Synthetic Oil

[KingJ2]

With the exception of this place, you can't go anywhere on the internet, or rather say any automotive site, forum or even youtube, watch a review of a vehicle or someone talking about how much he likes his new purchase, without seeing some snarky obnoxious comment from a Toyota fanboy saying "should've bought a toyota".
I've maintained for years that Toyotas are no more reliable than any other vehicle. Its all about the vehicle's maintenance history and the fact that Toyota parts are cheap; which led to this reputation.
Even talking about Overland builds and the fact that people prefer using Toyotas, I see someone purchasing a new Land Cruiser or 4 Runner, at huge expense compared to alternatives, and then start to swap out major components like alternators, radiators and suspension with aftermarket ones from places like "Terrain tamer" and then start to talk about how reliable the vehicle is. At one point I asked a question, "At what point do you remove those Toyota badges off and start putting on Terrain Tamer ones on?"
Then when you talk about Toyota's after-sales service; which I feel is diabolical. They would choose to void a legitimate warranty claim for the most outrageous and ridiculous of excuses. "You took the vehicle off road." "It's a Land Cruiser, it was built to go off road." #RantOver

At the price of the 4Runnner, why not go the Lexus GX route?

 

[Treburkulosis]

I have been running mobil 1 in 2 of my 3 cars and I may switch it over to the Jeep now that the factory warranty has run out. I am going to up my weight on my 408 LSX motor from 10w40 to 15w50. I am still up in the air on filters. Luckily put the 5.7 in the 2500 pickups and vans in through 02 so you can get a bigger filter option. What filters are y'all liking lately? My Flex only wants the motorcraft filter or its unhappy. The Jeep it really doesn't matter as its a paper filter. I have been running the puralator boss filters since it was brand new with no issues.

 

[Sherman Bird]

At the price of the 4Runnner, why not go the Lexus GX route?

Great post! It evokes memories I have due to working in multi-line Dealers over the years; chiefly GM/ Honda, but others as well.

The "culture" or beattitudes of the Yuppies of the day was "Dollar Value". That being said, there have never, in my life a group of people like Yuppies. Upwardly mobile Yuppies surrounded me in my young adulthood! Their basis of existence was long-game life planning. This embodied a certain "Control Freak" flavor as part of their aura. (not that it's a bad thing, necessarily)

This generation of consumers were the impetus of the late 70's/ early 80's success of Toyota, Honda, and maybe even Nissan (Datsun back then). They were the chief consumers of these cars. Attracted to the initial quality of these cars, they bought them in droves.

Lucky thing for these car manufacturers that the Yuppie clan bought them and, due to their Nerdly attention to details and dollar value, ACTUALLY were VERY consistent at keeping up with the maintenance schedules on them. I worked on those cars and noted that the maintenance logs in the owners' books were always filled out and done ON TIME!

This "control freak" practice had the effect of making these cars "more reliable".

For some reason, these same yuppies bought Volvos for their "safety record". Volvos were not as reliable as the Asian cars, overall. There again, doing the maintenance consistently and timely "made" all of these brands.

The social concept of those cars being "more reliable" grew.... from the facts I just stated, but also from casual conversations at Church, Family gatherings, Country club encounters, etc. (No better advertisement than word-of-mouth)

MANY of my customers switched to Toyotas and Hondas mainly for any one or more of these reasons.
These cars fell apart just as badly as American cars did in terms of trim, paint fading, and so forth, with the exception that more of them were better cared for, washed more often, garage kept... you know, given more and better attention.

My personal luck with cars seldom changed with brand or model, but I have always acquiesced to the fact that they are mere mortal machines. Not only DON'T they fix themselves, but ALL are made with inherent flaws. So, I dealt with what I knew and "beat the system" not by the inferred allure of "I never had to do anything to my car", but to the reality that they ALL need attention.

 

[Yardbird]

Everyone bashed the Pinto and Mustang II with the 2.3 - 4 cylinder for being trash. The main problem was lack of timely maintenance, or in the case of my BIL, no maintenance. (never changed the oil until it clogged the engine with gunk)

My friend's dad bought a Ford Fairmont with a 2.3 and 4 speed. When he got rid of it years later at 152k miles, it still ran like new with nothing but regular maintenance, always done on a schedule.

Maintenance will keep any decently built engine running. An engine with a design flaw is another story though.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Everyone bashed the Pinto and Mustang II with the 2.4 - 4 cylinder for being trash. The main problem was lack of timely maintenance, or in the case of my BIL, no maintenance. (never changed the oil until it clogged the engine with gunk)

My friend's dad bought a Ford Fairmont with a 2.4 and 4 speed. When he got rid of it years later at 152k miles, it still ran like new with nothing but regular maintenance, always done on a schedule.

Maintenance will keep any decently built engine running. An engine with a design flaw is another story though.

I bought 3 Pintos after the great recall was completed, and the stigma of them as "rolling bombs" never abated. I could get a pretty nice one for about 300 dollars. All 3 were very dependable, economic cars. I gave one to my Dad, and he enjoyed it for a good long time.

 

[ricky_bobby]

I just came in to be sure I got in on a thread with 2600+ pages

Rotella T6 5w-40 for my Cummins and my wifes BMW 3.0 X5 diesel as well

 

[Yardbird]

I bought 3 Pintos after the great recall was completed, and the stigma of them as "rolling bombs" never abated. I could get a pretty nice one for about 300 dollars. All 3 were very dependable, economic cars. I gave one to my Dad, and he enjoyed it for a good long time.

I had a '74 Pinto Country Squire for a while, identical to the one below. It was an automatic, and weak as all get out, but a good car.

 

[Burla]

I just came in to be sure I got in on a thread with 2600+ pages

Rotella T6 5w-40 for my Cummins and my wifes BMW 3.0 X5 diesel as well

have you looked at rotella after the ck-4 change? formula and viscosity? it's in the thread, somewhere, or you can find uoa's on pqia hd oils.

 

[tjfdesmo]

Everyone bashed the Pinto and Mustang II with the 2.4 - 4 cylinder for being trash. The main problem was lack of timely maintenance, or in the case of my BIL, no maintenance. (never changed the oil until it clogged the engine with gunk)

My friend's dad bought a Ford Fairmont with a 2.4 and 4 speed. When he got rid of it years later at 152k miles, it still ran like new with nothing but regular maintenance, always done on a schedule.

Maintenance will keep any decently built engine running. An engine with a design flaw is another story though.

The Pimpo was 2.3, and yes it was a decent engine for what it was, and soldiered on in the Ranger for a long time.

 

[Burla]

Everyone bashed the Pinto and Mustang II with the 2.4 - 4 cylinder for being trash. The main problem was lack of timely maintenance, or in the case of my BIL, no maintenance. (never changed the oil until it clogged the engine with gunk)

My friend's dad bought a Ford Fairmont with a 2.4 and 4 speed. When he got rid of it years later at 152k miles, it still ran like new with nothing but regular maintenance, always done on a schedule.

Maintenance will keep any decently built engine running. An engine with a design flaw is another story though.

I lived through the news reports and seeing the concern on moms face when the news was on, me and brother fighting over the front seat of our gold pinto. We traded it finally on a nova when mom could afford it, man what a car that Chevy Nova never let us down 20 years.

 

[Yardbird]

The Pimpo was 2.3, and yes it was a decent engine for what it was, and soldiered on in the Ranger for a long time.

You're right. Old age had me thinking 2.4 instead of 2.3. That was 1979 when I had it. lol

 

[Sherman Bird]

I had a '74 Pinto Country Squire for a while, identical to the one below. It was an automatic, and weak as all get out, but a good car.

View attachment 552520

That Pinto wagon had the gas tank in the left rear quarter, out of harm's way; thus, the wagons were never part of the recall. But, narrow-mindedness panic of the masses took over and the entire model was shunned, even after the problem was more than adequately fixed.

 

[ricky_bobby]

have you looked at rotella after the ck-4 change? formula and viscosity? it's in the thread, somewhere, or you can find uoa's on pqia hd oils.

I haven’t but I don’t have any doubts on running it - both are deleted anyway and *gasp* I ran the oil in both diesels before deleting, as well as years ago in my straight 6 BMW X5 and my Triumph motorcycle

Shell Rotella never did me wrong but let me know if I should be questioning it

 

[Burla]

We tend to look at formula instead of brand, but hey if it works for you I'm sure it will serve you well.

You say it always served you well, but it is drastically different formula then old rotella. The HD oils are only a few, worth taking a look.

 

[Burla]

compare ck-4 oils here.

 

[knightjp]

Everyone bashed the Pinto and Mustang II with the 2.3 - 4 cylinder for being trash. The main problem was lack of timely maintenance, or in the case of my BIL, no maintenance. (never changed the oil until it clogged the engine with gunk)

My friend's dad bought a Ford Fairmont with a 2.3 and 4 speed. When he got rid of it years later at 152k miles, it still ran like new with nothing but regular maintenance, always done on a schedule.

Maintenance will keep any decently built engine running. An engine with a design flaw is another story though.

There are good and bad models of any vehicle; even from the so-called ultra reliable makes and models.
Currently shopping for a cheap used runabout for my brother. Discovered that even the most unreliable make in the world have versions and model years where the owners never experienced a single issue and in some cases, a little bit of preventative maintenance goes a long way.

 

[Ludville1]

Great post! It evokes memories I have due to working in multi-line Dealers over the years; chiefly GM/ Honda, but others as well.

The "culture" or beattitudes of the Yuppies of the day was "Dollar Value". That being said, there have never, in my life a group of people like Yuppies. Upwardly mobile Yuppies surrounded me in my young adulthood! Their basis of existence was long-game life planning. This embodied a certain "Control Freak" flavor as part of their aura. (not that it's a bad thing, necessarily)

This generation of consumers were the impetus of the late 70's/ early 80's success of Toyota, Honda, and maybe even Nissan (Datsun back then). They were the chief consumers of these cars. Attracted to the initial quality of these cars, they bought them in droves.

Lucky thing for these car manufacturers that the Yuppie clan bought them and, due to their Nerdly attention to details and dollar value, ACTUALLY were VERY consistent at keeping up with the maintenance schedules on them. I worked on those cars and noted that the maintenance logs in the owners' books were always filled out and done ON TIME!

This "control freak" practice had the effect of making these cars "more reliable".

For some reason, these same yuppies bought Volvos for their "safety record". Volvos were not as reliable as the Asian cars, overall. There again, doing the maintenance consistently and timely "made" all of these brands.

The social concept of those cars being "more reliable" grew.... from the facts I just stated, but also from casual conversations at Church, Family gatherings, Country club encounters, etc. (No better advertisement than word-of-mouth)

MANY of my customers switched to Toyotas and Hondas mainly for any one or more of these reasons.
These cars fell apart just as badly as American cars did in terms of trim, paint fading, and so forth, with the exception that more of them were better cared for, washed more often, garage kept... you know, given more and better attention.

My personal luck with cars seldom changed with brand or model, but I have always acquiesced to the fact that they are mere mortal machines. Not only DON'T they fix themselves, but ALL are made with inherent flaws. So, I dealt with what I knew and "beat the system" not by the inferred allure of "I never had to do anything to my car", but to the reality that they ALL need attention.

Well said, and I agree totally! It's all about care and proper maintenance. I'll give 2 examples of vehicles I have owned and purchased new...a 2002 Chevy Cavalier and a 2012 Jeep Compass, neither of which have a great reputation for reliability. I sold my Cavalier in 2012 with 257,000 miles on it, and through it's life was pretty much problem free, and as far as I know is still on the road. We still own the Jeep and it has been awesome now with 186,000 miles on it. 2 rear wheel bearings and a leaking thermostat housing have been it's only issues so far. It has the Mopar Lifetime Max Care plan on it, so we'll probably just keep it. What's common between these 2 vehicles has been meticulous maintenance, everything done on time (or sooner) including transmission and cooling system service. When I buy a new vehicle the first oil and filter change is done with full synthetic at 1000 miles, then done at every 5000 miles thereafter. Is it just luck that my vehicles last so long and are basically problem free? I think not. Of course the chance of getting a lemon is always there. And some engines just aren't designed that well like the drama queen Hemi, with it's poor oiling system.

 

[HEMIMANN]

That Pinto wagon had the gas tank in the left rear quarter, out of harm's way; thus, the wagons were never part of the recall. But, narrow-mindedness panic of the masses took over and the entire model was shunned, even after the problem was more than adequately fixed.

You will remember when all the pickups had their gas tanks squeezed inbetween the cab and bed. They thought that was the safest location. ha hahahahah

 

[HEMIMANN]

I have been running mobil 1 in 2 of my 3 cars and I may switch it over to the Jeep now that the factory warranty has run out. I am going to up my weight on my 408 LSX motor from 10w40 to 15w50. I am still up in the air on filters. Luckily put the 5.7 in the 2500 pickups and vans in through 02 so you can get a bigger filter option. What filters are y'all liking lately? My Flex only wants the motorcraft filter or its unhappy. The Jeep it really doesn't matter as its a paper filter. I have been running the puralator boss filters since it was brand new with no issues.

Treb, head on over to the oil filter thread. I'm into Fram Endurance these days, Royal Purple still has a following but they've ****** us around a lot on availability and pricing.

Fram Ultra was downgraded. Purolator Boss seems to me little different than Wix XP - a synthetic rock catcher?

 

[CanuckRam1313]

All this talk of cars from yesteryear brings back some memories.

My Mom used to rock a late 70's Plymouth Valiant (I think it was a 75') with the slant six.

It was a sort of electric blue color with a black plaid landau roof.
It had a slant six in it. Now there's a dang near bulletproof engine.