Looking for recommendations on motor oil I can run longer

[nogard]

My wife's 1999 Camry auto 5S-FE gets a lot of miles put on it. She can put on 3000 miles in 45-60 days. I used to always use the 3000 miles or 3 months and put in the base Mobil 5000 oil, and now use a OEM Toyota filter. You can tell the cheap oil needs to be changed the car starts to sound different and the oil starts to get black at around 2000-2500 miles.

Out of all the oil options out there, is there a better oil I can use and get more miles out of it so I only have to change it about every three months. This would end up being about 5000 to 6000 miles at this point.

The car has 140,000 miles on it, I've used synthetic on a few of my Tercels in the past with high miles only to have them leak oil worse.

[pmesfun]

Castrol GTX High Mileage.

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by nogard

Out of all the oil options out there, is there a better oil I can use and get more miles out of it so I only have to change it about every three months. This would end up being about 5000 to 6000 miles at this point.

Probably just about any full synthetic. The color of the oil is not an indication it needs to be changed. I change my Mobil1 0w-30 every 6mths/6500 miles and have proven that oil change schedule with used oil analysis.

[thaharlequin]

Unless she does a lot of city driving (harsh conditions reduce the oil change interval) you should be able to go to ~5k miles w/ just about any oil, probably more. That was the service interval as of 1992 so longer w/ a newer model seems possible.

[fenixus]

any full synthetic oil can do 5k miles / 6months even in harsh condition (proven by own oil analysis), so in normal conditions you could do 7,500 miles... at least on 1mz-fe ... probably the same time though to be on safe side ... get your own oil analysis to be 100% sure you can do it safely ... BlackStone Labs is one way to know for sure....

[JohnGD]

With temperature around 60-70 deg F you can start by trying out Motorcraft 10W-30 synthetic blend from Walmart. This is the newest API SN, ILSAC GF-5 oil. Do an oil analysis at 3000 miles and Black Stone Labs will tell you how much longer you can extend it. After the results come back we will all know.

I'd switch to Purolator PureOne PL14477 oil filter. This is the filter used for the newer 2.4L engine and is slightly taller.

The problem is less the oil and filter but with the sludge maker engines of the era.

Start by ordering a free test kit (to collect oil), and a standard oil analysis costs $25:
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php

Originally Posted by nogard

My wife's 1999 Camry auto 5S-FE gets a lot of miles put on it. She can put on 3000 miles in 45-60 days. I used to always use the 3000 miles or 3 months and put in the base Mobil 5000 oil, and now use a OEM Toyota filter. You can tell the cheap oil needs to be changed the car starts to sound different and the oil starts to get black at around 2000-2500 miles.

Out of all the oil options out there, is there a better oil I can use and get more miles out of it so I only have to change it about every three months. This would end up being about 5000 to 6000 miles at this point.

The car has 140,000 miles on it, I've used synthetic on a few of my Tercels in the past with high miles only to have them leak oil worse.

[molson.david]

I used to run 5-w30 Valvoline Synpower in my 2001 camry, from 30 to 80K.
after 80K I swiched to 5-w30 Valvoline Maxlife full synt + Fram Xtended guard 10000 miles filters.
changed my oil every 9-10K miles.
at 140K VC was opened (minor leak), all clean and nice.

using the same 5-w30 Valvoline Maxlife 75000 miles full synt and Fram 10000 miles filters on 2000 camry with 140K.
no problems.

my brother running Maxlife in his 02 Lexus with 160K and 98 Volvo with 120K too.but he changing his filters at 4000-4500miles and oil at 8-9K.

[Miagi800]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

Castrol GTX High Mileage.

I would like to add two more thumbs up to that!

[arabianobsession]

I used to use Valvoline HM 5w-30 in my last car, a 98 Sunfire, which I put quite a few miles on in a short amount of time. Worked awesome, and the car ran brand new even with almost 160k on it, no leaks, no burning. I now use it on my 95 Mustang with 149k, and still, she runs top notch, even though I only change the oil in it every 4-5 months.

[bdy0003]

Since your engine falls into the year where they removed the engine oil cooler, I would suggest switching to synthetic. Be sure you replace your seals and gaskets to make sure your engine won't leak, hence your tercels leaking. Castrol GTX is your engine is leaking and you want to keep it as is for now.