VHTx2011

Hell All,

Recently, I switched from conventional oil to Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W20 @ 101206 miles. Earlier, they(National Tire & Battery) were using conventional 5w30 oil but now they used 5w20 - I realized later after a few days after looking at the invoice

Here are my questions :

1) Shall I INSIST on 5w30 Valvoline full synthetic or 5w20 is OK ?

2) At what interval shall do my next oil + filter change. when we talk about Oil+filter change interval. is the mileage more important or the duration or the mileage+duration? For example, do oil change @ 7500 miles/6months or just 7500 miles.

3)NTB used a cheap (I feel) Pennzoil PZ-21 filter. Is it a good filter OR shall INSIST on using a better one?. What filter will you recommend?

Btw.......I have not noticed any leak since the oil change.............

4) is it ok or a sign of possible sludge?.

5) Is there any product I should use , which may clean sludge BEFORE next oil change?

Thanks a lot.

BDSL

1) Shall I INSIST on 5w30 Valvoline full synthetic or 5w20 is OK ?

You are okay.

2) At what interval shall do my next oil + filter change. when we talk about Oil+filter change interval. is the mileage more important or the duration or the mileage+duration? For example, do oil change @ 7500 miles/6months or just 7500 miles.

Which ever comes first.

3) NTB used a cheap (I feel) Pennzoil PZ-21 filter. Is it a good filter OR shall INSIST on using a better one?. What filter will you recommend?
Btw.......I have not noticed any leak since the oil change.............

You can't go wrong with Toyota/Lexus oil filter if you are picky.

4) Is it ok or a sign of possible sludge?

To find out, you will have to inspect under the valve cover (require to remove valve covers).

5) Is there any product I should use , which may clean sludge BEFORE next oil change?

You can try Seafoam in crankcase. I heard people use Dexron ATF as well.

yeldogt

You do not list your model or year. Personally I would not go to a lighter weight oil if 5/30 is recommended ...especially in a hot area of the country.

For many years on our company cars we changed out at 5k -- or a little above using conventional oil. We have never had a problem and all our cars get sold with 150k plus miles ........the engines are always fine. A few years ago we started to move the older ones up to 7k -- now we do this on all of them unless the oil starts to look dirty ..... it never does.

The quality of the filter is more important with longer change intervals -- at 3k oil changes like some still insist on ......... what are you filtering?

We are forced to go to the quick lube places for oil changes on the company cars -- so we use the oil they provide and the filter. We never have a problem. In truth .... oil and engine technology has reached a point that I don't think it really matters.

Our more expensive german cars call for synthetic - this is because they have a longer service interval --- often out past 15k. I only use the factory filter in these.


The Toyota motors that had a sludge problem often had very few oil changes and came from cold areas of the country. Short trips with few changes allow water vapor to build up in the engine and oil -- causing sludge. Some of the lease vehicles with the sludge problem still had the factory filter on them at return!

I don't understand #4 -- and I would not use and additive or cleaner.

High mile oil has more cleaners in it -- you could always try a fill of that and see how quickly it becomes dirty.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Don't ever add anything to your oil, you will only cause problems. I personally only care about the mileage on my cars, since I never let my car sit for too long. Apparently, it's bad to store oil for a long time, in a place that experiences constant temperature changes - such as your garage or your car's oil pan. So that's why companies advice to change your oil every 6 months.

5w20 is fine, the "20" means that it's not as well suited for higher temperatures, such as during the summer, as the "30". Toyota and Honda have recently switched from using 5w30 in their engines and went to 0w20 because it's very thin, so the oil changes can be extended and it slightly improves gas mileage. The weird thing is, is that the engines remained the same (for example the RX350).

yeldogt

The products of combustion create an acidic condition in your oil -- conventional oils typically have a recommended interval of one year -- synthetics because of the higher additive pack extend this to two years. I use synthetic oil in a couple of cars because they get very low miles put on them -- it is still important that they get driven long enough occasionally to fully burn off any water/fuel that may enter the oil from short trips.

The lighter weight oils are for greater fuel efficiency and while they may be the same engine often the internal oil ports are smaller to maintain the proper pressure throughout the engine. I would keep using the 30w in a car that is recommended to use it.

VHTx2011

Oops .......how silly on my part. Any way,I have 2002 ES300. Thanks a lot for your replies.

Regarding # 4 - what I meant is this.Since synthetic oil is less thicker than conventional oil, it is ok for it to leak (little bit) initially until seals are soften up. If leaks a lot and noticeable on the floor then perhaps, it is a problem. ASE certified mechanic told me this once when I switched to AMSOIL ATF from Toyota conventional transmission oil when I had some burning smell coming from underneath the carriage and then suddenly stopped.

He may right for ATF...I just extrapolated (or made up) for engine oil.

hypervish

With the 2002 ES300 you don't have to worry about sludge. It doesn't have the 1MZ-FE engine.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

If an engine has a leak, it will leak no matter what type of oil you put into it. That whole thing with synthetic is all a bunch of lies.

yeldogt

Synthetics do flow better at low temperatures. I had a VW 4 cylinder many years ago that would crank slowly when up in the mountains on very cold morning. It was so labored I was concerned I may have a problem with it starting. I switched to synthetic of the same weight and ... problem solved.

The same thing is at work with the engine seals. Synthetic oil will flow through any gap in a worn seal that conventional oil may not. I recently put synthetic oil in an older Nissan that had evidence of a little weeping -- but nothing that would ever drip. The synthetic oil leaked out enough when the car sat overnight that I would get a spot.

VHTx2011

Are you absolutely sure about this? This link says otherwise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_ES

Fourth generation

Also called Lexus ES 300
Lexus ES 330
Toyota Windom (Japan)
Production 2001–2006
Model years 2002–2006
Assembly Kyūshū, Japan
Engine 3.0 L 1MZ-FE V6
3.3 L 3MZ-FE V6
Transmission 5-speed U151E automatic
Wheelbase 2,720 mm (107.1 in)
Length 4,853 mm (191.1 in)
Width 1,811 mm (71.3 in)
Height 1,455 mm (57.3 in)
Related Toyota Camry (XV30)

Any way............thanks a LOT for your responses.

This tread [https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...-problem.html] discusses about 1997-2001 ES300 Engine Sludge Problem. So, I am cautiously optimistic that you may right...since it does not talk about 2002 ES 300 and my search (not very thorough) for 2002 and beyond ES 300 for sludge problem did not return any hits.

However, to be safe I will SWITCH over to 5w30 Valvoline full synthetic oil and follow 7500miles/6 months oil change cycle religiously.

VHTx2011

Lexus 2002 ES300 was covered under the class action suit settled by Toyota as reported below on Jan 8, 2007. So, there were some problems even with 2002 ES 300.

The lawsuit, filed in a Louisiana district court, could receive final approval by the middle of February. Details of the settlement are being mailed to 7.5 million current and previous Toyota and Lexus owners.

The agreement provides owners of sludge-damaged Toyotas eight years plus 120 days from the original purchase date to file a complaint.

Toyotas covered by the Louisiana settlement include the:

• Camry 4 cylinder from 1997-2001,
• Camry 6 cylinder from 1997-2002,
• Camry Solara 4 cylinder from 1999-2001,
• Camry Solara 6 cylinder 1999-2002,
• Sienna 6 cylinder from 1998-2002,
• Avalon 6 cylinder from 1997-2002,
• Celica 4 cylinder from 1997-1999,
• Highlander 6 cylinder from 2001-2002,
• Lexus ES 300 from 1997-2002 and
• Lexus RX 300 from 1999-2002.

In 2002 Toyota admitted receiving 3,400 complaints about sludged engines and the automaker extended its vehicle warranty to eight years along with unlimited mileage to owners of 1997-2002 Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with 3.0-liter V-6 or 2.2-liter four-cylinder engines.

At Toyota dealerships, however, consumers have encountered repeated denials from service managers insisting that sludging occurs primarily when owners fail to change their oil frequently enough.

Here is the link ->http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ettlement.html

hypervish

The 2002 had the 3MZ-FE, completely different motor. It did NOT have sludge problems.

I'm even inclined to say the 1MZ-FE had no sludge "issues" as long as it was maintained.

mdbrown

Not quite, the 2002 and 2003 had the 1MZ-FE, the 3MZ-FE is a 3.3 l motor and was used from 2004-2007.

Yes, if properly maintained there is no sludge issue with the 1MZ-FE... since when did the majority of people properly maintain anything??

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

My 1MZ-FE has almost 180,000 miles on it and it's 13 years old. Thankfully, I did not see any sludge when I replaced the valve cover gaskets - it was just very gunky inside. And I'm not sure how often the previous owners replaced their oil, because I don't have complete records.

VHTx2011

mdbrown - you are right and that is what wikipedia says (see the link I provided above).

I bought the car in 2001 Oct and it was 2002 model year. Btw.....I DID NOT DO ANY lexus recommended servicing till today ...no 30000, 50000 ...etc. I am gonna change my timing belt (for the first time) and water pump soon at around 101750 miles in couple of weeks. So far, my car has NOT given any trouble.....they are reallywell built.

Any way............bottom line is ...........do oil+filter change REGULARLY at/close to manufactures suggested interval and one should be OK.

Thanks a LOT ....guys ...you are ALL are awesome. Take Care.