Oil for 70,000km 3B Engine (1 Viewer)

[Reinhardtius]

Hi Everyone

I have a 3b with 70,000 original kms on my BJ75. An oil change is due. I am not sure what weight is lubricating the engine now, but I'd like to put something in that can keep the engine running optimally in our mild climate (mean temps here are 60-70°F / 15-21° C). I will not drive the truck in winter, but I also need an ideal oil for when I have to start the truck in winter when mean temps are 32° F / 0°C.

1. What are your recommendation for summer temps and winter temps, and why?
   
2. Which brand of oil, and why?
   
3. What to switch to if/when mileage goes up?

I see from the Toyota 3b service manual that for summer I can choose from 10W-30, 10W-40, and 20W-40. 5W-30 for winter is recommended. No mention is made for the use of synthetic oil.

A photo to give you a sense of what I am dealing with

Reinhardtius

 

[roscoFJ73]

Im not one to be concerned about the brand of oil, any well known brand will do it. The 3B are ancient in the diesel world, they are not high precision engines with close tolerances and nor do they operate at high rpm. They just dont need fancy oils. 10w-40w would be my choice. Once upon a time I would have just used mineral oil because it was cheaper and these engines could do half a million on that, but the last time I was buying oil,the full synth was only a little more expensive (it was double the price 20 years ago) . On top of that, there is much less mineral oil to choose from. So I would use the synth.

The only time I would change the weight is when the engine is worn and its needs something thicker to close up the gap. I dont believe it is important to stick with one brand. I have a motorbike that puts out 150hp at the rear wheel, at 100000klms it has had 5 brands of oil through it and 10-40 and 15-50, the inside of the engine is as good as any other the mechanic told me.
I suspect a lot of this oil brand loyalty is a made up story to keep customers captive to a brand for the life of the engine.

I dont think its bad oil that kills most engines, it short runs where the engine never really warms up and never gets to its designed, expanded size before shut down . If you do this twice a day, it soons wears them out. Toyota diesel buses clock up incredibly high mileage because they are never cold
A mechanic told me short runs it also causes them to leak more.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Totally agree with Rosco.

Any of the major oil company oils are likely to be better than what was available when the engine was built.

I've also started using synthetics recently due to price being a lot closer to dino prices

 

[mudgudgeon]

What to switch to if/when mileage goe

At 70k km, your engine has barely been run in. It should be a long time before you have to worry about mileage being a problem

 

[Freewheel]

Use an oil designed for flat tappet lifters to keep your camshaft in good shape. Or add zinc (ZDDP)

Shell Rotella 10/40 was always a good classic, though I believe they have reduced the ZDDP a bit in recent years.
You can also buy ZDDP additive as well to put in whatever oil you like.

 

[brownbear]

I use a 15w40, and have used 10w30, and for winter used 0w40.

If you are in semi-warm area the 15w40 is good for oil pressure. the 10w30 is ok, but you may find on the hottest of day the oil pressure is a bit low on idle. 15w40 is my choice as I only use my cruiser in summer. It see's no winter driving anymore. I'm afraid of salt and ruining my cruiser again....

I would skip synthetic, I found it leaked a lot when I used it.

 

[bj70_guy]

I always ran dino 15-40 diesel oil in my 3B, and still run the same for my current 13B-T.
I change it at 5000 km and don't stress about brand much anymore. Usually Rotella T (the 5 gallon pail comes on sale here regularly), but I'm not above using Wal Mart Supertech either... so sue me

 

[brownbear]

I'm the same as bj70_guy. Brand not so important, and I use Dino too. But in the winter when I ran my cruiser the 0w40 synthetic made it start easier, but it leaked like a sieve. I stopped using sythetic and the leaks stopped.... go figure.

 

[Reinhardtius]

Thank you, all. I'll report back after the oil change. I think I'll be going 15w40 non-syn for summer and 0w-40 non-syn for winter. I'll likely do an oil change before winter, even though the truck is locked in the garage until spring rain washes the salt away.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I would use 5w/40 all year round . Why would you change the oil if its doing nothing for a few months?

 

[Reinhardtius]

I would use 5w/40 all year round . Why would you change the oil if its doing nothing for a few months?

Would you still use 5W/40 if in winter the mean temperature is around -2° C? We have mornings when it's around -8° C. In summer it's around 25° C.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Yes, but you could check on Toyota's chart for suitability. Toyota diesels are fairly flexible in this regard.
I forget where you are ,but Shell are recommending 10w/40 Helix for B diesels in Finland.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

I was just looking at the FSM for the 3B on this and it appears they are reccomending 10w-30 as having a good wide temperature range. My weather is fairly temperate here - highs in the 90Fs and lows rarely below the 20Fs.
Does anyone disagree with that?

 

[roalco]

On my 3B, I used 10w-30 (10 weight when "w for Winter" cold, 30 weight when normal) shell rotella T for the first 350,000km year round, including many winter ski trips to whistler and the interior. That included starts at down to -27 C ( mind you had to cycle the glow plugs about 5 times,). Now I use 15w-40 Penzoil (for the last 150,000km, only because that is what the local oil change place has. Oil and filter changes at approx 5000km (3-4 times a year), keeps the additive package working and the oil in spec. Dino oil always.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

I have heard that zinc additives are fairly worthless as the chemist would need to have the particular oil you are using when designing the additive to ensure it properly "mixes", for lack of a scientific word, with the brand, type or weight of oil you are using.

I learned today that few oils, and Rotella specifically, no longer contain any zinc due to the advent of "clean diesels."

So again, that begs the question, what is really the best oil for these flat tappet B engines?

 

[OGBeno]

I have heard that zinc additives are fairly worthless as the chemist would need to have the particular oil you are using when designing the additive to ensure it properly "mixes", for lack of a scientific word, with the brand, type or weight of oil you are using.

I learned today that few oils, and Rotella specifically, no longer contain any zinc due to the advent of "clean diesels."

So again, that begs the question, what is really the best oil for these flat tappet B engines?

I follow the oil guide you posted above.

Spring/Summer/part of Fall: Rotella 30w
Winter: 5w40

 

[roscoFJ73]

oes anyone disagree with that?

When the temps hit 90f, that oil will be like water. I would at least go for the 10/40 or 10/50

 

[Dougal]

When the temps hit 90f, that oil will be like water. I would at least go for the 10/40 or 10/50

No it won't. Oil viscosity is rated at two common temperatures and sometimes 3.

40C and 100C.
At 100C a 40W oil will be between 12.5 and 16.3 cSt (water at 20C is 1 cSt).
At 100C a 50W oil will be between 16.3 and 21.9 cSt.

At 40C a 10W40 will be around 90 cSt and a 15W50 around 115 cSt.

Additionally a HTHS (high temperature high stress) rating can be carried out at 150C. To pass an oil has to maintain higher than 3.5 cSt at that temp.
Even good 30W oils can pass than HTHS test. Some 0W20 oils are passing a 2.9 cSt mark at 150C.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

I follow the oil guide you posted above.

Spring/Summer/part of Fall: Rotella 30w
Winter: 5w40

Is your choice the non-synthetic T4?

 

[OGBeno]

Is your choice the non-synthetic T4?

yes.