4efe Engine Oil?

[rmsnoel]

I just bought a '98 SR Starlet. I has a TRD sport oil filter and Vavoline 20W-50 racing oil.

I has burned/lost 2.5 litres since i got it a week ago. No leaks i can see

What oil, Brand and rating r u guys running.

Any options or suggestions will be much appreciated.

[riko666]

20w is a bit thick, especially as most japanese cars of the starlets irk a recommended with 10w30. i like using 5w40 fully synth Shell helix ultra

[DAN_GT_TURBO]

i use 5w40

[dac69er]

10w-40 for a uk spec starlet.

thats loosing alot of oil. i doubt it would be just because of the oil grade being slightly wrong.

change oil and get a new toyota filter and see what happens then.

do you have a cam cover breather filter? if so make sure its clean.

[riko666]

apparently a breather filter can be a bit of a bad thing - to cut it short, the pipe leading there usually leads to the intake to create negative pressure (hence positive crankcase ventilation), sticking on a breather filter gets rid of the vacuum, and can draw up oil through it, in the long term, starving the piston of oil and so on... but that is a lot to burn...

clean the area around the oil filter and engine oil sump, and check for leaks again. and when starting, check for bluish smoke

[dac69er]

your kinda there riko.

the 4efte (and i guess 4efe) has a pcv valve that goes intot the throttle body anyway. this contols the pressure in the top of the engine.

the prolem with the filter is it can block and stop the ventilation system from working as it should.

[nrgizerbunny]

what riko said,

but i run Mobil 1. even in my lawnmower. its the bomb

[riko666]

surely exploding oil is the last thing you need

[rmsnoel]

Cheers lads.

[Jim in New Zealand]

Did you solve the mystery? These cars are meant to have 10W/30 oil which flows extra freely under the pistons to cool them. Thicker oil will rapidly increase your piston slap and wheezing sound, and then oil consumption etc! It's a downhill spiral once you try thicker oil!

[Timewerx]

Did you solve the mystery? These cars are meant to have 10W/30 oil which flows extra freely under the pistons to cool them. Thicker oil will rapidly increase your piston slap and wheezing sound, and then oil consumption etc! It's a downhill spiral once you try thicker oil!

I have a friend who got a '98 Starlet with the 3rd generation 4efe (distributorless). It's got high mileage and he uses 20W-50 oil in it and never had problems relating to oil, here in New Zealand. Oil grades depends on cold starting temps and engine clearances. For worn out engines, you'll have bigger clearance so it's okay/better to use thicker oil, but never use it in a new or low mileage engine.

My favorite so far and currently use is the Valvoline VR1 Racing 10W-40 (mineral) on a 132K kms engine. Highly recommended oil if you're far from being a very sedate driver. You'll feel a big difference vs 'non racing' oils at high rpms to redline. I guess any 30 or 10W-40 or 15W-40 oil will do for the sedate drive. Just stay away from API-SL or SM rated oils. My experience with SM rated is a bit less power but more noise and vibration at high rpm. No catastrophic results because I've only used one for 3500 kms and glad I switched soon.

[Mistermena]

what riko said,

but i run mobil 1. even in my lawnmower. its the bomb

I'm glad that I'm not the only one to use Mobil 1 in there lawnmower! Lol... But I have been known to use Castrol EDGE 507 00 spec to! Now I'm being really sad and have to go and polish it! :D :lol2: