10w30 vs 10w40 for oil consumption..

[leel]

Will 10w40 really help with oil consumption( compaired to 10w30 of the same brand,weather it be conventional or synblend or syn),or will the VII break down and just not help?

 

[TallPaul]

I tried 10w40 in the Aerostar which consumes a quart every 1300 miles and it didn't seem to help, though I did not give it a long try, not even an OCI. Might help. Thicker should reduce it some.

I think maybe better is straight weight, SAE 30 or SAE 40 (which you could easily do in OK summers).

Do you get blue smoke from the tailpipe? How much consumption?

I finally decided to just live with the Aerostar's consumption. One thing nice about it is that you get to play with oil every 500 to 1000 miles to top up. Not all that bad a deal, and since you are adding so much fresh oil, you can extend the OCI some. I am limited to about 5000 miles with the Aerostar, though, because that is one year.

 

[mechtech2]

It takes time and heat to break down an oil.
If you are burning it or leaking it,it is not first on the list of oil worries.

Thicker oil has been used for years to attenuate oil use in automobile engines. It can help.

 

[leel]

No oil leaks. No blue smoke. The only sign of oil consumption is on the dip stick. It has been using 1 qt about 700 to 1000 miles,it veries from time to time. I'll probably try 30wt for summer and use 10w40 or 10w30 in winter.This car has more than paid for its self w/250,000 on the the clock, with only maintinance work on the engine(however it has had 3 trannies) and using what ever oil it has had put in it over its life(syn,syn blend,dino,hm).

 

[TallPaul]

That's quite a bit of consumption. I would try a straight 40 for this summer. Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil comes in SAE 40. NAPA should sell a SAE 40 also. If it doesn't get below about 15F much in your area, you could run a 15w40 for winter.

What has been done to try reducing consumption? I think some have reported reduced consumption after running some product that reconditions seals (in the case of leaky valve seals), or a product that cleans out gunk in the case of sticky rings.