Changing oil intervall on modern Landcruisers

[Surfy]

I didnt remember in which community comes the suggestion to change oil on my africa trip at all 5000 km. But i dont heard it only one time.

When i talk about my travel plans, many suggests to take enough oil with me.

We will crossing africa, from switzerland to southafrica - over the west.

My normal interval for changing oil is 15`000km, and i guess that we will use 16`000km on our trip.

Im not so technical skilled - but why should the engine work should be more in africa, than in center of europe?

I often drive on the german highway - and then over 200km/h (yes, there are land cruisers that are able to) - but true, its a mix from city, bigger streets and highway. In Switzerland we have many hills, up and downs - so the revs are higher too sometimes.

Now i dont see a higher workload for the engine, when we drove on more or less dirttracks, mud or sand passages, mostly with a speed of much below of 100 km/h.

So,

- which interval of changing oil should be good?
- why does i have to change more often than at home?

Maybe you can explain it to me

Currently i had planned to take 2-3l oil with me, and do changing oil back at home.

Surfy

[docsherlock]

I'd stick to the manufacturer recommendation about oil changes and filter also; use synthetic oil of the right grade and don't worry about it. There is a helluva lot of BS on the internet about oil changes - stick with Toyota's service schedule - they designed and built the bloody thing.

[JulianVoelcker]

The recommendation is to change the oil more often when operated in dusty environments. Air filters keep most of the rubbish out however a lot of finer dust can still get through which will increase engine wear.

Toyota Gibralter Stockholdings who supply a lot of Land Cruisers to NGOs operating around the world recommend changing the oil every 5k km.

As a guide we normally recommend that the customers take enough for one oil change and then to top their stock as they travel and pass dealers.

Toyota as rule supply a good 10/40 semi synthetic that is more than adequate. Going fully synthetic will be a little pointless if changing the oil so often.

Actually the Toyota Gibralter Stockholdings maintenance info is quite handy - you can pick it up at Maintenance and then follow the links at the top.

[docsherlock]

"Toyota Gibralter Stockholdings who supply a lot of Land Cruisers to NGOs operating around the world recommend changing the oil every 5k km."

Er, isn't that a Toyota recommendation?

My Chrysler has different oil change schedules for different kinds of use, so this is quite normal. Point being that the manufacturer usually advises what the service interval is for different kinds of use.

Under hard use, synthetic oil better protects the engine, IMHO, although I agree the main advantage is that the oil degrades less with time and mileage than mineral oil.

[Surfy]

Thanks for your Input. I still not see the reason of a "higher workload"

The Snorkel should help to suck cleaner air than normal too. In another community someone means - that the higher sulfur portion in the fuel - will make that the oil goes worse.

One questions - many answers.

[tacr2man]

to add to your confusion ,
Toyotas tend to be overspecced for service , this does have some advantages in the longevity, reliability areas , and when newer keeps their warranty claims down . I know personally of a L/crusr diesel operated in australia that was run without any servicing for 84,000 kms at which point the oil in the sump was that thick it was unable to be sucked up by the lube pump and it ran a big end . I had to recover and repair it .
Changing oil at 5k km is frankly ridiculous with modern oils and engine efficiency , early diesel landrovers running old mineral oil were doing double that without any problem . With modern synthetics even allowing for low grade diesel contamination 10-12k km intervals will be more than adequate . You are on a overland drive not operating in an underground saltmine . JMHO&E

[redneck]

Marine, plant and generators all base their service intervals on hours run rather than distance travelled (generators are not for obvious reasons).
100 miles travelled on the the Autobahn is a lot less arduous than a 100miles across the desert and significantly different in engine hours. Therefore the service intervals are different.
As already stated though synthetic oils are far better at particle retention and take much longer to break down.

Personally I would be looking at doing at least one oil/filter change on your trip, based on your planned mileage.

p.s. I have seen generators on boats, based in the middle east, that have been destroyed by the dust, even though they were serviced at the recommended intervals.

[graysworld]

Hi,

My two pennies worth....Oil is a lot cheaper than a new engine. it is easy to change and you can do it anywhere. It is available everywhere (maybe not synthetic) so why not change it more frequently? It will be one of your cheapest expenses. Think how much you will be spending on fuel and !

Graeme

[Griffdowg]

The other question is what engine oil will you find locally? If you don't take some good stuff with you then you will likely only be able to pick up cheap crap or overpriced from the main dealer. If your running questionable quality oil then change more frequently.

Something else nobody has mentioned but maybe worth noting is that excessive oil temperatures can degrade oil quicker and its not difficult to overwork a LC in West Africa.

I suppose it all depends if you plan to keep your LC for a long long time or not.

G

[Honybadger]

Another thing to consider, is that it's always worth carrying a sump worth of oil with you in case of problems. We had the front prop come off our and beat s**t out of the oil filter, luckily without loosing all our oil.
Carrying that if you reach somewhere selling decent oil you can then just change it.

[rclafton]

Doesn't quality of fuel also come into the equation - high sulfer diesel will quickly use up the addative package in the oil (i'll try and find the post from our resident oil professional on the Iveco 4x4 group and see if he minds it being reposted)

[rclafton]

Originally Posted by Surfy

Thanks for your Input. I still not see the reason of a "higher workload"

The Snorkel should help to suck cleaner air than normal too. In another community someone means - that the higher sulfur portion in the fuel - will make that the oil goes worse.

One questions - many answers.

Low box, sand , slow running at high revs means that oil may be working at higher temperatures, this may damage it

[Griffdowg]

Originally Posted by Honybadger

Another thing to consider, is that it's always worth carrying a sump worth of oil with you in case of problems. We had the front prop come off our and beat s**t out of the oil filter, luckily without loosing all our oil.
Carrying that if you reach somewhere selling decent oil you can then just change it.

Yes, I forgot, this happened to us. The oil cooler pipes rattled off during a set of nasty corrugations in Morocco and we dropped 6 litres... I was only carrying 3

managed to flag a vehicle and pick up 10 litres of shell from a garage but it could easily have been worse. we were back on the road in a few hours.

Wont let that happen again!

G

[laplander]

I suggest that you carry oil for 2 changes, I have poked an oil pan middle of no where...fix it with plastic padding chemical metal...but due the slight leaking ended up using everything that I carried with me....

besides in hot climate engini oil can get thinner -> oil consumtion goes up

ps. have you checked the cost of Carnet for the newer cars, up to 4 times the value of the vehicle....deposited in cash....

[bigjl]

New to the forum and doing some generalised research as I want to drive the Ghana next year from the UK.

During a holiday in Ghana in August we were looking at the idea of buying a double cab for use there.

The oil change interval for an African spec L200 is 5000km.

Due partly to the dust.

But as already mentioned above the high sulphur content of the fuel leads to TBN depletion.

From my research TBN drops much slower with low sulphur fuel.

Unfortunately i never visited the Toyota dealer when over there so can't say what the oil change interval is for a LC.

But the interval is also 5000km on the Pajero and Pajero Sport.

I would definately change the oil at something like 5000km intervals rather than do the entire 16k on one. I change the oil in my Pathfinder anywhere between 6000 miles and 9000 miles in the UK. Though as Nissan advise 18000 miles I do sometimes leave the filter on for two oil change intervals.

I am about to send off some used oil samples for analysis soon.

I would have no issues with leaving an oil filter on for 16000km's but changing the oil every 5/6000 km's.

As others have said.

Oil is less than an engine.

I would also take my own oil as i have noticed that oil is expensive in Ghana and they use some oil that has been filtered! Not sure how they replace the additives and reinstate the TBN.

Some good oil related info over on Bobistheoilguy forum.