Frankenmix catastrophe.

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: scoobie
So yesterday was nice and mild, and good oil change weather. so i drained the FM 50:50 5w30 conventional/ synthetic 5w30, with 3500 miles, per Subaru Canadian schedule. the FM is fortified with 200ml. MoS2.
I'm using purolator pure one 14610, so i thought i could keep it in place for another cycle. New fill of FM Quaker State 5w20 conventional/ synthetic Super Tech 5w30, again with 200 ml MoS2. Engine ran nice after the oil change. So...

This morning the temp is at the freezing point, and i'm anxious to see how nice the FM works slightly cold. I start the engine, and immediately there is a loud banging, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, after 10 -15 seconds it quiets down and starts purring.
It is not like piston slap, which goes like BOK BOK BOK BOK BOK, but a BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG, and then quickly gets quiet after 10-15 seconds, again NOT like piston slap.

I think what happened is the MoS2 (Promoly) is forming clumps, and I am using a filter with very fine holes, and the filter is getting clogged, so the engine is starved for oil, and the pistons are banging against something, until oil gets in via the bypass valve.

So at lunch, I drove home, mixed 50:50 Formula Shell full synthetic purchased at Canadian Tire, 5w20/5w30, to create a 5w25, got out a new Pure One filter, and drove out to Walmart, and had them drain the oil, replace the filter, and refill with
Shell synthetic 5w25. I don't regard this as a Frankenmix, because the oil is of the same type and same manufacturer. After work it was getting colder and colder, and the car was good and cold. This time when I started it, the engine was purring, and sounded real nice and quiet.

Lesson: when the research guys at BITOG say that MoS2 will clump, that means do not use it. When board members of BITOG say run pure synthetic in winter for best cold protection, then run pure synthetic in winter for best cold protection. I had the Wall Mart people return my filter, so I can cut it open, examine the filter medium, and see whether it appears to be clogged with MoS2, because I'm absolutely sure that is what happened.


A case for ARX!

 

[MiniTransAm]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Originally Posted By: scoobie
So yesterday was nice and mild, and good oil change weather. so i drained the FM 50:50 5w30 conventional/ synthetic 5w30, with 3500 miles, per Subaru Canadian schedule. the FM is fortified with 200ml. MoS2.
I'm using purolator pure one 14610, so i thought i could keep it in place for another cycle. New fill of FM Quaker State 5w20 conventional/ synthetic Super Tech 5w30, again with 200 ml MoS2. Engine ran nice after the oil change. So...

This morning the temp is at the freezing point, and i'm anxious to see how nice the FM works slightly cold. I start the engine, and immediately there is a loud banging, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, after 10 -15 seconds it quiets down and starts purring.
It is not like piston slap, which goes like BOK BOK BOK BOK BOK, but a BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG, and then quickly gets quiet after 10-15 seconds, again NOT like piston slap.

I think what happened is the MoS2 (Promoly) is forming clumps, and I am using a filter with very fine holes, and the filter is getting clogged, so the engine is starved for oil, and the pistons are banging against something, until oil gets in via the bypass valve.

So at lunch, I drove home, mixed 50:50 Formula Shell full synthetic purchased at Canadian Tire, 5w20/5w30, to create a 5w25, got out a new Pure One filter, and drove out to Walmart, and had them drain the oil, replace the filter, and refill with
Shell synthetic 5w25. I don't regard this as a Frankenmix, because the oil is of the same type and same manufacturer. After work it was getting colder and colder, and the car was good and cold. This time when I started it, the engine was purring, and sounded real nice and quiet.

Lesson: when the research guys at BITOG say that MoS2 will clump, that means do not use it. When board members of BITOG say run pure synthetic in winter for best cold protection, then run pure synthetic in winter for best cold protection. I had the Wall Mart people return my filter, so I can cut it open, examine the filter medium, and see whether it appears to be clogged with MoS2, because I'm absolutely sure that is what happened.


A case for ARX!

Wait, didn't a few people just say not to put anything in the oil?

 

[BrianWC]

Correct me if I am wrong, but should it take a prolonged amount of time for the bypass to open up? Don't get me wrong, the previous posters give great advice, but I can't see how this mix is causing all those issues. I've never run the moly additive, though...and certainly not in a Canadian winter.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Scoobie, please stop mixing stuff. Buy something you like and use it as-is.

 

[SilverC6]

Hope the Subaru lives to run another 10 years.

I'd change the oil again soon to get any remnants of the mix out.

 

[demarpaint]

I doubt mixing a 5W-20 and a 5w30 hurt anything. I think the moly add finally caught up to him. IIRC he used the stuff for years, at least that's what I thought I read in his posts. I think a few frequent OC's and sticking with a factory blended oil vs the Frankenmix is in order.

Frank D

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I still have some old lube conrol on my lube shelf. After some thought I stopped using it after using 3 gallons over years of use. I no longer use it in my crankcase .. It is a great penetrating oil component and an awesome reel lubricant for my fishing gear.
My crankcase is reserved for flly formulate engine oil.

Congrats on the knads to admit learning Scoob

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: MiniTransAm
Originally Posted By: moribundman


A case for ARX!

Wait, didn't a few people just say not to put anything in the oil?


They meant useless [censored]. Auto-RX is not useless [censored].

 

[Yuk]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak

They meant useless [censored]. Auto-RX is not useless [censored].


You don't actually think Mori was serious, do you? I thought there was a healthy dose of sarcasm there. ARX may not be "useless [censored]", but I doubt it would help scoobie's problem... Then again, what do I know? I'm on the internet!

 

[chevrofreak]

Mori may have been joking, but Auto RX is one of the few oil "additive" products that has proven to be worth its weight in gold.

 

[Ed_T]

Probably the notorious Subie fuel injectors.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Correct me if I am wrong, but should it take a prolonged amount of time for the bypass to open up?

Probably had nothing to do with the filter... at least directly. He may not have exchanged the sump in the running event just after the oil change. The moly may have sank out and solidified in an inconvenient place. Most of it may be in the pan.

 

[TallPaul]

Additives are fun. Use them with descretion. Auto Rx won't hurt, may help. ZDDP additives won't hurt, may help. Some other additives may not be so good and if you use them you are taking a risk. Always consider viscosity effects and don't add really thick stuff in winter.

The startup noise may be totally unrelated to the additive, maybe just a fluke thing that happened coincidentally. If you didn't put more than the recommended amount of MoS2 then it shoudl have been fine. If the car started okay the next cold start, I would just leave the oil in. But I totally understand your playing it safe by changing it out.

 

[lewdwig]

I liked additives, but ever since I fried a motor that had what I thought was a good additive mixed into a good synthetic oil, I haven't used additives even though it may have been coincidental.

 

[mechtech2]

A bang could be external, like a pulley or driven component.

 

[scoobie]

The banging really sounded like pistons hitting something. It was quite frightening and unreal. When I did the original oil change the car had been taken out for a good drive, I'm sure the sump was replaced. Also the MoS2 was added to the oil jug, and allowed to thoroughly mix, I did not just pour it from the can into the crankcase. During that initial drive my wife thought the engine sounded slightly noisier.

With that oil drained, replaced with the 5w25 synth, and brand new filter, car has been starting perfectly, instantly, and runs perfectly. There are absolutely no start up noises, even with this extremely cold 10F morning, and it seems to like the slightly thinner synthetic oil mix. listening to the engine by lifting the hood and putting my ears right next to it, it sounds nice and quiet, with only very tiny machine noises that sound like valves being actuated. the slight noise my wife complained of initially when she was driving is all gone.

 

[typ901]

Originally Posted By: Tempest
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: rg200amp
The rest of use use one brand oil and one weight oil.

Its been working well for over 100 years.....


And we don't use additives that are thick as mud and contain solids.

Especially in freezing cold weather.


Learning lessons the hard way are very effective! About three winters ago I was lazy and left the 10w-40 Valvoline in the Land Rover. Forget the fact that I also had around 2 quarts of Lucas Oil Stabilizer in there too. The Rover would not start on a 15 Degree F day. Engine flooded, and battery died. After swapping the plugs out, and charging the battery in a snow storm in the driveway, she started.

I have not purchased any additivies since then for motor oil, nor will I. I froze my a.. off that day.

Later I researched the Lucas oil stabilizer and found out that the listed viscosity at 100 Degrees Celcius is 110. No pour point, or CCS Viscosity is listed, so let's just agree that it probably ummm....very viscous.

Lesson learned.

 

[OVERKILL]

Lucas is like ogre snot. When it's cold, you can glue yourself to the wall with it.....

 

[Steve S]

There is a bypass valve in event the filter is clogged.

 

[oilyriser]

Did the noise sound like a heavy loose belt slapping against a plastic cover, by any chance?