300,000 miles & counting

[TierOneSupplier]

My wife's DD is a '98 Sienna which we bought new in December, 1997. I'm thrilled to report it rolled past 300,000 miles yesterday! I thought I'd pass along a few observations. First though, and in case you're curious, I'm posting this over here in your forum because you guys are the 1MZ-FE experts and most of the stuff I've learned about how to keep this van running well, I've learned over here at the 2nd Gen Camry site -- thank you!

* the odometer didn't stop at 299,999 like I'd heard it might. Presently we're at 300,088.
* Average OCI has been 5,698 miles, although I've been changing it more frequently the last 100k or so.
* With just one exception, I've always used dino oil
* the timing belt has been changed on schedule, but the water pump has never been changed. The next timing belt change is due at 316k and I'm going to get the Rock Auto kit that includes timing belt, water pump, pulley and tensioner and change them all. I have a new rattle that I'm almost certain is coming from a pulley - and I probably won't wait another 16,000 miles to change.
* One of the knock sensors quit a while back and I mistakenly assumed the problem was the harness, so I tore all the way down to the harness and changed it out along with the crossover coolant hose. I did intentionally swap the leads on the harness which caused P0330 to be replaced by P0325 after the engine was back together. So I used a trick learned on here and now the one good knock sensor is supplying signal to both inputs on the PCM. That was at 263k miles and all is well so far.
* Valve cover gaskets have been replaced, as well as some leaky spark plug tube seals and until recently, I've had no leaks -- now getting a slight leak from the power steering pump, which is the original.
* Toyota replaced the transaxle under warranty at just under 70k, and I've kept the fluid changed about every 30k miles, just doing a drain and fill. I dropped the pan and replaced the filter at 262,190.
* coolant has been changed every two years.
* steering rack was replaced at the dealership at 222k miles

I know I'm forgetting something but that's most of it. Not bragging but am darned happy with this van and Toyota in general! Thanks again to everyone who's helped me with tips!

[Stillrunning]

Compression test readings?

[importcar]

Dino oil and 5000+ mi OCIs took your car all the way to 300k miles? My Camry has 180k mi and I am about to switch to synthetic for the first time. This is making me think twice if I should make the switch. My car is also due for a timing belt change and I was thinking about changing the water pump as well because it has never been changed. But your water pump is still going at 300k mi. This is also making me think if I should change mine at all.

How come you never changed the water pump?

Originally Posted by TierOneSupplier

* Average OCI has been 5,698 miles, although I've been changing it more frequently the last 100k or so.
* With just one exception, I've always used dino oil
* the timing belt has been changed on schedule, but the water pump has never been changed.

[ty**20]

congrats to getting that far. another 300k mi. more to go. sienna are great mini-van, my bro has one and he always praise about it. toyotas are reliable and dependable. have you changed the fuel filter?

[JohnGD]

that's great!

One thing with OCI as a car gets older is you may need a shorter OCI. See TRD95's case. Blackstone recommended reducing the 2900 mile OCI in this analysis to 2000 miles:
Oil Analysis results for my 95 Camry 5SFE Engine

With the cost of dino oils going up into synthetic/blend range, Importcar can consider using synthetic blends like Motorcraft from Walmart, Valvoline or Castrol.

PS steering fluid siphon and refill every (or every other) oil change can prolong the life of the PS pump and rack. See also:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t19334.html
However, the reservoir plastic can become brittle with age.

I'd change out the pump with the belt, or the belt with pump. The parts are cheap, it's the time and labor cost getting to them. But if you DIY and keep a close eye on an old pump then maybe it's ok to wait. Check after a cold soak in the morning. And when coolant starts to drip out of the weep hole you best get to it in a couple of days.

Originally Posted by TierOneSupplier

* Average OCI has been 5,698 miles, although I've been changing it more frequently the last 100k or so.
* With just one exception, I've always used dino oil
* the timing belt has been changed on schedule, but the water pump has never been changed. The next timing belt change is due at 316k and I'm going to get the Rock Auto kit that includes timing belt, water pump, pulley and tensioner and change them all. I have a new rattle that I'm almost certain is coming from a pulley - and I probably won't wait another 16,000 miles to change.
* steering rack was replaced at the dealership at 222k miles

Originally Posted by importcar

My car is also due for a timing belt change and I was thinking about changing the water pump as well because it has never been changed. But your water pump is still going at 300k mi. This is also making me think if I should change mine at all.

[TierOneSupplier]

I appreciate everyone's feedback, and thought I'd answer your questions real quick.

* compression test readings -- I hadn't thought of doing that, but would like to test each cylinder. I've changed the spark plugs a couple of times and it's not fun getting to the rear bank on the Sienna, but curiousity will get to me and eventually I'll pull the plugs and run the tests, both dry and wet.

* fuel filter has been changed at 97,846 and 200,262, or on 100k intervals. I'm now due. Some might say I'm way past due (?)

* I did a couple of siphon and refills on the power steering fluid, at 263k and 294k. I wish I'd been doing it all along.

* I forgot to mention that I changed all three o2 sensors at 260,810 miles, and that made the P0420 code go away. Catalytic converter is the original OEM unit.

* The OCI these days is shorter than when we first bought the van. I didn't know about the 1MZ sludge problem back in those days, and went with the owner's manual and its suggested OCI of 7,500 miles. My average interval for the first five years was 6,822 miles, and some intervals were embarassingly higher, and that's with conventional oil. I've had both valve covers off, and while there's some varnish, there's no sludge. I think what saved me is that my wife's commute to work, back when the van was new and the OCIs were long, was about 26 miles each way.

* I could open a can of worms with the "conventional-versus-synthetic" conversation, but instead I'll just point out that conventional oil got us to 300,000 miles, and it's still going strong. We drove this van to Florida back in June, 830 miles each way, and STILL got the 24 mpg highway that was on the original window sticker. Amazing.

* Almost forgot to mention the water pump. I've changed two water pumps recently - one in my son's '96 Dodge Ram that he recently got second-hand, and the other in my father-in-law's GMC conversion van (5.7L engine). In both cases, the coolant had been neglected and I'm certain that contributed to those water pumps' failures. Our van, on the other hand, has had its coolant changed ten times in 13 years, or almost once per year. I believe this is the key to water pump longevity. I know 300,000 is a LONG time for a water pump and I couldn't recommend anyone else go this long, especially if they don't know how frequently their coolant has been changed. To the question about why I never changed the pump, well back before I re-discovered the satisfaction of doing everything myself, I was having all the work done at the dealership and they wanted a fortune to change the pump, even when they were already going to change the timing belt. So, I just had the belt changed.

* That reminds me, the crank and cam seals have never been changed, and they're not leaking now, either. Well, they probably are, but not enough to make it to the garage floor. I don't want to open another oil debate, but I'm using high mileage oil and perhaps that's a factor in having no obvious leaks. Just the same, when I eventually go in and change the timing belt, water pump, pulley (idler bearing) and tensioner, if there is oily residue around the seals, they'll get changed, too.

[fenixus]

don't compare 1mz-fe to 5s-fe please. 2 different worlds.

Originally Posted by importcar

Dino oil and 5000+ mi OCIs took your car all the way to 300k miles? My Camry has 180k mi and I am about to switch to synthetic for the first time. This is making me think twice if I should make the switch. My car is also due for a timing belt change and I was thinking about changing the water pump as well because it has never been changed. But your water pump is still going at 300k mi. This is also making me think if I should change mine at all.

How come you never changed the water pump?

[fenixus]

grats! that's the power and longevity of 1mz-fe!

however I'm thrilled the WP was never touched, it seems those on 1mz-fe are real good piece of design (vs weak units on 5s-fe)

how did the engine head look alike under valve covers at such mileage and dino OCI? any pics?

was the car mostly driven in city or highways?

Originally Posted by TierOneSupplier

My wife's DD is a '98 Sienna which we bought new in December, 1997. I'm thrilled to report it rolled past 300,000 miles yesterday! I thought I'd pass along a few observations. First though, and in case you're curious, I'm posting this over here in your forum because you guys are the 1MZ-FE experts and most of the stuff I've learned about how to keep this van running well, I've learned over here at the 2nd Gen Camry site -- thank you!

* the odometer didn't stop at 299,999 like I'd heard it might. Presently we're at 300,088.
* Average OCI has been 5,698 miles, although I've been changing it more frequently the last 100k or so.
* With just one exception, I've always used dino oil
* the timing belt has been changed on schedule, but the water pump has never been changed. The next timing belt change is due at 316k and I'm going to get the Rock Auto kit that includes timing belt, water pump, pulley and tensioner and change them all. I have a new rattle that I'm almost certain is coming from a pulley - and I probably won't wait another 16,000 miles to change.
* One of the knock sensors quit a while back and I mistakenly assumed the problem was the harness, so I tore all the way down to the harness and changed it out along with the crossover coolant hose. I did intentionally swap the leads on the harness which caused P0330 to be replaced by P0325 after the engine was back together. So I used a trick learned on here and now the one good knock sensor is supplying signal to both inputs on the PCM. That was at 263k miles and all is well so far.
* Valve cover gaskets have been replaced, as well as some leaky spark plug tube seals and until recently, I've had no leaks -- now getting a slight leak from the power steering pump, which is the original.
* Toyota replaced the transaxle under warranty at just under 70k, and I've kept the fluid changed about every 30k miles, just doing a drain and fill. I dropped the pan and replaced the filter at 262,190.
* coolant has been changed every two years.
* steering rack was replaced at the dealership at 222k miles

I know I'm forgetting something but that's most of it. Not bragging but am darned happy with this van and Toyota in general! Thanks again to everyone who's helped me with tips!

[TierOneSupplier]

Fenixus, I'm glad you pointed out the difference in engines.

** To be clear to folks just tuning in, this is the 1MZ-FE **

It's hard to answer the "city versus highway" question. We live in a town of about 25,000 people, but my wife's commute takes her out to a rural elementary school so while the van does see some waiting at traffic lights, it's broken up by four to six mile jaunts at 55 mph (or 60 to 70 knowing her). So, not really city but not really highway, either.

Here's a picture from the firewall side, taken at 263,815 miles. Note the varnish.

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/.../3-5-10172.jpg

[importcar]

Originally Posted by TierOneSupplier

* coolant has been changed every two years.

Originally Posted by TierOneSupplier

Our van, on the other hand, has had its coolant changed ten times in 13 years, or almost once per year.

Every 2 years or 10 times in 13 years? If every 2 years, your CCI (coolant change interval) is every 46k miles. If 10 times in 13 yrs, it is 30k miles.

I change my coolant with Toyota Red every 30k and also top off when needed.

Originally Posted by JohnGD

PS steering fluid siphon and refill every (or every other) oil change can prolong the life of the PS pump and rack. See also:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t19334.html
However, the reservoir plastic can become brittle with age.

PS fluid is one thing I've neglected. I don't think it was ever changed when my car was serviced exclusively at the dealer the first 90k miles. But I'm going to start siphoning and refill the reservoir every year with Supertech HM ATF fluid.

Originally Posted by fenixus

don't compare 1mz-fe to 5s-fe please. 2 different worlds.

2 different engines but do they share the same brand water pump (Aisin)? If they do, then the quality should be very similiar.

[fenixus]

it's far from same even though brand is same (Aisin for both), you simply cannot compare 2 totally different cooling systems running around 2 completely different engine designs.

1mz-fe WP can go very far while 5s-fe water pumps go usually not much further than timing belt does (sometimes they die faster).

1mz-fe is generally a cold blooded beast, it takes a long time to warm it up fully (especially in Winter) while 5s-fe is a quick hot-headed hamster which gets to fully operating temps in no time even in middle of Winter

also 1mz-fe has a reversed coolant flow direction (much more efficient this way) vs standard 5s-fe cooling system design.

Originally Posted by importcar

2 different engines but do they share the same brand water pump (Aisin)? If they do, then the quality should be very similiar.

[fenixus]

here's your pic embedded, just use the direct link (ending with JPG) and paste using the yellow Insert Image button when editing the post.



for comparison, this is a pic of under my '02 1mz-fe front valve cover at around 125-126k miles (running synthetics for last few thousands miles with short OCI):

Originally Posted by TierOneSupplier

Fenixus, I'm glad you pointed out the difference in engines.

** To be clear to folks just tuning in, this is the 1MZ-FE **

It's hard to answer the "city versus highway" question. We live in a town of about 25,000 people, but my wife's commute takes her out to a rural elementary school so while the van does see some waiting at traffic lights, it's broken up by four to six mile jaunts at 55 mph (or 60 to 70 knowing her). So, not really city but not really highway, either.

Here's a picture from the firewall side, taken at 263,815 miles. Note the varnish.

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/.../3-5-10172.jpg

[TierOneSupplier]

Originally Posted by importcar

Every 2 years or 10 times in 13 years? If every 2 years, your CCI (coolant change interval) is every 46k miles. If 10 times in 13 yrs, it is 30k miles.

Importcar -- Good catch -- I goofed on the original comment, and should have checked my records before tossing out a number. The average coolant change interval is 31,723 miles.

Fenixus -- I appreciate the help with the picture, and the difference between the two pictures is stunning. A lot of guys (myself included) are going to give synthetics another look after seeing these two side-by-side. Oh, and you nailed it when you said the 1mz is slow to warm up. In the dead of winter it can seem like forever before the heat is good and toasty.

[BMR]

I suspect frequent OCI's are more important than what's used, dino Vs synth. Here's a shot of my 3VZ's front valvetrain when I changed the cover gaskets at 273k miles. I was doing 3k mile OCI's back then, using only dino oils. No specific brand; whatever major brand that's on sale when I buy it. So a mix of Pennzoil, Quaker State, Havoline, etc..

[TierOneSupplier]

Absolutely remarkable for 273k miles. Or for 73k miles, for that matter!