Oil System Cleaner?

2019 2.7:

Any thoughts on Oil System Cleaners? Which is best?

 

Waste of money. Regular maintenance will supersede and trump all bullshit additives and cleaners.

 

I bought mine with 50,000 miles, so not real sure of maintenance history. 65,000 miles now. Recently got a cold start rattle. Very random and intermittent, but kinda harsh. Happens maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Was thinking oil control valve or filter or maybe timing chain tensioners could be a little clogged. I can post the noise if y’all can help. Toyota can’t lol

 

I've used sefoam in the crankcase in my Wrangler. 1oz per qt of oil then put 500 miles on it. Never had a problem. Seen you tube videos of users opening up motors to show the difference. Never seen it first hand though.

 

https://youtu.be/9cWTJ8IpLtQ

 

BG EPR. you can find it on Amazon, works great. it really does help remove containments inside the crankcase/piston rings (they claim). Used it several times on several things with great results

 

Does the 2.7 have a side mounted oil filter ? If so perhaps the anti drain back portion of the filter is working . Try OEM filter. Years ago on a 2008 Corolla I had, I read about the oil control valve filter. So I googled where it was. It was under a 10 mm bolt on the head. I removed it and it was a tiny mesh screened filter. It was clean. Perhaps yours is clogged. I personally would swap the filter first. Pass on the snake oil additives. Good luck.

 

Put engine oil in the crankcase, nothing else.

Spend your money on a quality filter like OEM Toyota or WIX and any major brand of oil in the recommended viscosity, OEM Toyota oil is good and usually fairly priced at the dealer too. Change them in a timely manner.

 

Ester based oils are known for cleaning ability. You could try an oil change with Red Line 0W-20 and see if it does anything for you. More than likely not, but it shouldn't hurt either.

 

There are two types of filter media- cellulose and synthetic. Synthetic is reported to be better. OEM filters use cellulose. Wix filters use both media type but their XP filters are made of synthetic media. The TRD OEM filter is synthetic.

 

IMO, a quality oil filter is the most important component to engine oil protection providing you are using the correct oil weight. Contamination is your enemy and the best oil filter you can find will be your friend. Don’t forget about using a quality engine air filter too.

 

Filters guard against particulates. I don't think that's what we're talking about.

 

True, I just threw in some additional information for free.

 

What oil are you using ? How frequently have you changed it ? Does it look black after 500-1000 miles in the engine ?

 

You'll get a lot of opinions about oil system cleaners but very little scientific evidence both for or against them. Technically, the good ones have been proven to work however the results might be minimal. Modern oil is unlikely to cause any issues so regular maintenance and a good filter should be all you need.
I would trust BGR, Amsoil and Liqui Moly to name a few. I spent years at a dealership and I saw BGR clean out some nasty gunk on neglected engines. But it's hard to say if that gunk was actually causing any issues, and those engines were probably neglected. A lot of sludge will end up in the bottom of the oil pan so dropping the pan after doing the cleaner is the best way to get things really clean.

 

I had the same thoughts. The previous owner did not use OEM filter, and I have no idea what oil they used because it was purchased from a dealer. But no noise then or for 15k miles. Even I was using Valvoline blend oil and Valvoline filters for the first 3-4 changes at 3,000 miles. When it developed this noise, I researched and went to Toyota for an oil change using OEM filter and full synthetic oil. That being said, I think the noise is happening less often. So, maybe it is slowly taking care of my issue. Don’t know. But I will be using only Toyota OEM filter and full synthetic oil from now on. Hope this goes away, because when it happens, it is harsh.

My noise, on random cold starts every 2-3 weeks, with no common reason:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=omdVetV1nYs&feature=share

 

Go OEM for the win. Oil brand / type is not causing a rattle. Its the anti drain valve in the filter itself.

 

But it’s still doing it, with the Toyota OEM filter / anti drain back valve. Just seems not as often.

 

BG MOA is really good stuff as well.