Changed to Synthetic, Now Burning A Bit Of Oil, Cause?

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LVHospiceRN

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Sep 12, 2004
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Sin City, Las Vegas, NV
I have a 99 Saturn SC2 1.9L that has 45,000 miles on it. 2200 miles ago i changed from Pennzoil 5W-30 to M1 5W-30. Prior to the oil change the car used virually no oil during the 3000 mile OCI. This is the first fill of M1 the car has had, it being a "dino baby" all its life till this last change.

So nothing drive wise has changed. Car driven the same as previously, mostly short drives to work, 6 miles or so in stop and go traffic with 1-2 freeway blasts of around 10-15 miles per week.

The dipstick shows about 1/2 down, previously with Pennzoil the car used no oil. Searching the forums this engine has a reputation as a oil burner. There are no leaks that i can detect and no visible smoke on start up or with the engine running/accelerating.

Your thoughts?

darrell
sin city
 
That Mobil 1 5w-30 is pretty thin stuff. Check out the Oil Tech Bulletin topic at the top of this board. I've had similar experience with this oil and don't use it anymore.
 
I had the same experience when I switched from dino to M1 in my wife's Expedition. I attributed it to a bad PCV valve, but I am not 100% that is the reason. I had since switched back to dino and the 5.4L has not burned any oil over the past 2k miles.

I won't say that the usage was due to the oil or PCV valve, but I have seen other instances where some M1 was used immediately after switching.
 
I have seen it many times when switching to different types of oil that consumption can go up. I would just top off as needed and see if it settles down once the engine has used the oil for a few thousand miles. My Tacoma seems to be soaking up Mobil 1 on it's first interval with it. Not a whole lot , but I did notice it drop a bit faster in the first couple of months.
It shouldn't need a top off until I swap the filter at the 6 month mark.
Performance wise, I can't feel any difference or new noises or behaviors(it runs on big knobby tires so oil is not much of a factor). The last fill was with Motorcraft 5W30 and LC after 20k miles of Valvoline Dino on 6 month intervals. The M1 and LC combo are staying cleaner than the previous fill.

I can't wait to see how it reacts to high humidty, high tempreatures, salty air and a few thousand miles of sand driving in this interval.
shocked.gif
 
quote:
Originally posted by NewGuy:
I had the same experience when I switched from dino to M1 in my wife's Expedition. I attributed it to a bad PCV valve, but I am not 100% that is the reason. I had since switched back to dino and the 5.4L has not burned any oil over the past 2k miles.

I won't say that the usage was due to the oil or PCV valve, but I have seen other instances where some M1 was used immediately after switching.
Click to expand...
The PCV valve was original and i changed it at the same time i did the oil change. Again, consumption not really an issue, not going to use much more than one quart every 4000...just curious what the cause might be.

I intend to run this oil around 4000-5000 and do an UOA analysis on it because, well, just cuz...went to synthetic for better high temp. protection...be interesting to see if oil consumption continues...

I think i am going to replace M1 with German Castol because well...I LIKE elves....

darrell
sin city
 
Most likely your engine doesn't need the higher temp protection of a syn.oil . How often are engines run at even 60% of their max output for any length of time. But a 5w/30 oil in Lost wages is not needed .How often does the temps get to 0 degrees f where the car is operated? Try a 10w/30 and see how it works. Dark Dan got me thinking don't waste your $$$ on an anaylsis on the first syn oil change.

[ April 22, 2005, 07:40 PM: Message edited by: Steve S ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by Steve S:
Most likely your engine doesn't need the higher temp protection of a syn.oil . How often are engines run at even 60% of their max output for any length of time. But a 5w/30 oil in Lost wages is not needed .How often does the temps get to 0 degrees f where the car is operated? Try a 10w/30 and see how it works. Dark Dan got me thinking don't waste your $$$ on an anaylsis on the first syn oil change.
Click to expand...
I agree steve that it probably don't "need" it. Doing it for my piece of mind. Would there really be THAT big of difference between 5W-30 and 10W-30...?

darrell
sin city
 
quote:
Originally posted by 97tbird:
he switched direct from dino to syn, right?

could it be the syn.oil cleaning the "false seals" formed by dino-by products/crud etc?
Click to expand...
Yes i did, car has around 42,5000 on dino oil when i changed. Used about a 1/2 quart in 2200-2300 miles, i just checked it.

Didnt use any on 5W-30 Pennzoil...a peer thru the oil filler cap does show a bit of medium colored varnish on parts i can see...not had the valve cover off...

darrell
sin city
 
Our Saturn did the same thing when we tried M-1 at about the 50,000 mark and has been burning ever since. Bad ring design on these motors. Not sure why the Mobil would seem to initiate this process but with further reading at the Saturn site, I decided the this car lives better on dino oil. No reason to burn expensive oil.
tongue.gif
 
quote:
Originally posted by LVHospiceRN:

quote:
Originally posted by Steve S:
Most likely your engine doesn't need the higher temp protection of a syn.oil . How often are engines run at even 60% of their max output for any length of time. But a 5w/30 oil in Lost wages is not needed .How often does the temps get to 0 degrees f where the car is operated? Try a 10w/30 and see how it works. Dark Dan got me thinking don't waste your $$$ on an anaylsis on the first syn oil change.
Click to expand...
I agree steve that it probably don't "need" it. Doing it for my piece of mind. Would there really be THAT big of difference between 5W-30 and 10W-30...?

darrell
sin city
Click to expand...
Have you ever replaced your PCV valve?

Most oil consumption problems are cured by replacing it.
 
BlazerLT - While "some" oil consumption problems may be fixed by replacing the PCV valve, I think "most" is a little too strong.
 
hi guys, newbie question. what does dino mean? im assuming it means conventional oil, but what does it stand for?
 
Change just the oil filter and topoff the crankcase ....you may have to do this several times until the oil consumption is under control.

This is perfectly normal when switching any high mileage engine over to a high detergency, synthetic lubricant. It's also why I highly recommend flushing the engine with Auto RX first!

Tooslick
 
quote:
Originally posted by tuong:
hi guys, newbie question. what does dino mean? im assuming it means conventional oil, but what does it stand for?
Click to expand...
"Dino" is probably short for "dinosaur", as the dinosaurs that died long ago (along with all sorts of other organic matter) turned into the crude oil that conventional oil is made from today.
 
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