What weight oil in 94 Camry 4 Cyl

[Microman]

Talked with toyota parts, and guy said new it was 5-30, but now that it has more than 70,000 it should use 10-30. I live in Southern Cal.

I suppose either would do.

Recommendation? Use what I have in the garage?

[deckeda]

1. Use up whatever's leftover in your garage.
2. Then stick with what the owner's manual says.

The guy at the dealer is confusing the oil's heat range on the lower end (ability to flow well at low temperatures) with an assumed need to "cork up" the engine with "thick" oil so that it doesn't burn the oil due to "extra space" between the piston rings and piston walls.

If you're confused, imagine the parts guy.

[davester]

What deckeda said. The parts guy obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

[space-time]

read the owners manual

[Jimmypoo]

add the 5-30 and the 10-30 to get 7.5w/60 (each side requires a special calculation that only I know).

Otherwise... I'd keep using 5-30 just like it says in the manual.

The only time I switched on OLDER 4 cyl (Mitsubishi 2.6, from 1980) was to 20w/50 in the summers
that were blazing hot, (the car had a flat black hood). In the winter I had to search out 5-30 back
then, otherwise use 10-30.

[pqrst]

I believe that the owner's manual says 10-30 (had the car a while back). One suggestion that my mechanic made for this old of a car was to use synthetic. He said that it helps to stop wear on the engine and also saturates the block, so if your oil leaks it will keep going longer. He considered it cheap insurance and only did the change every 10K.

[Jimmypoo]

If your oil leaks, it will only keep going longer until the parts seize. What's that... an extra mile?

You can coke up synthetic oil too with heat - it just takes more of it, and no/low lube will certainly
qualify as a high heat situation.

I'd think it cheaper insurance to go with a blend and still be checking and changing every 3k.
Squeezing 10,000 miles out of an oil change on a 16 year old engine is asking a lot. And it
doesn't make sense vs the consequences, when the extra two oil changes cost you $50 vs.
a new engine or a re-ring (which... while you're in there, might as well do x, y, and z.)

[mikebw]

Or if you switch to synthetic you may find that it will actually leak out of holes faster than dino-oil would wasting more money that you knew you had to begin with.

Just stick with 10w-30 like it says in the manual.

[davester]

pqrst wrote: One suggestion that my mechanic made for this old of a car was to use synthetic. He said that it helps to stop wear on the engine

Yes. Good idea. Synthetic oil is the best solution for any car. It also doesn't cost you any more because your change intervals can be safely increased to around 10,000 or more. However, it doesn't "stop" wear on the engine although it does reduce it.

and also saturates the block, so if your oil leaks it will keep going longer.

No, that is some kind of old mechanic's wive's tale.

[Racer X]

10W-30 is fine. They specced 5W-30 to get a wee bit more fuel economy. My GF's TRUCK says 5W-20, and a friend's new Honda says 0W-20. Synthetic blend 10W-30 goes in the truck, and full synthetic 5W-30 goes in that new Honda.