Just bought an FZJ80 and oil change is coming up...thoughts?

[robnicko]

couple of things ive learnt
1- the oil pressure gauge showing low - you can always take it off and spray carb cleaner into it to help clean its internals and see if it makes a difference although putting a mechanical gauge in there to test oil pressure will ease your mind
2- slight stumble at idle - definitely check for vacuum leaks in the little hoses but also put new spark plugs in to eliminate them - who knows how old they are

 

[CharlieS]

Earlier you mentioned an oil leak, another spot to check is the distributor o-ring. My current 80 was leaking a ton through that and the valve cover gasket when I got it.

 

[CruisD64]

couple of things ive learnt
1- the oil pressure gauge showing low - you can always take it off and spray carb cleaner into it to help clean its internals and see if it makes a difference although putting a mechanical gauge in there to test oil pressure will ease your mind
2- slight stumble at idle - definitely check for vacuum leaks in the little hoses but also put new spark plugs in to eliminate them - who knows how old they are

So the reason for the low oil pressure reading was the Royal Purple that was in there before. After I put in T5, the pressure gauge showed "normal" readings. It's been fine ever since.

The stumble is also gone I dunno what happened there but just driving it around fixed it. Using a scangauge 3 it shows about a 30RPM variance when idling which is plenty good!

 

[Tachycardic]

Yeah, the current oil has about 5k miles on it and is pretty dark. I wouldn't say excessively, though. I'm thinking Rotella T4 because it quieted engine noise and improved smoothness on my 3FE. It might be one of those "it worked for me before so I stand by it" things whereas others don't see the same success.


In regards to Seafoam, I've heard that it only exposes issues that are underlying sooner, IE, the engine already had issues that would surface anyway. I change my oil every 5k miles. Based on everything I've read in this thread so far, it sounds like I should get a baseline first before using "miracle" additives.


What constitutes a long time in your opinion? This truck saw very little use over the last 3 years and was mostly being built up to what it is today. I wouldn't say that it was infrequently started, however.

Folks have had good luck with Seafoam breaking down carbon build up that could be causing valves to not seal properly. There's a video on YouTube where a guy took off his valve cover to show a before and after of it on his Ford Ranger. The results were amazing. I can't seem to find it right now.

It doesn't appear to be burning oil but I honestly haven't had it long enough to see a noticeable change. I haven't had to top it off in the 2K miles I put on it.

One of the reasons I'm considering Rotella is firstly because I've had great success with it and secondly it's worked wonders on my 3FE. Maybe only because of the higher ZDDP content. It was recommended for me to use by Georg at Valley Hybrids a few years ago, btw.

Also, my oil pressure gauge looks scary, though it might be a false positive. At idle on a warm day the needle barely rises above the bottom mark and just below the first mark when cruising at freeway speeds. In the cooler weather right now, it looks a little more "normal".


Yeah, this has always been a slippery slope. Prior to Rotella T4 on my 3FE I was using Quaker State 10-30 conventional and saw an improvement switching to Rotella. Less engine noise. I don't know exactly how to describe it but everything just feels more lubricated. Since the 3FE is not the 1FZ I didn't want to blindly assume I'd have the same success. I used Wix filters prior to switching exclusively to Toyota, btw.


I'd say it's running 92% fine, but don't have a baseline considering how little I've owned it. It has about an 80 rpm variance at idle according to the Scangauge and is noticeable when sitting at a stop. A noticeable issue at idle could be masked at a higher RPM and doesn't mean it goes away in my experience. Dirty injectors maybe hence my wanting to use seafoam in the gas. It's probably nothing to worry about but if I could get it better, why not? Considering what I paid for this thing I want to squeeze everything out of it and get it back in tip top shape.

I'll look into the things you suggested. It could be that.


Come on man. This is why I'm here asking. This thought process is perfectly sound in the 60/62 section and my own experience is proof. Never used anything from K&N even when I was a dumb kid.

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So ultimately it sounds like I need to get a baseline first. Change the oil and filter and then just drive it as is. Send a sample to Blackstone (which I've never done). Monitor oil levels and clarity over time. Essentially just collect more data before I start doing things like Seafoam. This appears to be the consensus here, would you say?

I think the Youtube video you're referring to is the Project Farm guy.

I started out loving additives. Going to the additives aisle at the local Walmart for me was like being a kid in a toy store. I've used the Sea Foams, Marvel Mystery Oil, Rislones of the world in the engine oil and have used Techron, BG44, Gumout and the like and honestly, I felt like maybe Techron helped initially after baselining the vehicle, but I don't use additives anymore. I just do what others have said--approximately 5k mile oil changes with full synthetic and use a Toyota filter.

Amsoil, Red Line, Royal Purple...hmmm...too rich for my blood. I used Rotella, Mobil 1, Valvoline, Pennzoil, etc and the biggest perceptible difference was due to the viscosity--not in how the truck drove, but how much oil pressure I had using 15W-40 vs 5W-30 using the stock guage. And honestly, it wasn't a huge difference. In the UK, a lot of the brands I used to buy are prohibitively expensive, so for the past 2 oil changes I've used Mannol and Chevron full synthetic--whatever is on sale on Amazon or at Costco. I think the most important, and safest, thing you can do are performing regular oil changes with full synthetic and using Toyota filters. The 80 is not a prima donna. It's a work horse of a vehicle. Just treat it with regular doses of respect and it'll be fine--assuming that it's fine to begin with.