Gray motor oil

[Chowder]

Hi all,

I just picked up my '03 Celica GT-S 2 nights ago and this morning I opened the hood to familiarize myself with the engine setup. I pulled out the engine oil dipstick to check the level. When I wiped the dipstick clean with a tissue, I noticed that there was what appeared to be gray metal particles mixed in with the oil. Should I be concerned and change the oil immediately, or should I hold out for the 1000 mile mark?

BTW, I have 250 miles on the odo, and been driving like a granny.


TIA,

Chowder

[Apexi]

nope, thats perfectly normal on a new engine, wait till 3,000-4,000 miles to change the oil, or whenever they told you to do so

[uansari]

Change out the oil no later than 1000 miles...a lot of people will tell you that 3000 miles is fine, but the sooner you change it after it gets dirty, the better...think about it, less wear on the engine...your car will love you for it...

When I bought my first car, which was new, I noticed the same thing, and changed out the oil at around 500 miles. Then at 1200 miles, I noticed the particles again, so I changed the oil again. After that, it didn't come back, so I went to 3000 mile intervals. I never had a problem with that motor for the 50k miles I had it for...

Usman

[Chowder]

Thanks all for your info. I think I too will change the oil at 500 and again at 1000. 3000 mile intervals thereafter.

Awesome Board!

Chowder

[Apexi]

no, changing at 500 and 1000 is definetly a bad idea, talk to toyota before you do this, there is a reason why you keep the engine oil in there for a long time, im telling you, your making a big mistake changing it before 3000miles!!!!

[jdm-style]

i changed my oil right when i hit 1000 miles, never had a problem with the engine ever since. i've had my car since april 1, 2001 with 42,000 miles. No problems what so ever

[richmds]

Toyota R&D guy told me himself that you dont have to change oil early but changing at 1000 miles will not do anything bad, just waste money (in his opinion).
Also there is no such thing as break in oil if that is what you are getting at.

Originally posted by Chowder
Thanks all for your info. I think I too will change the oil at 500 and again at 1000. 3000 mile intervals thereafter.

Awesome Board!

Chowder

[Chowder]

The only reason I was concerned about the oil was that I have read in other forums and newsgroups that there are guys that change the oil right after they pick up their new car on their way home. They justify this by saying that the factory uses cheap oil.

Oh well, I'll call and check with 3 dealers and see what they say about it.

Thanks all,

Chowder

[uansari]

I'd do that...my Toyota service manager told me that it shouldn't damage anything to leave the oil in until 1000miles, but that it definitely wouldn't hurt to change it earlier...personally, when you spend money on a car...$25 is not much more...

Usman

[Vroom_Vroom]

did my first oil change at around 1000mi...

[CarbonB_Celica]

Apexi, do you use synthetic or conventional...? 1k miles on synthetic is a bit fast :p

[SilverIce]

I agree 100% with Apexi. It's not a matter of "break in oil," but it is wise to keep the original oil for the first 3000 miles. The idea behind it is actually the very reason you are wanting to change it so soon. The grey stuff you see is metal shavings. Now, in an established engine, this would not be good. But in a new engine, these shavings help wear the engine components properly and smooth them out helping them seat properly.

Change your oil the first time at 3000 miles. When you change it, use REGULAR DYNO OIL!! Change it again after another 3000 miles, which would be 6000 miles on the odometer. On your second actual oil change, which would be the 3rd time oil has been put into your engine (counting the stock oil as the first time) change to synthetic.

I have spoke to several mechanics at various toyota dealerships. I decided to have my first oil changes done there to see if they would try to make money off me. I went in and asked for an oil change at 1000 miles (which I wasn't actually going to do) and asked them to use sythetic. The mechanic told me he wouldn't change my oil. I asked him why. He told me what I already knew...that I needed to leave the oil in. This same thing happened again in relation to sythetic switch the first change. Now, he could easily have said ok and changed it and made money. But instead he chose to tell me not to do it. That in itself says something.

Also, keep a check on oil levels constantly. If there are gaps in the valves etc and they haven't seated properly, you will lose minor amounts of oil. Once oil levels stop fluctuating, you can pretty much be assured your engine is seated properly. Keep in mind, our engines are ran before they every get inside the vehicle. They have to be tested before they go into the car.

[cynic74]

So, I just picked up a 2k GTS (its a tiny bit faster then my '88 Corolla ; ) w/ 37k mi on it. My question is: how can I determine if it has synthetic or traditional petroleum oil in it? Just by looking? And if it does have regular oil in it, should I just change it myself and put in synthetic? Thanks in advance.

-Jeremy (cynic74)

One mod and counting!
S2000 Ant.

[GTS808]

Originally posted by Apexi
no, changing at 500 and 1000 is definetly a bad idea, talk to toyota before you do this, there is a reason why you keep the engine oil in there for a long time, im telling you, your making a big mistake changing it before 3000miles!!!!

I changed my oil at 1000 miles and haven't had any problems. I almost have 30k on my car now and still going strong. I did the same thing on my previous car as well and had no problems for the 6 years I had the car.

[Apexi]

its like grinding the gears in a stick car, will the car still run perfectly fine and continue to run fine for awile? yes, but is it good for the tranny? no....

[GTS808]

If it was really something that you shouldn't do, don't you think you would be given something telling you not to do it when you buy the car?

[Apexi]

most salespersons should tell you this, or, look in your matenience schedule, it should say when your first appt should be, milewise i mean,,what does it say? 1,000miles or 3k?

[GTS808]

that doesn't mean it's the worst thing you could do if you change your oil at 1000 miles or less. If there really was a danger to do that there would be specific warnings about it. Did you also know that the dealer maintenance schedule and the actual manufacturer schedule is different? The oil in the car when you buy it is no different than any non synthetic oil that you buy in the stores. There is no such thing as a special "break in" oil.

[Apexi]

i never claimed it was special oil, but you should keep it in there for awile, 3k, its a new car, if the shavings cause a prob, which they wont, use the warranty, keep your reciepts, and you'll have no probs...there is no damn reason to change it at 1k

[GTS808]

Originally posted by Apexi
no, changing at 500 and 1000 is definetly a bad idea, talk to toyota before you do this, there is a reason why you keep the engine oil in there for a long time, im telling you, your making a big mistake changing it before 3000miles!!!!

Hmmmmmmm...so why do you seem so insistent that it's a bad thing to do in this post?

[Apexi]

dude, it is not good for your engine, just cuz you do something doesent mean its ok, call up any toyota dealer in your area and they will tell you the exact same thing, leave it the **** in there