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3L Fuel Economy Observations and Questions

Tech Talk for Cruiser owners.

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3L Fuel Economy Observations and Questions

Post by spongerx »

I just had my Hilux serviced and noticed somthing interesting with the fuel economy.

I'd thought my fuel and air filters would have been changed as they were at 10,000km each and the fuel economy had gone to crap but they weren't and the only thing changed was the engine oil.

That being said my fuel economy has gone up about 60-75kms per fillup with only an oil change. It's driving a lot more positively too.

The driving around here is very stop and start as it's a small island. There's no highway style driving ie, long periods of time at 100km/h.

Does the oil in these 3L engines degrade that badly per 5000km service interval that it affects fuel economy so much??
The engine oil seems to get sooty pretty quickly in this engine.
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Post by thehanko »

The 3L hammers oil. some oils handle it better than others. 60 - 70L per tank is a big change though.

what kind of ecconomy are you getting all up now?

normally your fuel and air filters get changed far less regularly, say 20k for air filter, fuel filter would depend on how good your fuel is.

I dont notice anywhere near that kind of efficiency change after a service. but my oil looked pretty good when i dropped it out last week.
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Post by trains »

Sounds like your engine should be getting 2500km oil and filter changes.
If you do lots of short driving, the oil never gets up to proper operating temp, and the 3L is a sooty motor.
Rekon an oil change per week for the next month will save your motor.
otherwise the oil, full of soot, and heavy, thick like honey will not lubricate the motor, and you will most likely spin a big end bearing on no4.

Trains

Ps, not surprised at at the fuel economy improvement with an oil change if the oil is thick like that, bet it revs, and runs far better too.
Wait till you give it a clean out with the affore mentioned servicing.
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Post by tweak'e »

fairly typical for 3L.
if your getting that much improvement then obviously your not doing oil changes often enough.

with my 2wd there is a noticeable drop in oil at 4000km, stretch that out to 5000-6000 by driving slower.
these motors are hard on oil and if they are used with crap oil they tend to snap the crank at the rear bearing.
with harsh driving i would be doing 2500km oil changes.
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Post by spongerx »

Interesting. I had some trouble with the engine already at 39,000km. The no 4 connecting rod sheared a bolt head which produced a lovely knocking noise. I heard some comments from the mechs who pulled the engine apart that there seemed to be quite a bit of sludge in the engine. It was always religiously serviced at or before 5000km up to that point and has been since.
Sounds like I might as well just drop the oil at 2500km. If I'm changing oil at half the interval should I change the filter at the same time or just change that every 2nd oil change at the standard 5000km interval?
Would adding a bypass filter help with the soot buildup in the oil?
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Post by trains »

Changing the oil, without changing the oil filter is like changing a babys nappy, without wiping its butt.

A bypass type filter setup would be a great investment.
Especially if you have had issues at 40k which sound soot related.

Definately do the 2500 services from now on mate.

T
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