Best oil for an oil burner?

[OceanRuns]

Originally Posted By: Silk
The old L300 was very prone to burning oil, usually vavle guides. I'd run a 20W-50 or 15w40, but it'll still use oil. They only just stopped selling those here, they were the cheapest van you could get. For frontal impact, for obvious reasons.


These vans are very rare in America. I seem to see them more in movies/TV shows filmed overseas. Interesting that they had such a long run.

Other people mentioned the 3.0 burning oil as well. It seems Mitsubishi's of that era didn't have the best valve guides.

 

[Ramblejam]

Why not take a look and see what's going on? Pop the valve cover...

Have the valve guides slipped-in so far that the seal cannot be attached? If the seal is no longer attached to the guide and the guide has slipped into the head, it's not a problem any oil is going to fix.

 

[Nickdfresh]

I'd try Pennzoil High Mileage 10w40 first, then 20W-50 in the hotter months if that doesn't slow it...

 

[OceanRuns]

I should investigate. I've never done such a repair, but you're right it would be good to know what's going on.

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Why not take a look and see what's going on? Pop the valve cover...

Have the valve guides slipped-in so far that the seal cannot be attached? If the seal is no longer attached to the guide and the guide has slipped into the head, it's not a problem any oil is going to fix.

 

[OceanRuns]

How about 15w40 MaxLife Diesel?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Valvoline-Heavy-Duty-with-Max-Life/49660457

Or a 20w-50 like Castrol GTX (also at WalMart).

5 quart jug on sale for 15 bucks.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Castrol-GTX-20W50-Motor-Oil-5-qt/17253550

 

[Gene K]

Wal-Mart Supertech Universal 15W40 for $9.44 gallon.

Not going to stop it but will slow it a little and it's cheap.

Fill'er up with gas and add a quart of oil.
You Wil get so tired of waiting on it to die.

 

[OceanRuns]

Originally Posted By: Gene K
Wal-Mart Supertech Universal 15W40 for $9.44 gallon.

Not going to stop it but will slow it a little and it's cheap.

Fill'er up with gas and add a quart of oil.
You Wil get so tired of waiting on it to die.


Hope it goes for some time still

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
These vans are very rare in America. I seem to see them more in movies/TV shows filmed overseas. Interesting that they had such a long run.

Other people mentioned the 3.0 burning oil as well. It seems Mitsubishi's of that era didn't have the best valve guides.


Not so much the guides, but the seals. The seals go hard and brittle, and shrink away from the stem. Not only Mitsi had the problem, but maybe engine design put more oil in that area and caused the oil use. I know I've pulled valve seals from all Japanese engines of that era, and they've just snapped like they were bakelite. Also the first of the low ring tension engines, we could never get a successful result in a re ring job on engines of this era, dry assembly is the trick.

The Misubishi L300, Toyota Hi Ace and similar vans from the other Japanese car makers are the vehicle of choice for builders, plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen here, usually diesel powered, they take a lot of abuse and only fixed when they stop.

 

[OceanRuns]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted By: Silk
Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
These vans are very rare in America. I seem to see them more in movies/TV shows filmed overseas. Interesting that they had such a long run.

Other people mentioned the 3.0 burning oil as well. It seems Mitsubishi's of that era didn't have the best valve guides.


Not so much the guides, but the seals. The seals go hard and brittle, and shrink away from the stem. Not only Mitsi had the problem, but maybe engine design put more oil in that area and caused the oil use. I know I've pulled valve seals from all Japanese engines of that era, and they've just snapped like they were bakelite. Also the first of the low ring tension engines, we could never get a successful result in a re ring job on engines of this era, dry assembly is the trick.

The Misubishi L300, Toyota Hi Ace and similar vans from the other Japanese car makers are the vehicle of choice for builders, plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen here, usually diesel powered, they take a lot of abuse and only fixed when they stop.

 

[Atesz792]

Seen someone mention monograde 40. That would slow it down for sure and be perfectly OK in CA.
Any of the name brands would be OK I think.

 

[SilverC6]

I'd use any 20W-50.

Shouldn't be any worries about cold or infrequent starts.

At some point, you should really consider a rebuild or just park it.

Sounds like more sooner than later from your description.

 

[Jimzz]

Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
A cheap but decent SN in the weights mentioned is OK. How much oil does it use?


Quite a bit. I haven't quantified it exactly. It has a yellow low oil level light that comes on when the oil reaches the low mark, which is a nice feature for an oil burner lol. It's like a quart every few hundred miles, if not more.


I take back my 15w40 recommendation. At that rate of usage I would go with a 20w50.

Change it with High mileage Castrol or Valvoline Maxlife 20w-50 and then top off with the cheapest 20w-50 as it burns.

 

[fdcg27]

Well, you know what opinions are like and everybody has one.
My personal pick would be Maxlife 15w40, which would be fine all year round anywhere in Cali except for the higher elevations.
Like her sister vans from Toyota and Nissan, the Mitsus are pretty rare.
These were Japanese commercials pressed into US pax sales as an emergency response to the killer Chrysler minivans of the time. The Nissan van was so bad that Nissan tried to buy all of them back.
Anyway, the old beast does look really nice and rust-free. If you like it and it drives well, just replace the valve guide seals, a known weakness of Mitsu engines over many years.
There can't be more than a double handful of these things left running in this country, so think of your efforts as historic preservation.

 

[Branson304]

The best oil for an oil burner is the cheapest oil you can get.

 

[OceanRuns]

All done. Went with Castrol high-mileage 20w-50.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
All done. Went with Castrol high-mileage 20w-50.

Probably a good choice.
Please let us know how it goes.