0w-20 Best for Sludge / Cleaning?

Pennzoil motor oil
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Art_Vandelay

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Are thin oils the best cleaners of all?

Found this tread from 2003 which references a Mitsubishi TSB. Fill with Mobil 1 0w-20 and run at high idle for 30+ minutes to relieve stuck lifters in one of their engines. Surely there were oils with more detergency available. Not to mention the multitude of crankcase additives on the market. Yet the recommendation is to go thin. Perhaps all the sludge prone owners out there should run this viscosity full time if their car allows the spec?

Here's the original quote:

Originally Posted By: Dr. T
The cleaning ability (especially acute cleaning) comes from it's "thin" viscosity. ie. a TSB for Mitsubishi engines which exhibit stuck valve lifters is to drain oil and fill with Mobil 1 0w20 and run for high idle for 30 min. or something in order to clean out sludge/varnish....and then replace with regular oil...
 
I would think that it's a combonation of the thinner oil reaching the upper parts of the engine more quickly and, a good addative/cleaning package...Calicum/Boron?...I think that's right!
 
Waiting for the busload of MMO lovers to arrive.....

If stuck lifters is the issue, using a OTC syn oil for 30 minutes is low on my fix method list.

Seems like a textbook use for the red and black bottle.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I would think that it's a combonation of the thinner oil reaching the upper parts of the engine more quickly...


So 0W20 cleans better during the .03 seconds it takes a 10W30 or 10W40 to reach the "upper parts"?


Come on guys.
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Waiting for the busload of MMO lovers to arrive.....

If stuck lifters is the issue, using a OTC syn oil for 30 minutes is low on my fix method list.

Seems like a textbook use for the red and black bottle.


I'll bite, stuck lifters, MMO rules. 30 minute synthetic oil run, 0W20 or not, IMO won't cut it for lifters that are really clogged up.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'll bite, stuck lifters, MMO rules. 30 minute synthetic oil run, 0W20 or not, IMO won't cut it for lifters that are really clogged up.


X2. I like MMO as well. I've had it bring a stuck ring pack back to life after an overheat condition. I think the viscosity of MMO makes it easier to dispense and use in odd places (like my hair clipper LOL), but in the crankcase, I think it would clean well even if it was based on a 30wt oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I know, I spelled Calcium wrong!


and additive too!
grin2.gif
 
I would never rely on an oil to cure things inside the engine. After all, it's BECAUSE oil is used that we have oil-related problems.

Thus, Auto-RX, MMO, FP/LC, etc...to the rescue.
 
What happens to a thick 20-50 at high running engine temperatures?

answer: It is thinner than 0-20 at cold start up.

conclusion: Thin oils don't clean better.
 
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Are thin oils the best cleaners of all?

Found this tread from 2003 which references a Mitsubishi TSB. Fill with Mobil 1 0w-20 and run at high idle for 30+ minutes to relieve stuck lifters in one of their engines. Surely there were oils with more detergency available. Not to mention the multitude of crankcase additives on the market. Yet the recommendation is to go thin. Perhaps all the sludge prone owners out there should run this viscosity full time if their car allows the spec?

Here's the original quote:

Originally Posted By: Dr. T
The cleaning ability (especially acute cleaning) comes from it's "thin" viscosity. ie. a TSB for Mitsubishi engines which exhibit stuck valve lifters is to drain oil and fill with Mobil 1 0w20 and run for high idle for 30 min. or something in order to clean out sludge/varnish....and then replace with regular oil...



Seems like an awful waste of a quality syn oil. It's only 0.7 cSt shy of a 30wt at 100C. Is the "regular oil" heavier than a 30wt; I doubt it.
The individual giving the "advise" doesn't sound that knowledgeable to me.
 
Originally Posted By: sangyup81
If you want thin then use MMO


remember that mmo is 30% mineral spirits that can free stuck lifters. I used it to quiet a terribly noisy valve train on a suzuki aerio i bought . It was back to normal in less than 5 minutes. I drank the mmo kool aid too. I was a fan before and I am a zeelot of adtives now.
I also red the learn to spel darnell books too..
 
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Are thin oils the best cleaners of all?

Found this tread from 2003 which references a Mitsubishi TSB. Fill with Mobil 1 0w-20 and run at high idle for 30+ minutes to relieve stuck lifters in one of their engines. Surely there were oils with more detergency available. Not to mention the multitude of crankcase additives on the market. Yet the recommendation is to go thin. Perhaps all the sludge prone owners out there should run this viscosity full time if their car allows the spec?

Here's the original quote:

Originally Posted By: Dr. T
The cleaning ability (especially acute cleaning) comes from it's "thin" viscosity. ie. a TSB for Mitsubishi engines which exhibit stuck valve lifters is to drain oil and fill with Mobil 1 0w20 and run for high idle for 30 min. or something in order to clean out sludge/varnish....and then replace with regular oil...



Seems like an awful waste of a quality syn oil. It's only 0.7 cSt shy of a 30wt at 100C. Is the "regular oil" heavier than a 30wt; I doubt it.
The individual giving the "advise" doesn't sound that knowledgeable to me.


Apparently this is a Technical Service Bulletin from Mitsubishi. Has anyone seen the actual TSB or work for Mitsubishi? I'd like to hear more about this.

I posted it for the folks with sludge prone engines. Maybe thin is their best bet as a preventative measure?
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
What happens to a thick 20-50 at high running engine temperatures?

answer: It is thinner than 0-20 at cold start up.

conclusion: Thin oils don't clean better.


I'm sorry, but that simply doesn't follow. Perhaps it's as simple as the engineers (who ought to know their engines better than any of us) want a thin oil in the engine when it's HOT, not cold. So, let's stay apples to apples and oranges to oranges. 0w-20 is much thinner than 20w-50 when they're both cold, and when they're both hot.
 
Originally Posted By: sw99
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I know, I spelled Calcium wrong!


And combonation...


Yeah, I don't use spell check on forums, I just bang on the keys :)
 
No, thin oils are not the best cleaners. That Mistu TSB...why do they call for a thin oil to "clean" the engine? Because somewhere in the original manual, it says not to use any additives. So by them saying "hey, use Auto-Rx!" or "use MMO!" in some TSB years later, they would be going against their own manuals. And the legal ramifications of doing that would be a nightmare.

So they recommend a "thin oil" to "clean" the engine. Thus, a new modern-day fable has been created.

I'm surprised the TSB doesn't mention how to remove sludge from Pennzoil products.
grin2.gif
 
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