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Just bought a new-to-me '04 Toyota Sequoia with 190K miles on it. Not sure when the last time it had an oil change, so would like to get one done ASAP.
Is synthetic recommended for a vehicle of this vintage and mileage? Or would regular oil suffice? Other than it has to be changed more often, is there a disadvantage to regular oil vs synthetic in terms of performance/protection?
We hope to keep this vehicle until the wheels fall off, in case that informs your answer. Thanks!
I wouldn't use synthetic oil unless the previous owner used synthetic from day one. Safe bet would be to use conventional oil with the oil weight that the truck calls for.
No, that year did not do synth in Toyota stable.
Do this.
Pour can of Seafom into crankcase and drive on it for 500 miles. YES IT IS SAFE TO DO.
buy some cheapo oil at Walmart. Then some good oil in 10W30 weight. Yes, I know, yours is likely 5W20. But it's 190 000 miles and unknown vehicle.
Anyhow. Drain oil treated with Seafom. Pour cheapo oil in and run engine for about 15 minutes, revving and holding at 2000 ever so often, to build up pressure.
Drain that oil, THEN replace filter and oil with good oil.
You just did safe and quality engine flush.
From that on, start watching oil level. If it stays solid and proves she's not an oil taker, switch her to 5W20. If that goes well, switch her to semi synth but do not go for full synth. Not worth it.
No, that year did not do synth in Toyota stable.
Do this.
Pour can of Seafom into crankcase and drive on it for 500 miles. YES IT IS SAFE TO DO.
buy some cheapo oil at Walmart. Then some good oil in 10W30 weight. Yes, I know, yours is likely 5W20. But it's 190 000 miles and unknown vehicle.
Anyhow. Drain oil treated with Seafom. Pour cheapo oil in and run engine for about 15 minutes, revving and holding at 2000 ever so often, to build up pressure.
Drain that oil, THEN replace filter and oil with good oil.
You just did safe and quality engine flush.
From that on, start watching oil level. If it stays solid and proves she's not an oil taker, switch her to 5W20. If that goes well, switch her to semi synth but do not go for full synth. Not worth it.
With that kind of miles on it I'm not sure I would get too cute with trying to "flush" it. It sounds like you don't have too much in the line of service records? Old engines can have a lot of sludge buildup that is better left alone. I would put the recommended oil in it and see where it takes you for a few thousand miles at least.
With that kind of miles on it I'm not sure I would get too cute with trying to "flush" it. It sounds like you don't have too much in the line of service records? Old engines can have a lot of sludge buildup that is better left alone. I would put the recommended oil in it and see where it takes you for a few thousand miles at least.
I should have mentioned, that I have virtually all of the service records from the in service date until 2 years (and 50K miles ago)-- it was (surprisingly) always serviced at a Toyota dealership by the first owner (from '04 until '12). Just logged into the Toyota owner's link and it looks like it has been (again up until 2 years ago) using 5W/30 oil-- it didn't occur to me to look to see that the records would include the oil weight (smacks head).
I'll likely have the dealership do a flush when I replace the timing belt in the next few months-- not even close to brave enough to attempt it on my own.
I should have mentioned, that I have virtually all of the service records from the in service date until 2 years (and 50K miles ago)-- it was (surprisingly) always serviced at a Toyota dealership by the first owner (from '04 until '12). Just logged into the Toyota owner's link and it looks like it has been (again up until 2 years ago) using 5W/30 oil-- it didn't occur to me to look to see that the records would include the oil weight (smacks head).
I'll likely have the dealership do a flush when I replace the timing belt in the next few months-- not even close to brave enough to attempt it on my own.
Not sure why you think a "flush" would be beneficial - take the oil fill cap off and take a look at whatever of the top of the head, cams, etc. you can see there. Is it reasonably clean? If so, I'd recommend just doing a normal oil change using the 5-30 oil that has been used in the past.
If it has a timing belt, do get it changed "on time" by miles or years. If you let it break, on the vast majority of cars built in about the last 10 years, you are looking at serious engine damage that will cost a lot more than doing the timing belt.
Not sure why you think a "flush" would be beneficial - take the oil fill cap off and take a look at whatever of the top of the head, cams, etc. you can see there. Is it reasonably clean? If so, I'd recommend just doing a normal oil change using the 5-30 oil that has been used in the past.
If it has a timing belt, do get it changed "on time" by miles or years. If you let it break, on the vast majority of cars built in about the last 10 years, you are looking at serious engine damage that will cost a lot more than doing the timing belt.
Yes, it's reasonably clean-- very clean, in fact. Though it's not a new vehicle, it was maintained beautifully, which is why we bought it.
The timing belt is due in 6 months or 10,000 miles (every 6 years or 90,000 miles-- it was done 5 1/2 years ago and at 110K)-- I'll be doing it in about 6 weeks, which is early by both measures, just waiting until the kids get out of school, so I can be safely be without a vehicle for a few hours without issue.
Yes, it's reasonably clean-- very clean, in fact. Though it's not a new vehicle, it was maintained beautifully, which is why we bought it.
The timing belt is due in 6 months or 10,000 miles (every 6 years or 90,000 miles-- it was done 5 1/2 years ago and at 110K)-- I'll be doing it in about 6 weeks, which is early by both measures, just waiting until the kids get out of school, so I can be safely be without a vehicle for a few hours without issue.
Today's modern oils have detergents and cleaners in them. They do a great job without any flushing chemicals. Give it a good run on the freeway as often as you can and that, along with the detergents, will keep the internals clean. Oh, and use a quality filter. Nothing worse than a cheap filter tearing it's media and letting dirty oil circulate.
Just bought a new-to-me '04 Toyota Sequoia with 190K miles on it. Not sure when the last time it had an oil change, so would like to get one done ASAP.
Is synthetic recommended for a vehicle of this vintage and mileage? Or would regular oil suffice? Other than it has to be changed more often, is there a disadvantage to regular oil vs synthetic in terms of performance/protection?
We hope to keep this vehicle until the wheels fall off, in case that informs your answer. Thanks!
The owner's manual is your friend.
The owner's manual will NOT recommend "flushes' or SeaFoam.
Don in Austin
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