2007 Accord 2.4L Valve Cover Photos - 45k miles of synthetic oil

[The Critic]

2020 @ 147K miles:

2015 @ 102K miles:

Between 102k-147k, oil and filter were changed every 4-5K using Mobil 1 EP, Amsoil XL or Idemitsu branded synthetic oils except for the current fill, which has been Valvoline Premium Blue Restore. Except for the current fill, the oil and filter were always replaced between 4-5K miles and the oil was topped off whenever it was low; this usually resulted in 1.5-2 qt of top-off between each oil change.

Prior to 102K I think the vehicle received conventional oil by the MM or at 5K intervals.

Based on the pictures I am not seeing any significant reductions in varnish as a result of using synthetic oil.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Looks good

 

[johnnydc]

Looks great. You can eat off of them there cams.

 

[aquariuscsm]

The top picture is what mine looks like. It had GTX according to the records up till about 60K.

What weight of oil have you always used?

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

Looks Good,
Thanks for the Pics.

 

[02zx9r rev2]

So could it be safe to say you Could just use a conventional for 5K mile intervals and have the same results?

 

[gathermewool]

What’s supposed to be impressive or even noteworthy about this and 5k intervals with upwards of 2k in makeup oil?

 

[The Critic]

The top picture is what mine looks like. It had GTX according to the records up till about 60K.

What weight of oil have you always used?

I have used various 20 and 30wts.

So could it be safe to say you Could just use a conventional for 5K mile intervals and have the same results?

I concur.

What’s supposed to be impressive or even noteworthy about this and 5k intervals with upwards of 2k in makeup oil?

Nothing. I wanted to illustrate that for this application, synthetic oil did not remove any built-up varnish (or very little) and conventional oil appears to be adequate.

 

[ChrisD46]

I don't see a serious varnish build up ?

 

[daves87rs]

I’m thinking any SP rated oil is going to be the same for your Accord.....

 

[aquariuscsm]

Which oil did you like the best,W20 or W30?

 

[The Critic]

Which oil did you like the best,W20 or W30?

No preference.

 

[Luftmasse]

The vehicle is spec'd for 5w-20, is mostly synthetic blends or full synythetic. Unless you are using 5w-30 then there is conventional.

No matter what oil brand, it still burns oil.

However, I still use 5w-20 on it, and the engine is still solid. Has 220k+ miles havent done the valve adjustment yet. Not loud and still runs great.

Vacuum reading on the engine at idle, showing steady needle of 22 inhg.

 

[KL31]

Hmm 1.5-2qt makeup oil is a lot considering 5K OCI. Why not go up to a heavier 30 grade like an A3/B4 specced oil or even a 40 grade? I'd rather ignore the instruction manual and consume less oil.

 

[demarpaint]

Based on the pictures I am not seeing any significant reductions in varnish as a result of using synthetic oil.

Looks good!! I wouldn't expect to see a varnish reduction using a good synthetic oil alone, so no surprise there.

 

[henni]

Is there a number 1 missing in title, as in 145k ?

 

[captno4]

Is there a number 1 missing in title, as in 145k ?

Looks to me like the pictures of the engine are 45k miles and 5 years apart. The top pictures were taken in 2020 at 147k and the last set were taken in 2015 at 102k.

 

[MacManus99]

Notice the intake cam, the cam lobe for the right hand side valve has a much higher lift than the cam actuating the left hand side valve. What gives?

 

[Silver]

Looks like more varnish, not less.

 

[OilUzer]

based on your experience, sounds like it's hard to remove varnish once established and best is to avoid or minimize it to begin with.

Assuming that the previous conventional oil caused the varnish ... Would it be safe to say if a good syn (EP or Amsoil) was used from the beginning , we would not have the varnish?