hey lads,

my 01 tj sports is now very close to 200,000kms. i have been using 5w-50 mobil 1 but in teh cold morning s it ticks like crazy until its warm, thinking its about time to change to 15w-50 oil now that teh eingine is more 'worn'.

Im thinking 5w is just too thin now....

what are your thoughts?

Try it and see? Is there really a need for a thread?

Wack it in and come back to us with your findings.

5w is crazy thin, if its already ticking then its likely to late, you will need new tappets.
only ever change your oil if its loosing oil in ways other than an oil leak, ie, getting into the combuation chambers

Use an engine flush next time you change the oil, and then use a thicker oil. I use 20w-50 in both a 2.6 and a 3.0 L engine with original tappets at over 200,000 km and tappet rattle is not evident unless the car is not used for a week. More frequent changes like every 5,000km can help too.

Try a 10w- oil before a 15w-.
It's a big jump to 15w-.

try using the genuine oil. It helps alot with lifter noise and also use an engine flush before you dump the oil.

You can only try and find out, but I'd recommend doing so. You might find that it will be bit more restirictive in throttle response and high RPM, though.

so whats would you guys reccommend for a th with 307000km`s ?

20W-50 lol
If you are really concerned about oil, put a pressure gauge on your car. Then experiment with different oil grades. You want the pressure to build up quickly on startup, yet maintain pressure at high temperature, revs and load, and keep reasonable pressure at hot idle. Unless you do this you are just guessing or expressing personal preference.

270,000ks on the clock still using 0-40 thank you very much, no problems at all, no oil consumption, no smoke, car runs perfect. (i have been using it since 0ks when i bought my car brand new)

well, 20 mins with oil flush, then 15w-50 oil... ALL FIXED, iddles silently now. :-)

i noticed that about 12-13 mins into the oil flush cycle the tapping noise disappeared, it was obviously something that was stuck, then put new oil in and its quiet as ever now. :-)

I was a bit cautious aswell, but i had no problems so far, if the car starts drinking oil ill go thicker. Its not $30 dollar oil, its about $100 for 5 litres. Oh yes & i also change it every 15,000

well, 20 mins with oil flush, then 15w-50 oil... ALL FIXED, iddles silently now. :-)

i noticed that about 12-13 mins into the oil flush cycle the tapping noise disappeared, it was obviously something that was stuck, then put new oil in and its quiet as ever now. :-)

Yes, a good oil flush will do that, I noticed the same thing. Also when you drain the oil after it is as thin as water! I use Nulon engine flush, bottle warns not to rev the engine, so it obviously does something to the oil. What did you use?

Yes, a good oil flush will do that, I noticed the same thing. Also when you drain the oil after it is as thin as water! I use Nulon engine flush, bottle warns not to rev the engine, so it obviously does something to the oil. What did you use?

i used nulon, i put it in my casr before i drove to my dads work, but drove really carefully and kept it under 1500rpm... then let it sit for another 10 mins once i got there. It was amazing, the tapping dissapeared slowly until it was completely gone about 13 mind afterwards. Yeah it was amazing when i got the oil out, it was literally as thin as water and my dad said, gees that oil flush does an awesome job, and he is a mechanic of 45 years.

There are 2 schools of thought on the thick/thin oil subject - one says use a thicker oil which builds pressure up quick and maintains pressure....the other says use thin oil which flows rapidly to the end of the oil line when cold.
I've always used 20W50 or before that was invented 40 or 50 grade straight oils (last 50 years) in all my cars but lately I've been tempted to use a much thinner oil.....mainly for the less friction factor plus the fact that it flows much more freely. Never believed in oil flushes either but from what I've read above they have something to offer.
Very interesting discussion.

Remember guys the first digit refers to cold flow density and the second number refers to operating temp density, so the 0-40 is fine as its low viscosity when cold aids quick startup circulation, and its higher viscosity when warm helps with oil pressure etc.. oils used on here are to thick in my opinion. i used 5/30w in the old 3.5 and never had it tick once. ive only just tried 10/40w in the new car and this is as thick as i would go. but thats just me, and for all opinions there will be supportive arguments /proof. use what you believe is working well and giving you peace of mind, oils are so good these days its hard to find a bad one really.

I just put in some Penrite HPR 10 (10W-50 Semi Synth). Car seems to be running fine. There was some ticking noise when the mechanic changed it 5000k ago, so I drained his and put this in.

So I am still not quite clear... is the HPR 10 a thick or thin oil, its a little confusing...

Thick or thin? Depends on the temperature, thin when cold, thick when hot. lol

If you really want "peace of mind" install a pressure gauge, and see how the oil pressure performs under different conditions. There are no bad oils, if you ignore misuse of single grade oils and oil meant for other engine applications, like Diesel, or aviation oils. lol