1994 Geo & Synthetic.

[1 SX]

Hello gang, a neighbor has a 1994 Geo with the 1.6L and 3 speed automatic.

The car had 69K in dec of 08, when I put 5W30 Pennzoil Synthetic in it, but the thing is, it only has 2 oil changes from 69K to 95K, when i again just changed it out last night, it was very dark and thick.. over this 11K mile O/C 1QT of regular 5 w 30 was added, and 1/2 QT of PP 5W20. the engine does not use really anything.

Will this Pennzoil Plat be able to go the 11K miles? Top off will be made with PP5W30..

I also changed out the transmission fluid with Pennzoil ATF for Dexron 2. The Transmission fluid was also very black, but still see to shift just OK. It now shifts much smoother..

Thanks.

 

[heypete]

It's certainly worth sending the oil and transmission fluid off to the lab for testing. They'll be able to provide far more quantified results than going off color alone.

Pennzoil Platinum is a good oil, but I seem to recall that it wasn't advertised for long drain intervals (though it may well be capable of it -- I may have missed it on their site). Perhaps something designed for the purpose, like Mobil 1 Extended Performance or Castrol EDGE may be more suitable?

As far as I know, transmission fluid should never be black. That is usually an indicator of Bad Things.

Update: Looks like PP 5w30 meets ACEA A5/B5-04, so it should be suitable for "long drain intervals", whatever they define that to be. Source is here and here

 

[1 SX]

Thanks for the reply.

this was the oil color, and i know color means nothing.

Transmission fluid color, Old on left, new on right.

Car is used for many 30 mile one way trips, Cold start ups out side, 50-75% throttle,(you know gut less

) Not to much city. maybe 20%, also not to much idle.
But when you are doing 60MPH, and with a 3 speed, the RPMS are high,I think under 3K but cant tell you how high as there is no RPM gauge. I am just going off of sound from on how it changes from idle to redline.; it sounds like it right in the middle.

 

[bepperb]

I'm not sure the best way to spend 50 dollars on this car is for lab analysis of anything.

That's probably the limit or a bit past it. Would M1 EP or AmsOil SSO be better? Probably. But you're treating this car better than most 94 geo's are getting. There isn't much info on that drivetrain to compare or extrapolate. I doubt you'll get any solid answers, just because there won't be anyone who has had UOA's on that drivetrain (I assume, BITOG is an odd crowd sometimes).

My parents had one when I was in high school. I remember driving three hours to school in it, 75 on the freeway, with the engine just droning. If I still had it, 10,000 mile OCI's sound about right.

 

[heypete]

Interesting. I'm not sure what to say about the transmission fluid, other than "yuck". Was that the original transmission fluid?

As for the oil, what did you use in the vehicle prior to the 69,000 mile mark? How long were your OCIs back then?

It's possible that the PP is just cleaning a bunch of gunk out of the engine that was left by previous oils. A lab would be able to tell you if this was the case (be sure to give them details about what was used previously so they can interpret things better), and how the wear metals and oil chemistry look, and from that they'd be able to recommend a good OCI.

 

[heypete]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
I'm not sure the best way to spend 50 dollars on this car is for lab analysis of anything.


Sorry. I'm a scientist. I get carried away sometimes with these things.

 

[1 SX]

I do not know what was used for the first 60K. the car was bought in Dec of 08with 63K miles. The dealer just changed the oil then.

My guess is it was an older persons car, no marks, no rust, no aftermarket CD player, Factory rims, and low miles. The headlights are still 100% clear and there is no rust under it..

I want to say that the transmission fluid had to be changed once, i realllly hope so.. It did not smell burnt, just used.

The P/S fluid is still very clear, and brake fluid looks decent.

Also, there is No varnish in the oil fill hole, or on the dipstick, nor is there any valve noise or anything engine noise besides the injectors.. the car does not leak a drop.

Also, i would like to send the oil off to see really how good this PP is holding up because i feel like it is being pushed, but they will not spend the $ on something like that. they would of NEVER changed the oil if it was not for me telling them they can go 10K on synthetic, and still have engine protection, and it will not sludge up, and has better cold starting protection yada yada yada,,, LOL. They would not pay the 38$ for regular at juffy lube. (or neither would i for that matter.)

 

[dsmith41]

That transmission fluid is spent for sure. I have heard that there comes a point where it is best to NOT change the transmission fluid, but rather just leave it alone. How do you know if you have reached that point?

As for the PP, look around for some UOAs on here. I remember seeing reports where PP could have gone 10K based on TBN but in some engines that may not be the case. It does seem to be a great oil though. I say do a UOA at 6-7K.

 

[jcwit]

I had a '97 Geo Metro with the 4 cyl. engine and automatic transmission for 5 years, just sold it a few weeks ago.
I did OCI every 5,000 miles and a transmission drain every other oil change. When I first bought it it had 90,000 miles, when I sold it it was headed for 200,000, not quite but getting close.
Every oil change oil was BLACK, every transmission drain and fill fluid was dark. Engine ran fine and gave 40 to 45 MPG on open road. Transmission shifted smooth and worked great.

Just my experience.

 

[addyguy]

PP is good for 10-12k in most apps. It will be fine.

 

[Vilan]

I had a 94 Metro, the 3 cylinder. My trips were quite similar, about 20 miles each way. I was changing the oil every 7500 miles which is what the owner's guide recommends for "normal service". I used whatever dino oil was on sale. I imagine PP could go farther. 11K? Maybe.

I owned it 8 years and never touched the tranny, but mine was manual. Still shifted fine til the day I crashed it.