resurrect this thread as I am about to become the proud owner (hopefully) of a 2001 MCV20R Camry Azura V6 with that silky 1MZ-FE motor for a daily. The car currently belongs to my late godfather who recently passed away (god bless his soul) & it's done stuff all kms (76K!) and appears to be in pretty good order. Cam covers are leaking rear in particular, their mechanic has suggested they're going to replace the gaskets so I will know within days if any sludge - I suspect not as it's had semi-sythetic all it's life.

 

I'm curious to know what weight engine oil owners of these cars are using - the Toyota owners guide calls for 5W30 or a 10W30 yet this car has always been fed Helix 10W40 and most recently HPR10 which is a full synth 10W50 which seems outrageously heavy considering the manufacturers suggestion of a lighter oil. Personally I'm inclined to follow Toyota's recommendation so I'm keen to hear of them suggestions !

 

Cheers :)

 

 

 

 

 

[KAA]

I would suggest as it is a tidy and sweet car use recommended oil's only..I use when it is serviced 5w30..other's I noticed use 10w30..my 20 cents worth is that it comes down to your driving style and distance's your planning on doing..if it is to be your daily..I would spoil it with the best you can afford

Good Luck and hope you enjoy your Camry

Sorry to hear of your loss

KAA

[campbeam]

Engine Oil URLs and GR4 GR5 Performance Comparison.doc

I attached this document in the thread titled "2016 Aurion Touring oil (new environment) " plus a number of URLs about engine oil selections and specifications etc. 

Personally, I use 10W-40 and 10W-30 with the higher GR5 specification.  

[ZZT86]

Cheers @KAA - yeah I will drive it the way it was meant to be driven - fairly sedately & b/w 15-19K kms/yr. I can't see much difference between a 5W & a 10W weight oil except that the 5W will flow best when cold. Lighter means improved fuel economy as well as more hp if the engine was designed to use it. Any particular branding of oil for this car recommended ? I'd be inclined to change the oil out every 5K kms if with a semi-synthetic or perhaps longer like 7.5-10K kms if full synthetic in the pursuit of keeping the engine clean. I would also use an engine flush as I'm accustomed in doing.

@campbeam - yep the latest spec is SN/GF5 which is best all round - cheers ;)

[ZZT86]

@campbeam - Sorry I misunderstood - you meant a GR5 oil Ester like 300V with a matching price tag ? What sort for the MCV20R ? Just quickly looking at the first PDF - nice write up/info from Penrite

 

Edited October 4, 2016 by ZZT86

[campbeam]

Apologies for my document naming. It is referring to the SN/GF5 specification. Interesting reading about the base oils and additive packages that different brands can use to achieve their specification rating. Also helps to understand why some brands can have better test results. It is quite relevant for longer oil change intervals but I think less so if you are changing oil regularly at 5,000 km intervals or up to 10,000 km for a full synthetic oil.

Personally, I have spent the last 12 months de-sludging the 2GR-FE engine in my Aurion so it is changed more regularly due to contamination from the dissolving of the oil sludge.   

[ZZT86]

You got sludge in your Aurion ? Surprising, perhaps a previous owners neglect? From experience on my previous gen7 Celica an OCI of 5K kms using helix HX7 10W30 oil, engine flush every 10K with oil filter yields a very clean engine even after 300K plus kms ! Cheers :)

Edited October 4, 2016 by ZZT86

[campbeam]

Engine oil sludge is a known issue in the 2GR-FE and previous Camry V6 engine. Service history for my 2006 Aurion [Company Rep car] reveals that it may have been serviced by a Ford dealership warranty plan so I am guessing long service intervals and poor quality oils. Oil sludge issue at 166,000 kms which is probably why it was traded in and sold to the wholesaler from whom I bought the Aurion. After 14,000 km and about 6 oil and filter changes, engine is a lot cleaner but still has sludge in the rear valve train area.

A few months ago, I purchased a December 2008 Build Aurion with oil sludge problem and that was definitely owner neglect. It was a family vehicle with 106,000 km mainly used by the wife for short distance driving. Another ongoing project to clean up that engine.

My 1998 Camry had regular oil and filter changes at 5,000 km. Also flushed the engine with 5 litres of diesel when doing the oil change. 

Recent modern engines are requiring the higher specification oils and oil changes must be performed at the specified time or distance intervals. Full synthetic or semi-synthetic oils are essential for the longer service intervals e.g. 10,000 km. 

[ZZT86]

Interesting but I'm sorry to hear of your problems. I guess any engine can sludge if neglected, regular oil changes are paramount as is a good drive from time to time. I'm hoping that this car I'm getting isn't a sludge monster although it wouldn't surprise me if it has some - I'm still waiting to hear from their mechanic :|  Have you attacked your sludge issue with many very low km OCI's plus filter and/or have you done some preliminary cleaning before this ?

[campbeam]

I bought the Aurion knowing that it blew smoke on start up. Initially, I started by warming the engine up and draining oil then filled engine with 5 litres of diesel. Idled engine for about 5-10 minutes, drained diesel then new oil and filter. At the time I thought that I had cleaned the engine. To cut a long saga short, I did some internet searches at the library and "discovered a forum post" which identified the cause and extent of the oil sludge issue. On the return trip from Wagga Wagga to Brisbane [1300km], I added 500ml of diesel to the engine oil. Back home, I did a oil and filter change. Repeated this desludging process of adding diesel to the engine oil. After more internet searches started adding 500ml of ATF [Dextron iii] instead of the diesel [cleaning agents/additives in ATF] to gently desludge the engine. Lots of low km oil changes and filter changes. No obvious sludge around the oil cap area of the valve cover.

Just done another oil and filter change ready for the round trip to Wagga and back next week. I fully expect that this should get rid of the final remnants of the oil sludge and the engine will be totally clean for the next oil and filter change when back home.

[KAA]

Hope the long trip does the job for you Ashley..enjoy the sweet cruise and safe trip to Wagga and Home

KAA

[ZZT86]

@campbeam Wow - what a script ! At any stage have you pulled the front cam cover to inspect the severity of sludge ? I'm surprised you used diesel mixed in with your sump oil, this would surely have reduced the KV of that oil at any given temp but then again you probably went heavier to start with right ? What of the integrity of the additives pack? Did you drive the car relatively easy & what effect could this have on the engines vitals like crank & cam bearings? How many OCI did you go through in total ? Having said that an experienced Toyota tech I know well once advised me to shove Wynnes Engine Flush in the engine & take it for a leisurely drive of 20 minutes or so then dump the oil & filter - I did this in my old gen7 celica every 10K kms for 320K kms & I gotta say it didn't have a negative impact on it ;)

[campbeam]

Ex-Toyota employee working at Wagga Wagga SuperCheap advised me that the PCV was blocked and the 2GR-FE engines are good for 4000,000 km before needing a rebuild. This valve was blocked with sludge and after cleaning, engine was still blowing smoke on start up. I used a plastic straw to probe around the oil filler and PCV area and squeezed a lot of sludge out of this straw on multiple occasions. 

I was using 15W-40 mineral oil and initially added 250ml of diesel. Highway cruising @ 100-110 km for 1,250 km. I expected the diesel to evaporate; oil temp gets up to 200c and after 600 km topped up with another 250ml of diesel. No impact upon engine vitals, still using 6+litres of engine oil for lubrication and diesel is essentially a very light oil.

Went through about 6 oil and filter changes in total. The fully dissolved oil sludge badly contaminates the oil so it was coming out quite black. Also there were "coffee grain"like residues being undissolved oil sludge. After the first few oil and filter changes, I started to drop the oil after a few weeks of suburban driving [500km] , refill the engine leaving these "coffee grounds"in the oil change pan then top up. Eventually changed to using ATF Dextron III instead of diesel.  

In hindsight, I would now recommend removing the front valve cover and giving it a thorough clean. Remove oil filter cartridge and wash/rinse in petrol. Drop engine oil to remove any "coffee grounds" then add 500ml of diesel or ATF to the engine oil. Drive for about 250 km. Drop engine oil and replace with 5 litres of diesel, then let engine idle for 5-10 minutes. Let engine cool before doing new oil and filter change including 500ml of ATF. 

Internet searches cautioned about engine sludge blocking the oil pickup screen so that is why I used this approach rather than commercial engine flushes which are solvent based. 

 

[ZZT86]

@campbeam thanks for this great info. Looks like I won't be needing to do any work myself (relief) on my 1MZ-FE as the sellers mechanic is going to do the whole enchilada properly 2moro to get the RWC approved, ie: plenum/intake & both cam covers are coming off to be inspected, cleaned & new gaskets installed. I have asked for additional work to be carried out like changing the spark plugs, adjusting the valve shims if required, new PCV valve & throttle body cleanout. Anything else you could think of ? Perhaps check EGR? This car should be mechanically awesome when I get it

[ZZT86]

Got the word the other night that all went to plan @ the workshop & surprisingly the 1MZ-FE engine was & I quote "one of the cleanest" that they had seen although I have no evidence of this yet, must ask if they took pics when the cam covers came off. I say surprisingly because it has had less oil changes in it's entire life than I would like to see, ie: I would normally do 2-3 OCI in one year whereas the car has had 1 & less / year due to the low kms driven ! I'm thinking a lot has to be said for the difference oil quality makes & that synthetic played a major part in keeping that engine clean & sludge free. Synthetic appears far more resilient than you can imagine. I have used semi-synth for years & now full 0W20 synth in my 86 & I see no reason to change this on the Camry.

[campbeam]

 Based upon internet searches, Synthetic oil is very resistant to oil sludge. Good approach to use either synthetic or semi-synthetic oil.

Finally used up my supply of mineral based oil previously purchased on special, so now using synthetic or semi-synthetic oil with the latest specification of SN.