0w40, 5w40, or 10w40?

[mkosem]

Sorry to be beating a dead horse. I think I confused the hell out of everyone with my last post.

My 94 Saturn SL1 with 162k miles likes 40wt oils. I'm just having a hell of a time chosing which one to use. The car does have a small leak and seems like it also burns some oil.

I'm looking at these oils:

Mobil1 0w40
Delvac1 5w40
Amsoil 10w40

Any one of those oils should work fine in this engine. Which one would be the best for a car that likely burns a very small amount of oil and has a small leak(50c piece size drop overnight)?

--Matt

 

[Patman]

I'd lean towards the Amsoil or Delvac, since both of those are probably less likely to thin out.

 

[mkosem]

k. I'm probably gonna get an amsoil bypass filtration system also. Or is there some other one that is better for a similar price?

--Matt

 

[williar]

At this stage of the leaky oil burner's life you'd be throwing good money after bad by using synthetic oil and bypass filters. Just keep it filled with a good 10W30 dino oil (Pennzoil, Chevron, etc) and you'll get all the life out of the car that it has left to give.

Take the money you'll not spend and save it for a down payment.

 

[mkosem]

dood, I don't lose a lot of oil. About 1/2 quart per 1000 miles. The car still has a lot of life in it, I just need to replace the oil pan gasket.

--Matt

 

[BrewCityR]

quote:

---

Originally posted by mkosem:
dood, I don't lose a lot of oil. About 1/2 quart per 1000 miles. The car still has a lot of life in it, I just need to replace the oil pan gasket.

--Matt

---

That would be enough for me not to use synthetic. In a 5000 mile interval, that is 2.5 quarts being added and consumed. ~$13 out the window if Amsoil. Use a stable conventional 10w40 like Pennzoil.

 

[Al]

Even I would have to think about using synthetic in this case. With 1/2 quart per 1K you could even do extended drain with the dino. Guess you would have to evaluate the amount of blowby though

. But if you are bent on the syn-either the Delvac or Amsoil.

 

[mkosem]

hmm, well, would any of those oils be any less volatile than the other? That 1/2 quart loss per 1000 miles is with 10w30 Mobil Drive clean. I havn't really evaluated the loss since I put in the 0w40 that's been in there for a while now. Lemmee check how many miles I have on the interval. I know I havn't added more than 1/2 a quart but I havn't been driving as much lately.

--Matt

 

[mkosem]

ok, I just topped up the oil. I've used just under 1/2 of this quart looking at the side of the bottle. I've gone about 1860 miles. Can the combination of this being synthetic and a 40wt as opposed to a 30wt have made that much of a difference?

--Matt

 

[Justin]

Unless it's really cold where you live, go with some 15w-40 "heavy-duty" dino oil...Rotella, Delo, or Delvac.

Lots of guys/gals say that their oil consumption was reduced when they made the switch.

 

[mkosem]

isn't a 15w cold start weight kinda heavy for a small OHC 4-cylinder engine?

--Matt

 

[unDummy]

I will make the assumption that you want to stick with a synth. I have a couple of higher mileage vehicles that run better on synth and I don't mind the expense. But, I would make an honest effort to locate the leaks. Replace whatever gasket/seal that is needed.

As for the weight choices, use whatever is available cheapest. With 163k miles, anything mechanical could happen.

With my moms Ford, switching from the 5w30 to the 0w40 reduced the oil consumption in half. This is great since I only have to pop the hood half as much as before(once a year 7k mile change interval with 2 topoffs vs 4 before). 2 quarts vs 4 quarts(during a year) and chronic laziness makes it worthwhile.
I can't find Delvac1 here so I will stick with and will recommend the Mobil1 0w40. The 10w40 Mobil1 costs too much.

 

[mkosem]

hmm, anyone else?

--Matt

 

[Eiron]

Matt,
Yes, I'm one of the confused. But I think that's more of a general condition rather than anything caused by your last post. Unfortunately, I also suffer from Male Answer Syndrom. So here goes...

I think I'd go full M1 0W-40 on initial fill, & then top-up with D1300S 15W-40 for the entire interval. That way, I'd feel very comfortable going 6k miles between changes, since the full syn would be in there the entire time but the HD would only be added in small amounts over the remainder of the interval. I also wouldn't feel as though I was pissing a lot of money away by adding 2qts of full syn make-up oil during that time. As a bonus, I think I'd do this year-round since the 0W-40 would depress the low end of the 15W-40 for the winter, & the 15W-40 would bolster the high end of the 0W-40 for the summer.

But again, that's just what I'd do.

 

[Justin]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Greg Netzner:
Matt,
Yes, I'm one of the confused. But I think that's more of a general condition rather than anything caused by your last post. Unfortunately, I also suffer from Male Answer Syndrom. So here goes...

I think I'd go full M1 0W-40 on initial fill, & then top-up with D1300S 15W-40 for the entire interval. That way, I'd feel very comfortable going 6k miles between changes, since the full syn would be in there the entire time but the HD would only be added in small amounts over the remainder of the interval. I also wouldn't feel as though I was pissing a lot of money away by adding 2qts of full syn make-up oil during that time. As a bonus, I think I'd do this year-round since the 0W-40 would depress the low end of the 15W-40 for the winter, & the 15W-40 would bolster the high end of the 0W-40 for the summer.

But again, that's just what I'd do.

---

Don't go mixing the oil together...just use some 15w-40 oil (Rotella T, Delo 400, or Delvac 1300) for the entire drain interval.

...I drain my oil every 3,000 miles as well, so I'll never have a problem with the "dino" oil (for all your extended-drain interval synthetic guys on here.)

Justin.

[ March 12, 2003, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: Justin ]

 

[Spector]

162,000 miles and considering a bypass!!

Whoa> Need a reality check. this is not good common sense unless you will take it off for another car later on

 

[Eiron]

quote:

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Originally posted by Justin:
Don't go mixing the oil together...just use some 15w-40 oil (Rotella T, Delo 400, or Delvac 1300) for the entire drain interval...

---

Justin,
Why not mix? Normally, you find something you like & use it straight. But in this case, there are several variables to consider.

For one, Matt wants to run 6k mi intervals & you don't. M1 will do that easy, but due to the oil loss he sees, it gets kind of expensive to keep "dumping it on the ground." Yes, I think straight D1300S would probably go 6k mi w/o needing a change, but I don't know if Matt has that comfort level.

He's also concerned that 15W dino might be too thick for his engine when it's cold (even though Mobil says it's closer to 10W dino). By having primarily 0W-40 & only adding 15W-40 when it's necessary, he'll keep it flowing freely all the time.

So, considering these factors, I think mixing can be beneficial in this case.

Whoops, I almost forgot:
I agree with Spector about the bypass. If anything, I might try to find a larger full flow. But if it's done this well without a bypass, it may not be economically sound to add one now.

[ March 12, 2003, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: Greg Netzner ]

 

[mkosem]

excellent, perhaps I'll get bypass when I get my ion. topping up with 15w40 D1300S should work great assuming the additive packages are similar.

--Matt

 

[Justin]

quote:

---

Originally posted by mkosem:
excellent, perhaps I'll get bypass when I get my ion. topping up with 15w40 D1300S should work great assuming the additive packages are similar.

--Matt

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That's why I was thinking not mixing...especially in this case.

The Delvac 1300 Super an Mobil1 synthetic has completely different additive packages and were meant to do two seperate things. Although each might work great in an engine, mixing the two together???

I seriously doubt it would cause any problems though....truth be told, whatever you oil(s) you choose to run, your taking better care of your ride than 95% of the people out there!

Justin.

 

[mkosem]

I'm just curious if something like amsoil 10w40 would be less likely to leak as much and less volitile.

--Matt