Heavy Duty Diesel Oil in part in 2006 Sentra

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Hello folks,

In the morning, I did an oil change. A neighbor stopped by and noticing the color of the oil (It was tar black, 3 months old, less than 3000miles, the new oil is red in color), he made some comments. He suggested adding half qt of HDEO. I made sure to mention that I am not too sure of any sludge as I have not popped open the valve cover but he insisted that HDEO will help the car run smoother removing any sludge. In the past, use of MMO before oil change has helped so I would like to give a try to this idea.

I have read about HDEO here a lot but I admit, I have not understood the benefit of HDEO in a gas engine clearly. Some posts do point at the detergents in HDEO, but other than that I am clueless. Next time, I am going to use Miles Lubricants Synthetic Blend 5W-30. What do you guys think about this idea? If it makes sense, which HDEO can I use and how much? My car takes 3 qts of oil. The car has ~105,000 miles and no leaks anywhere.

Many thanks in advance.
 
Heavy-duty-engine oil is not necessarily oil that is more "heavy duty". It's oil that's designed for engines that are heavy duty.

Just keep changing your oil at short intervals and it will one day clean up.

Did you buy it used recently? What's the past maintenance intervals?
 
I don't think the color of the oil really means anything. If anything,I would think that the oil is doing a great job of keeping the dirt suspended and not allowing it to sludge up hard.

You mentioned that your neighbor says it'll run smoother if the sludge cleans out, are you saying that your engine isn't running smoothly now?

I would say that if it's running well, just keep doing what you're doing.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Heavy-duty-engine oil is not necessarily oil that is more "heavy duty". It's oil that's designed for engines that are heavy duty.



Really?
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Did you buy it used recently? What's the past maintenance intervals?

Originally Posted By: EdwardC
You mentioned that your neighbor says it'll run smoother if the sludge cleans out, are you saying that your engine isn't running smoothly now?


I got it in 2010, pre-owned with almost 75K on odometer. In the past, I used to change oil once a year at local mechanic (conventional oil). The car doesn't really run smooth, idles rough at a times. The acceleration is sluggish and it gets worse in winter (in process of changing ATF). This year I started working myself after getting fed up with many local mechanics. I changed oil twice since beginning of the year. Last time, I added 25% MMO 2 weeks before changing oil and car performance improved (which didn't stick around after the oil change). That makes me feel there is a chance for improvement. Since he knows everything and we have had small talks often, he is suggesting the idea.
 
The best way to know if the oil is still good or not is using Oil Analysis.

Color is not an indication of the health of the oil.

If the car only takes 3 qts of oil, then I would change it every 3000 miles.
Just use whatever is recommended by Nissan.
 
I typically run 10w30 Rotella T5 or Delo LE and 20% MMO in our commuter cars on occasion. No problems and it keeps everything very clean.
 
Originally Posted By: sw99
I typically run 10w30 Rotella T5 or Delo LE and 20% MMO in our commuter cars on occasion. No problems and it keeps everything very clean.


My question is would the oil keep everything clean without adding MMO ?

Side note: Is the carrier oil in MMO of equal quality.to T5 or DELO 400 ?
 
Originally Posted By: JMJNet
The best way to know if the oil is still good or not is using Oil Analysis.

Color is not an indication of the health of the oil.

If the car only takes 3 qts of oil, then I would change it every 3000 miles.
Just use whatever is recommended by Nissan.


I think his concern is not condition of the oil but rather condition of the engine..
 
Originally Posted By: s2krunner
What oil are you currently using?

Currently, I am using SuperTech conventional. I got 6 qts before researching oils, next I got a case of Miles Lubricants so that will be the next one. I have no idea which oils were used in the past. The local mechanic was cagey about telling which one they use.

Originally Posted By: Ammofirst
That Sentra takes 3 whole quarts ? Is that with or without the filter

3qts with a filter.
 
Do some very short changes. 1000mi. Do some good high rpm highway driving right before you change the oil. It's also probably worth putting a can of BG109 in before the change.

Check your basic tune up items. Spark plugs and wires, PCV valve, air filter if it needs one. Clean the MAF and the throttle plate. Put a bottle of Techron in the gas and a bottle of berryman's b12 chemtool on the next tank.


Inspect all the vacuum lines and replace any that are cracked and dry rotted.

Run the snot out of it for an hour or so. Get it hot, blow out carbon.
 
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
My question is would the oil keep everything clean without adding MMO ?

Side note: Is the carrier oil in MMO of equal quality.to T5 or DELO 400 ?


Absolutely the HDEO will do a great job cleaning a dirty engine. The main reason I add the MMO is to thin the 10w30 down a bit. Simply a preventative maintenance piece to keep the engines clean.
 
In general, if the engine is not running well, and as long as there IS oil in the sump, it's not as likely to be the cause of the issue.

At 105K, (at least with the cars I'm more familiar with), it's just about due for some maintenance, like spark plug, coolant, maybe PVC like SilverFusion mentioned. Do you have a maintenance history for the car? What's the manual say for maintenance at this interval? Like others mentioned, there's no harm in doing a few short oil change intervals as well.
 
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