Ford Galaxy 2.3 oil - got a problem

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
13
Location
Poland
Hello,

I've been a reader for some time, but I'd need some help, can't find any tips on this anywhere, so... here I am
smile.gif


Patient: Ford Galaxy (EU) 2.3 '00 107kW petrol
Oil: Elf SXR 5w30

I got an issue with fuel dilution (car is making only short trips), way more than I anticipated when buying. Its 1500km from the OCI and when I put a lighter to the dipstick it catches fire... Thought about using 5w40 to compensate for dilution in the terms of shearing/visco, since can't do much with ignition temp. But...

Question 1:

Is this engine 5W30 only?

Everywhere I read is like: "Though shall use oil meeting Ford WSS-M2C-913A/B/C, if though shall not, the engine will suffer greatly". I've only found some clues that Ford engines are designed for lower HTHS oils but nothing in particular. And this engine gets hot real quick, unlike other engines (running 5W40) that I had in the past

Most 5w30 oils that have this WSS-M2C-913A/B/C are HTHS 2,8-3,1 and Cst@100 9,5-9,9 with TBN 5-9. Really, using 5W40 A3/B4 with HTHS 3,6-3,8, Cst@100 13,5-14,5 TBN 10-12 could make this engine fail?

Question 2:

Anybody got experience with the oil level in this particular engine?

Dipstick level when completely cold: right in the middle between min/max
Dipstick level when hot (2-3 minutes after a ride that takes the coolant to 90'C): right on max level

Either SXR 5w30 changes its density so much (12%???), or I get half a litre of petrol everytime this beast rolls out, and it evaporates while cooling down? Or is it something with its internal construction. I'm puzzled.
 
Look for: Bad thermostat, keeping the engine from warming up, or bad O2 sensor, giving improper info to the ECU, causing rich running.

A modern vehicle running correctly should not put anywhere near that much fuel into the crankcase.
 
That Ive checked already. Thermostat is ok the car warmed up during winter quickly. Checked o2 and its working correctly. Checked also the fuel setting since it can be 91 or 95 setup via ecu, also correct. Also this is not a modern engine Ford L4 dohc engines date back to 1989...

The problem is that this car is doing short trips. Kindergarten is a km away. Wifes job is another km from kindergarten... Maybe I disgress... 2km. It drives daily, had done 2000km from purchase in January
smile.gif
also idles a lot.

So I'm puzzled. Thinking about another oil change to remedy the situation a bit, since it is getting warmer, but should I stick to 5w30? If I get some cash I'll convert to lpg, so the problem will be solved, but that is June or July, and the oil is bad now...

Btw: when bought the car was mishandled with service. Ori fuel filter (2000!), cabin filter 2003, etc... the oil was diesel black color, so after the first oil change that elf 5w30 got brown in 100km LOL. So another oil change isnt a bad idea either way...
 
How practical would it be for you to get a UOA?
This would show you just how bad fuel dilution really is, would show you what the viscosity ended up at and would show you how much excess wear you're getting.
If fuel dilution is no more than 3%, viscosity is still at the low 30 or high 20 level and wear metals aren't too horrible, then you'll have no further worries.
If fuel dilution is higher, consider looking at new injectors or at least a high PEA cleaner as a first resort.
This might solve any other problems.
If fuel dilution is reasonable and visc looks too low and wear too high, I'd probably move to a forty grade oil for the use you put this car to.
Finally, how much oil are you having to add?
You may have stuck or sticky rings.
 
too soon to tell if it eats up oil, but for 2000km no change in dipstick level - stable from OC. also there isn't much blowby. there is no residue on the top of the engine (inspected via oil fill hole). got the service book, seems that all service was every 15k, just the last got stretched to 25k, and it is possible that it is genuine, since it matches - only oil with filter and air filter were changed by the previous owner.

also no blue/black smoke comes out, no distinctive smell.

good point on the injector cleaner, forgot about those. maybe it will solve the problem.

as far as UOA goes it is completely impractical in Poland - not so popular as in the US. did some research two years ago, wanted to check if fiat OCI of 30000km is OK for my 1.3 diesel, and the cost of UOA is 500PLN. Oil change cost - filter + oil is around 100PLN. Galaxy is like 125PLN, since it takes 4 litres of oil (1.3mjtd takes 3).
 
Last edited:
The dipstick lights on fire, you don't need a UOA. Just like you don't need someone to send you a photo to check if the sky is blue. I'd run a thicker oil, maybe 5W-40, until you get it figured out. Keep your OCIs relatively short as well - maybe 2000 miles or less. Might be rings.
 
Poland is an EU country.
Couldn't you simply send a sample off to another member state with more reasonable UOA costs?
If you've seen no consumption in 1200 miles, then your probably don't have stuck rings.
Also, if the service intervals of the previous owner are quoted in klicks, then that isn't so terrible, especially if the car accumulated those miles relatively quickly.
Is the Elf oil that you're using an A3?
If it is, then it's much thicker than what we Americans think of a 5W-30 grade oil as being.
It would be informative to see a UOA of the oil from this engine.
The poster above is probably correct in stating that a forty grade oil would do it no harm and might not be a bad idea given your current situation where you don't know just how much viscosity has dropped as a result of the unknown level of fuel dilution.
A 0W-40 or 5W-40 wouldn't hurt the engine at all.
 
I would also consider day tripping, perhaps to Germany or a neighboring country, once in a while and drive it at least 30 to 60 minutes at expressway/Autobahn speeds to "dry" the oil out...
 
Will check it out though UOA seems like a hassle here. Elf 5w30 is a5/b5 with hths at 3 (exact 2.95). Tbn at 11. Doesnt have the Ford spec, but is same spec as other that do - apart from higher tbn. No worries here I guess. GpIII . Mileage is 176k after 15 years. The car got 100km hwy today, smells less, level seems lower but like error margin. Duh. Will search for 40 weight on the less viscous side.

Nobody had problems going thicker? This 2.3 is more American than European, so I'd appreciate any tips here, since would hate to have to do serious service with it. And it has a timing chain, not belt, so oil might be an issue.

Btw citroen xud series engine diesel given same trip lenght never had an issue with dilution, and it worked cold always. Never had a chance to heat up like the 2.3 Ford does.
 
nick, I live next to 3 major highways, but again, 250km cost the same in fuel as the cost of oil change...
smile.gif
 
Going thicker would not be any problem at all.
You are seeing no consumption with a fuel economy oil, so that's very positive.
You're quoting "mileage" in klicks, I assume, so this old dear has only a little more than 100K US miles on it.
Not that much.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top