Best oil change

[sonic2wb]

Ok its been almost 3k miles since i bought my avalon and the oil is looking pretty black so i figured i would change the oil. we are on a very tight budget but also I want to take care of the car. ( lol my dad was a ASE Certified Mechanic for 32 years and I was taught that if u take care of a car/truck it will take care of you)

So ok on to the good stuff. The car is a 96 with 199k on it ( when i change the oil) i bought it with 196k on it.

After reading over this site, I still didnt get a good clear answer to which brand/weight of oil to run in the car along with a good filter. Reason being is all my life we have 60s-80s GM or Ford cars and trucks and we used what ever is the cheapest.

After reading about the sludge issue with these engines I thought i would take careful consideration on the oil and filter.

OK its 2am and im rambling. AUTOZONE has Valvoline Maxlife or Durablend 5qts + fram tough guard filter for 19.99 which with my autozone rewards card credit means its free + tax. I would go with the max life b/c it says its for high milage cars?

OR

they have a Mobil 1 full synth + mobil 1 filter for $34.99


Let me know what you 1st gen avalon guys/gals think and suggestions.
also can you buy auto-rx in stores? or just from thier site?

also what weight of oil should i run I just moved to S. Florida and the last week have been over 100 outside in stop and go traffic

Thanks!

[The Digital MagE]

my OPINION - which i do not present, as fact

in >100 degree heat i would use 10w40 oil.

myself, i don't think the brand matters very much. oil is regulated by it's "rating(s)" which appear on the container. look at the ratings on a bottle of casteroil, then see the exact same thing on wal-mart's discount brand... then use them both and see if you can tell the difference. i can't. only clue i have is make sure your oil is paraffin-based, not asphalt based!

[Jack Deth]

FWIW, i use a motorcraft FL400S filter and castrol 10W30 oil. 1K before i change the oil i add a half quart of marvel mystery oil.

[workerant]

For me, 1st oil change for new car should be done before the 3K miles. google it if U want to know the reason.

And oil seem to turn dark the moment the car engine turn on. So don't go by the color or 'clear' of it. There is a service that U can send in your used oil for them to test if you really want to know and willing to pay.

Synthetic is better for the car and it usually can run longer. I use the Mobil1 extended which said right on the container it can run up to 15K miles between oil change.

I still didnt get a good clear answer to which brand/weight of oil to

None of your reading tell u to read your owner manual?

I recommend OEM filter which you can buy from ebay at bulk price and cheaper.

[sonic2wb]

workerant this is not a new car. lol it didnt come with the owners manual. the haynes manual says to use 10w -40 or so. the reason im asking questions is that this car being a 96 most likely has a good coating of sludge.

[workerant]

U could try Mobil1 hmmm... here's the link. Not sure if other oil brand have similar stuff, but anyway this might help.

[American Pie]

Since purchasing our (~160K) ’96 Avalon earlier this year, I’ve run Auto Rx for 3K miles and then switched over to Castrol 10W-30 to “flush it out”. I called Auto Rx and they told me to specifically run Castrol, because of its detergent properties. I’ve heard this before; although most oils are essentially the same, the difference is in the additives: some are more suited to high rpm racing use, some for stop-n-go short trips, etc. Because of its detergent additives, Castrol is “supposed” to do a better job than many other dino oils at preventing sludge build up.

After this flush, I’ll be switching over to Mobil 1 10W-30…specifically, the “High Mileage” formula which is supposed to have a proper amount of ZDDP (zinc and phosphorus) which is missing in many modern oils. I run synthetic oils in all my cars and I imagine it’ll be especially beneficial to the Avalon motor because of its reputation for sludge.

The Avalon manual calls for 10W-30 or 10W-40 in your climate. If you run dino oil, you’re probably be better off with 10W-40 in the summer but 10W-30 year-round is fine if you’re running synthetic. (Remember to change the PCV valve to let the crankcase breath!)

Oh...regarding filters: after reading some tests on them I'm currently using either NAPA Gold or WIX (they're the same); Purolator is OK too. The Mobil 1 filter is another good one but it's quite expensive.

[pmesfun]

Castrol GTX High Mileage 5w-30, after Auto-RX I will start using Mobil 1 Synthetic High Mileage. Also what is the best oil weight to use with Synthetic on the Avalon?

[sonic2wb]

Great info guys.


Question on the Auto-rx. A friend of mine posed the issue of useing auto-rx will cause the motor to leak from worn seals that havent leaked because sludge is acking as a barrier?

[BMR]

Oh boy, here come the oil pimps!

Seriously, if money is tight, there's no reason to use anything more expensive than any major brand with the correct viscosity and API rating. And change it regularly!

That's what I've done my whole life and I've never had any oil-related problems. I buy whatever dino oil is on sale, and the only filter I avoid is Fram. My Camry's got 304k miles, the Avalon 230k. And before that, I had a Ford Ranger with 244k when I sold it, and I still see it now and then on the road.

[sonic2wb]

Originally Posted by BMR

Oh boy, here come the oil pimps!

Seriously, if money is tight, there's no reason to use anything more expensive than any major brand with the correct viscosity and API rating. And change it regularly!

That's what I've done my whole life and I've never had any oil-related problems. I buy whatever dino oil is on sale, and the only filter I avoid is Fram. My Camry's got 304k miles, the Avalon 230k. And before that, I had a Ford Ranger with 244k when I sold it, and I still see it now and then on the road.

why stay away from fram filters?

[BMR]

Originally Posted by sonic2wb

why stay away from fram filters?

I've read a lot of bad things about them on the web. Poor construction & design, stuff like that. There are so many alternatives that are similar in cost, so I don't bother to dig any deeper than that.

[American Pie]

Originally Posted by BMR

I've read a lot of bad things about them on the web. Poor construction & design, stuff like that. There are so many alternatives that are similar in cost, so I don't bother to dig any deeper than that.

I'll second this. Fram filters are among the most poorly constructed ones on the market. There have been lab tests done on oil filters, so do a search for "oil filter test results" or something like that and you'll find plenty of info. Here's one:

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...ilfilters.html

Now, how much this poor build quality actually affects an engine's longevity (assuming you change oil every ~3K) is pure speculation. But as long as you can buy a better-made filter for about the same price, why not?

I also agree using dino oil is fine as long as you change it regularly, although I choose the extra protection and performance you get with synthetics, with change intervals of ~5-7K (which is overkill, but hey I'm a control freak).

[robcam13]

i buy whatever is on sale and my last 3 cars were 200k and up on the odo. its like what brand of soda is better. basically the same.as long as you change it every 3k miles

[The Digital MagE]

oil is not enough.

i use greased lightning teflon treatment (from o'riley's). this stuff allows you to actually freeze your engine in time, so that no more wear happens in it. and it costs a lousy $6.