Do short oci's clean engines?

[kenpoed]

I have an 05 accord I bought at 40k. It now has 100k and I intend to keep it for a while.

My question is this, if I use pennzoil ultra at 3k intervals a few times, does it clean my engine or am I throwing money away?

Thoughts are appreciated.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Shorter OCIS with higher detergent oils are a way to slowly clean out the engine.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: kenpoed
I have an 05 accord I bought at 40k. It now has 100k and I intend to keep it for a while.

My question is this, if I use pennzoil ultra at 3k intervals a few times, does it clean my engine or am I throwing money away?

Thoughts are appreciated.
Is your engine dirty?

 

[Hokiefyd]

You've owned the car for 60k miles now; what has your maintenance record been? If you have been changing the oil according to the Maintenance Minder with quality oil, the engine shouldn't need to be "cleaned" internally. If you want to run shorter intervals a few times, I'd run them with Mobil 5000 or Pennzoil conventional.

 

[Danh]

As you know the car's maintenance history over the last 60k, is there a reason you suspect lots of cleaning is needed? Most oils will keep an engine surprisingly clean with sensible OCIs.

If you think extra cleaning is needed, Ultra is a good choice as are high-mileage oils lke MaxLife and Mobil1, but don't expect miracles. If you want to take this route, look at Mobil1's site and see what they say about their HM product: it cleans well enough they suggest pretty short OCIs for the first couple fills if there is a question about the car's condition.

 

[virginoil]

Been said before other maintenance and service items to done at the same time such as:
1. Change air filter as required
2. Replace sparks plugs and leads
3. Ensure oxygen sensors in good working order
4. Use quality fuels
5. Exhaust functioning correctly
6. Cooling system working including thermostat operation
7. PCV valve is working etc etc
8. Other things you can think of affecting combustion by products

 

[k24a4]

which engine, the i4 or v6? what have been your oci for the last 60k? How does the valvetrain look through the fill hole? Where is most of your driving, highway or city? If you have the i4 and have been doing modest changes, 5k-8k, even 10k, with any decent modern oil, my guess is you won't be gaining anything by running a high quality synthetic for such a short amount of time/miles. The k24 engine is known for being easy on oil; the v6 perhaps not as much.

 

[tdpark]

Unless you completely neglected your engine- you engine is probably pretty clean- hondas (pre-cylinder deactiviation) are not known to be sludgers or hard on oil.

 

[MikeySoft]

I just want to point out to those that don't know, I believe the MM for the 05 Accord was base on mileage only. The Accord did not take driving conditions into account until I believe the 2006 Accord.

 

[demarpaint]

3,000 mile dino OCI's sure didn't keep my 2000 Century engine clean. I posted about this before. Long story short I took this car from my dad, I have every invoice for every oil change since new, along with all the other maint done to the car. It was very well maintained. I acquired the car with about 85K miles and took a peek in the fill hole, I was not impressed at all. Maybe synthetic oil would have done a better job but.........

If your engine is clean I'd continue with the routine you've done in the past, and do nothing at all. If its not, consider an additive to clean it up. Shorter OCI's might take forever to clean it up. First be sure if the engine needs cleaning.

Opinions vary.

 

[Voltmaster]

Shorter OCI means more cleaning ( detegent ) in the oil and also more "room" for particles to be solved into the oil.

So yes shorter OCI is what you want to do if you want cleaner engine.

Dont forget to grab a good filter to catch all the stuff going back and forth , such as purONE or mobil

 

[bourne]

4 cyl or V6 ????

 

[kenpoed]

V6

 

[eagle23]

You have the same engine as my '07 Accord, about the same miles.

With the filler cap off, you're looking straight at the cylinder head. If it's clean, i.e., just oily aluminum or even a very slight tan, no sweat. PU, PP or PYB are all fine as are the others mentioned.

Yes, the V6 is a bit harder on oil the the I4's, so I don't run a conventional over 5k or a syn more than about 7500. That's probably super conservative but it works for me

 

[pbm]

3K OCI's on PU are a waste of money IMO.
You could use regular PYB for 5K and have a clean engine...

 

[Maxima97]

Normal OCI cleaning engine. If your engine is abused before, then short OCI will help. But nothing more import than a regular maintained engine.

 

[badtlc]

You'll obviously get some "yes" answers in this thread but there has been no definitive evidence suggesting as much. To this point, I have not seen any before or after pictures showing any cleaning.

It won't hurt anything to try it but make sure your have tempered expectations.

 

[KCJeep]

My Jeep is dirty. Shorter 3k OCI's mean I'll be changing brown oil. If I extend to only 5k it will be filthy black. This suggests to me there may be some benefit to giving the add pack detergents more time to work.

I also see blacker oil faster if I stick with the same oil for multiple OCI's. Just my observations, it is very hard to gauge actual cleaning obviously...however the only time I could actually see cleaning was toward the end of a longer OCI as well. And even then it was very minor, cleaning with oil alone is a very long, slow process.

If trying to clean with oil Ultra would be a top choice, but I'd give it a lot longer than 3k before I dumped it. JMO.

 

[mongo161]

IMO.....Short OCI's do not clean engines. Some oils really start their cleaning after 5K miles. The number 1 oil that I can think of is M1, EP, oils. IMO....For today's advanced oil formula's, it takes some time for any oil to start cleaning cycle. The formulated oils today release their advanced time released dispersant during the cleaning cycle.

So....IMO....Short OCI's will only clean out your wallet, waste time and waste resources.

 

[Maxima97]

The oil need to work out to clean the engine. Image washing your hand, do you wash soap out right after or rub it and let it penetrate and then wash. Normally, 3k to 5k is the ideal range to clean the engine.