I'd do multiple piston soaks and continue using something like Rislone in the oil to clean the rings.
'04 Mazda 6S excessive oil consumption
- Thread starter EPS21
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Hi all, thanks for the quick replies and useful advice in here.
More about the warranty, it's a 6 month/5k mile one so I still have around 2k miles left on that. I did go to one shop about the leak initially, but from what they told and from how its worded, it seems to only cover catastrophic failure of certain internal components of powertrain, engine is included. Now I don't know if this is worth trying to pursue, or running the engine real low natually from oil loss outside the OCI, however reading about the warranty company and how much they weasel out of doing any work, not sure if its worth the risk to try to blow up the engine, along with having my only vehicle out of commission for god knows how long that could take.
I'll try a heavier 5w/10w-30 and aforementioned additives for next change, that Valvoline Maxlife the consensus of best high mileage oils? I see the Castrol variants often too, dunno which brands are best or just a matter of opinion. Oil pan gasket too maybe since I have to drain the oil anyways and is probably crusty, the small leak does come from there but can't verify that is cause of leak. Any recommendations on a filter too? If this thing is the case of doing a perpetual oil change might as well get a good one.
Also mixing in some diesel and running the engine a while like someone mentioned earlier does that work? Sounds a bit terrifying to try
More about the warranty, it's a 6 month/5k mile one so I still have around 2k miles left on that. I did go to one shop about the leak initially, but from what they told and from how its worded, it seems to only cover catastrophic failure of certain internal components of powertrain, engine is included. Now I don't know if this is worth trying to pursue, or running the engine real low natually from oil loss outside the OCI, however reading about the warranty company and how much they weasel out of doing any work, not sure if its worth the risk to try to blow up the engine, along with having my only vehicle out of commission for god knows how long that could take.
I'll try a heavier 5w/10w-30 and aforementioned additives for next change, that Valvoline Maxlife the consensus of best high mileage oils? I see the Castrol variants often too, dunno which brands are best or just a matter of opinion. Oil pan gasket too maybe since I have to drain the oil anyways and is probably crusty, the small leak does come from there but can't verify that is cause of leak. Any recommendations on a filter too? If this thing is the case of doing a perpetual oil change might as well get a good one.
Also mixing in some diesel and running the engine a while like someone mentioned earlier does that work? Sounds a bit terrifying to try
Originally Posted By: EPS21
Hi all, first time poster and I have a problem with this car I obtained some 4kish miles ago in February. It's a 04 mazda 6s with 183k miles on it now.
I'm a oil noob as well and don't know what brands are best or what can help alleviate this, the oil change it did have was with standard 5w-20 Pennzoil motor. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks.
NO WAY is 5w-20 STANDARD for an 04 engine....way too thin, particularly Pennzoil. Most likely 5w-30 was what the engine calls for...check the manual....heck, check the filler cap.
Anyway...moving to 5w-30 Maxlife is the first move I'd make...I'd go so far as to dump the remaining 5w-20, leave the filter, and add the Maxlife now....
...and stop thinking the worst...be positive, and...
Good luck.
Hi all, first time poster and I have a problem with this car I obtained some 4kish miles ago in February. It's a 04 mazda 6s with 183k miles on it now.
I'm a oil noob as well and don't know what brands are best or what can help alleviate this, the oil change it did have was with standard 5w-20 Pennzoil motor. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks.
NO WAY is 5w-20 STANDARD for an 04 engine....way too thin, particularly Pennzoil. Most likely 5w-30 was what the engine calls for...check the manual....heck, check the filler cap.
Anyway...moving to 5w-30 Maxlife is the first move I'd make...I'd go so far as to dump the remaining 5w-20, leave the filter, and add the Maxlife now....
...and stop thinking the worst...be positive, and...
Good luck.
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Originally Posted By: EPS21
I'll try a heavier 5w/10w-30 and aforementioned additives for next change, that Valvoline Maxlife the consensus of best high mileage oils?
Also mixing in some diesel and running the engine a while like someone mentioned earlier does that work? Sounds a bit terrifying to try
If you are in western WA, run 10w30. It is going to be more robust with a stouter base oil than a 5w. If you are not routinely starting your car below 10F, you cannot see a difference. As to oil, the last time I tore into VOAs and PDS, I settled on M1 10w30 HM as my choice, and it has worked well. If you want to do short changes, you can use the syn blend and save a few dollars. The biannual rebates on the M1 also make it very cheap if you shop then and buy a few 5qt jugs, cheaper then even the maxlife blend (comes out to $11/5 qt usually). The valvoline FS maxlife 10w30 is likely just as good as the M1, though. I do not recall HTHS but the Noack was like 6%, remarkable.
The kerosene/diesel flush does clean up engines and is a sound practice. I do not believe it will have any impact on a ring issue and has not on my vehicle. Replace 1 qt of oil in the sump with kerosene and idle it for 15 minutes, then drain.
Have you discussed known issues on this engine at a good Mazda forum as recommended? This should be the next step before taking any advice on this thread.
I'll try a heavier 5w/10w-30 and aforementioned additives for next change, that Valvoline Maxlife the consensus of best high mileage oils?
Also mixing in some diesel and running the engine a while like someone mentioned earlier does that work? Sounds a bit terrifying to try
If you are in western WA, run 10w30. It is going to be more robust with a stouter base oil than a 5w. If you are not routinely starting your car below 10F, you cannot see a difference. As to oil, the last time I tore into VOAs and PDS, I settled on M1 10w30 HM as my choice, and it has worked well. If you want to do short changes, you can use the syn blend and save a few dollars. The biannual rebates on the M1 also make it very cheap if you shop then and buy a few 5qt jugs, cheaper then even the maxlife blend (comes out to $11/5 qt usually). The valvoline FS maxlife 10w30 is likely just as good as the M1, though. I do not recall HTHS but the Noack was like 6%, remarkable.
The kerosene/diesel flush does clean up engines and is a sound practice. I do not believe it will have any impact on a ring issue and has not on my vehicle. Replace 1 qt of oil in the sump with kerosene and idle it for 15 minutes, then drain.
Have you discussed known issues on this engine at a good Mazda forum as recommended? This should be the next step before taking any advice on this thread.
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Originally Posted By: EPS21
I'll try a heavier 5w/10w-30 and aforementioned additives for next change, that Valvoline Maxlife the consensus of best high mileage oils?
If your burning a 1/2 qt every 200 miles. Using a different oil isn't likely going to help enough.
I'll try a heavier 5w/10w-30 and aforementioned additives for next change, that Valvoline Maxlife the consensus of best high mileage oils?
If your burning a 1/2 qt every 200 miles. Using a different oil isn't likely going to help enough.
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Originally Posted By: EPS21
Hi all, first time poster and I have a problem with this car I obtained some 4kish miles ago in February. It's a 04 mazda 6s with 183k miles on it now.
I'm a oil noob as well and don't know what brands are best or what can help alleviate this, the oil change it did have was with standard 5w-20 Pennzoil motor. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks.
NO WAY is 5w-20 STANDARD for an 04 engine....way too thin, particularly Pennzoil. Most likely 5w-30 was what the engine calls for...check the manual....heck, check the filler cap.
Anyway...moving to 5w-30 Maxlife is the first move I'd make...I'd go so far as to dump the remaining 5w-20, leave the filter, and add the Maxlife now....
...and stop thinking the worst...be positive, and...
Good luck.
5W20 was standard, we are also a Mazda dealer.
OP, were there any obvious oil leaks? Valve cover, timing cover, and oil pan gasket leaks are really common on those. The PCV valve is on a oil separator in the valley. They never get changed because of how hard they are to access. You will probably also want to do the hoses from the PCV valve to the intake manifold when you have it off, cracks and tears are pretty common.
Originally Posted By: EPS21
Hi all, first time poster and I have a problem with this car I obtained some 4kish miles ago in February. It's a 04 mazda 6s with 183k miles on it now.
I'm a oil noob as well and don't know what brands are best or what can help alleviate this, the oil change it did have was with standard 5w-20 Pennzoil motor. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks.
NO WAY is 5w-20 STANDARD for an 04 engine....way too thin, particularly Pennzoil. Most likely 5w-30 was what the engine calls for...check the manual....heck, check the filler cap.
Anyway...moving to 5w-30 Maxlife is the first move I'd make...I'd go so far as to dump the remaining 5w-20, leave the filter, and add the Maxlife now....
...and stop thinking the worst...be positive, and...
Good luck.
5W20 was standard, we are also a Mazda dealer.
OP, were there any obvious oil leaks? Valve cover, timing cover, and oil pan gasket leaks are really common on those. The PCV valve is on a oil separator in the valley. They never get changed because of how hard they are to access. You will probably also want to do the hoses from the PCV valve to the intake manifold when you have it off, cracks and tears are pretty common.
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Originally Posted By: EPS21
Hi all, first time poster and I have a problem with this car I obtained some 4kish miles ago in February. It's a 04 mazda 6s with 183k miles on it now.
I'm a oil noob as well and don't know what brands are best or what can help alleviate this, the oil change it did have was with standard 5w-20 Pennzoil motor. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks.
NO WAY is 5w-20 STANDARD for an 04 engine....way too thin, particularly Pennzoil. Most likely 5w-30 was what the engine calls for...check the manual....heck, check the filler cap.
Anyway...moving to 5w-30 Maxlife is the first move I'd make...I'd go so far as to dump the remaining 5w-20, leave the filter, and add the Maxlife now....
...and stop thinking the worst...be positive, and...
Good luck.
5W20 was standard, we are also a Mazda dealer.
My apologies....lesson learned...research before posting!
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Originally Posted By: EPS21
Hi all, first time poster and I have a problem with this car I obtained some 4kish miles ago in February. It's a 04 mazda 6s with 183k miles on it now.
I'm a oil noob as well and don't know what brands are best or what can help alleviate this, the oil change it did have was with standard 5w-20 Pennzoil motor. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks.
NO WAY is 5w-20 STANDARD for an 04 engine....way too thin, particularly Pennzoil. Most likely 5w-30 was what the engine calls for...check the manual....heck, check the filler cap.
Anyway...moving to 5w-30 Maxlife is the first move I'd make...I'd go so far as to dump the remaining 5w-20, leave the filter, and add the Maxlife now....
...and stop thinking the worst...be positive, and...
Good luck.
5W20 was standard, we are also a Mazda dealer.
My apologies....lesson learned...research before posting!
Last edited:
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