Head from a 1988 Toyota 4 Runner, 22 RE Engine...

with 537,500 miles on the head....

oil changes every 20K to 25K.....filter every 5K.

Using Mobil 1,

Here's what she looked like after removed from engine to be replaced with new head... due to finally getting low compression... replaced with head having larger valves and higher compression ratio....



Stuff sorta works, don't it...

note how much sludge and varnish it has all over it...






Sorry for the blurriness... camera has a macro focus issue I need looked at... but pic still gives general idea...

Shame it didn't hold up any better than that for you.

At the rate I drive now, it will take me 60 years to put that many miles on my Tacoma.

Whole Foods and Publix just started a grocery delivery service in in my area. As well...ABC.

Save for the now and then trip to the woods and the shore I may never drive again.

Just kidding of course but 8-10 years from now....Hmmmmm

Darn Toyota's are junk.

Seriously don't surprise me a bit Toyota's are built like tanks. I've have several and never had a problem with any of them and I mean never. Do anything near normal maintenance and they seem to last forever.

Better be good to your Simoniz man —maybe he'll give you a deal on the unlimited lifetime undercoating plan.




Rings are fine?

That makes me feel better about my decision to change oil every 10K and the filter at 5K. With Mobile 1 of course. My 2007 has 178,000 with no issues. There is a guy who posts on Tacoma world with an 2006 with over 400,000 miles doing the same.

Seems like poppin the pistons and polishin the cylinders from the top, then new rings, would be cost-effective, since you're in this deep already.

Lower end was redone at 430K...

Waterjacket leaked and put anti freeze into the lower end...

so I had the main bearings redone, and also had the rings done at that time, since it was apart...

however, it wasn't burning oil at that time...

the cylinders were bored out a little also and pistons replaced..

I just got 500 miles on a Jasper rebuilt 22RE in my 92 pickup. The mechanic is going to change the oil Monday.

I'll ask his recommendation on how soon I can switch to synthetic.

I have been using Penzoil Platinum for years, but these are some damned good testemonials for Mobil 1.

I thought you knew of my United frequent flier miles...

Same here.....mine's 15 years old and has 140,000.....that's less than 10,000 a year....

I haven't tried Pennzoil's synthetic...I'm going back 35 plus years ago, using Pennzoil screwed my car up and they wouldn't honor the warranty..... so I personally wouldn't use it, if it were free...... because of the company.. there synthetic is suppose to be pretty darn...

Just I've been using Mobil for 35 plus years, and it has never let me down...

I did try Castrol for a change, in my 94 Camry....I had to pull the valve cover for scheduled replacement on my maintenance schedule... darn engine got pretty sludged up after 15,000 miles on it...

Switched back to Mobil 1 INSTANTLY.... AS I dropped the oil right then.... 10,000 miles later, I checked the head of the engine by pulling the valve cover.......... all that sludge that had been caused by Castrol was long gone....

Sounds like good stuff.

Mine's 20yrs old and only has 178K.

The first 125K came in the five years, and I was on track to have a half-million mile rig (this year at that pace). Then I got married, moved to town, and both the truck and I gotten a lot less exercise.

The upside is the calendar had a chance to catch up with the miles.

my 1988 4Runner has the 22 RE engine, and an automatic 4X4 transmission.
I had to replace the MAF sensor recently, and the throttle body coolant temp sensor. Back to running fine. Somewhere around 400K on the engine.
What I have problems with are little electrical things. Right now, I have to replace the entire tailgate window regulator because of a broken nylon roller that is not available. Heck, the entire assembly is discontinued, and according to Toyota, not a factory assembly in America. Ordered a unit pulled out of a wreck.
I have two switches on the console that are broken, and not available. The MAF and coolant sensors are also discontinued.
The engine might work forever, but the little parts are killing me.

Seafire, good o hear form you and your trucks. Very few change oil at 25k and many think yu are nuts. Heard people for years " change my oil every 3k and never had a problem. I am much like you when it comes to changing oil I change every 10k with regular oil , filter every 10k too. I never had a problem yet on my Stratus ( 182k) Sometime I go 35K with AMsoil and still never a problem. My 05 GMC diesel ( 234K) I have gone 46K and 39K between changes with oil tests every 15K with a filter change. I have gone several times 25K oil/ filter change intervals . The truck burns 1qt every 5K. I have also had a 91 Saturn last year that I didn't change oil the last 30K with regular oil and no filter. I did add every 1K however. The truth is , we change oil WAY too often in this country. With my diesel, I now have Shell Rotella T6 full syn. and may just take it to 25K . This is proof that you really can change oil a dozen times in an engines lifespan and the rust will send the body to the grave before the engine blows in Wisconsin . Later . Ihookem.

FWIW pennzoil synthetic is how we got the explorer to over 350K miles....

I've never had a car stop running due to an oil problem. There's a long list of things that have gone to schit attached to a perfectly running engine. Lol.

Synthetic is far superior oil and your results are not uncommon. I use only Amsoil synthetic and have been a dealer for many years. I change mine once a year, which is between 12-15 thousand miles.

Years ago, I ran a Ford with a bi-pass oil filter and ran it 25,000 between changes.

I am currently at 96,000 on my Tundra and it is as good as if I just pulled away from the dealership. Great truck and great oil.

I also use synthetic in all of my other motors, both two and four cycle.

Nothing wrong with synthetics, but my '97 went 360,000 miles on regular ole Penzoil every 5,000 miles, then switched to high mileage oil at 300 K.

Still not using oil when my son wrecked it.

Synthetic is great, but in mild climates, can't see it being cost effective unless you really extend drain intervals.

This "no longer available" business is a bad state of affairs, for otherwise long lived designs.
I make a LOT of Delrin replacement parts for these doggone "remote activated" accessories, ....window regulators being right at the top of the pile.
Retro fitment of alternate switch gear components gets no easier,...old caches of WW2 / Korean war vintage radio parts and B29 style electrical components are drying up, to.
Those of us who actually know the potential lifespan of a Bakelite and NiChrome / Copper switch will all be gone soon enough, and this "throwaway parts" strategy may very well win the day.

Fine looking internals there, Seafire !
...oil IS cheaper than parts.

GTC

You mean the Pennzoil didn't sludge up your engine and kill it? ....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oil analysis hasn't been done every oil change.... but then probably 4 or 5 in its life span... verifying the oil was still good...


Sam on parts for yours.... in 2012 when I made a trip back to the east coast, the truck was due for an air filter.. I had no problem getting them out this way, as there are plenty of these old 4 Runners and especially the pickup version still on the road....(sadly kids love to steal them, and off road the crap out of them and then after destroying them, run them off a hill side... I have to watch this thing like a hawk...I won't drive it to Walmart and park it to go into the store, or it will be gone)....

anyway, I stopped at NAPAs in Indiana to Massachusetts, looking for an air filter....NO ONE had one, and even their distribution centers didn't have them... When I got to Massachusetts at our friends house... I pulled the Air Cleaner and soaked it overnight in a bucket of hot water with dish detergent and then let it dry in the sun the next day.... that took out a big batch of the dirt in it...

Drove it back to the west coast, went down and was able to get a filter for it at NAPA out here no problem....

Also funny on the trip... I don't know how many people would come up and ask me what brand of truck/SUV that was, when I stopped at Rest Areas. I told them it was a Toyota, and they would ask me what model...I'd tell them a 4 Runner, and many would claim that they had never seen one that looked like that. I told them it was an 88, and many claimed they don't remember them.

Guess most of them have been in the bone yard for decades, rusted out or junked...parts seem to be readily available out this way.... although when I do go to the parts store... instead of ordering mechanical stuff for a 4 Runner, many stores have those of this vintage deleted from their computers... if I tell them it is a Pick Up, those parts are still listed....

You see plenty of them it seems going down I 5, towing other Toyota pickups of the 80s and 90s vintage.. usually with Washington Plates... driven by hispanics...

Talked to some of them one night at Walmart.... there were 8 of them, parked in the parking lot, each towing another...

The one hispanic who spoke English, I asked if they were taking them down to Mexico... he said no, they were going to Guatemala....he said they get 5 to 8 grand for those down there.. mileage doesn't matter.. they sell all they can get.

They have folks up in Washington that search the newspapers and vehicle traders, internet etc for them.... I told them I had the 88 4 Runner and first words out of his mouth... Ya Want to Sell it Seniore?

hey off the topic a little...but for the old Vegas and Pintos of the 70s... there was no better oil for those cars, than Pennzoil...especially the Vegas ( for those that even remember them)... Pennzoil, never change it, just the filter and add..

Vegas leaked oil in the show room, along with Rusted sitting in the show room... or as legend from those who owned one attested.. never changing Pennzoil in them sludged up those leaks.. and the cars still used enough oil that it was always "clean enough"....if you kept on top of the level and added as needed...

I bought a Vega GT after graduating College, a 75 model... I changed the oil every 5K.. but from day one, it used a quart of oil every 500 miles...when I changed it, it wasn't really 'dirty'....80,000 miles later it still used a quart every 500 miles...

Ran off the road in a snow storm, when a lady in a Volvo refused to yield while driving on my side of the road, because it was plowed after a snow dump.. and her side wasn't...

Missed 5 trees when it ran off the road... trouble was there was that sixth tree....

Sam,

I know our trucks are old now... Last time I was down in Nevada, heading down to the Campfire Get2Gether in AZ... was sitting at a light in Reno, after getting fuel.... there was a Toyota Pickup our vintage in Super Shape in Front of me....

I had to laugh tho, first time I've ever seen it...this one had Nevada Antique/Historical/Vintage Vehicle plates...

I have heard from just about every car guy "of a certain age" that Pennzoil and Quaker State will sludge up your engine. Maybe there was something to it in the 1970's....probably was. As for today, Pennzoil and Quaker State are both owned by Shell and have been reformulated a bunch of times since the Carter administration.

Anyway, thanks for letting us know what you have been doing. You have proven to my satisfaction that modern oil is very robust and the manufacturer recommended change intervals are probably overkill by two or three times, especially with the full synthetics. I know people that dump synthetic after 3k miles in the name of loving their engine....crazy.

Oh and I remember the Vegas. The ones with the fake wood sides were SWEET!

I always heard the stories about Pennzoil being so crappy. Had a yellow '73 Dodge 4x4 that I used in it. Mostly just to tick off my "expert" buddies. It had about 370,000 miles on it when the exhaust collapsed causing it to heat up and blow a head gasket. May have been the best pickup I'll ever own.

I'm happy to read this thread. I recently bought an 03 Tacoma 4x4, 4cyl auto, with 112k miles. I probably paid a bit much for it, but you guys give me high hopes for longevity. So far it's awesome.

My first car was a '74 Vega GT. It was free, and I was the third owner. Most of it's life was spent in AK, and it had some rust. Worse than the rust was the oil use. After the first year of oil changes I just started adding oil instead. The last year I added used oil from other vehicles. It eventually lost too much power to worn rings and fowled plugs.

BUT it handled great, and was lots of fun on gravel country roads. It was a fun car, and my "first."

BTW, there's a '72+/- Ford Maverick in my town that's mint. I'm sure it's just a sign of aging, but I really dig that little sedan. Fortunately there's not a for sale sign in it.

Solid gold.

I guess I change too much. I change oil every 3 thousand in my 89 Jeep Wrangler. I change my Dodge diesel every 4 thousand. I use Shell Rotella in both.