Help with Mazda Protege5

[Clarkbug]

Hello All.

Lurker on the forums for a while, but wanted to get some input from those that have been there before.

I have a 2003 Mazda Protege5, with almost 118k on the clock. I have owned it since about 60k, and switched to a synthetic for the first oil change. I used whatever I could get a deal on in bulk, which was mostly Penzoil Platinum, then Valvoline SynPower, and for the past two years or so Napa synthetic. All at 5w-30.

Lately my oil goes missing between changes (5k OCI). I say missing because I dont see any leaks, but I dont see any plume of smoke out the back either. Im now having to add probably two quarts between changes, minimum. My drive is 50 minutes each way, mostly highway.

My thought is to grab some NexGen high mileage and see if this helps matters any at my next oil change, which will probably be next weekend. I wanted to get any thoughts anyone might have on other suggestions or places to look with this particular engine.

Much thanks!

 

[fdcg27]

Check the PCV setup, including the tubing.
If this is a recent development, you may have a stuck pcv valve, or clogged tubing, or both.
Other than that, if you're using a quart every 2K or so, you probably won't see any smoke.
Make sure that the pcv system is operating properly and see what happens to your consumption.
Assuming things don't improve, you could certainly try an HM oil.
I like Maxlife, but Defy looks really promising as well.

 

[Clarkbug]

Thanks for the quick reply!

PCV valve was replaced not that long ago, passes the "shake test". As far as the rest of the system, I havent ever really poked into it that much, so I honestly dont know what other portions of the system I would inspect.

Its been having the oil loss for the past year at least, so its not a recent development, unfortunately. The only reason I didnt switch oils sooner was that I had several cases of the Napa synthetic available, and didnt want to go buy yet another case of oil.

 

[fdcg27]

Try something thicker, like an HM oil.
If you want to stay with synthetic, many members have reported good results with M1 HM, and Vavoline does offer a full syn Maxlife.
Otherwise, I'd grab some Maxlife Nextgen with the rebates offered by the parts stores.
Defy is priced lower than Maxlife at regular retail, if you'd like to try that.

 

[ChrisW]

Does that motor have an oil cooler (that exchanges to coolant)? Possibility that could easily be confirmed by looking at the coolant in the rad. I'm thinking [stuck] rings or valve stem seals, more so if there isn't any obvious external leakage being seen (main, pan gasket, etc).

 

[Clarkbug]

Thanks for the responses!

I was thinking of trying the Nexgen Maxlife given the rebates going on currently with it.

The motor does not have an oil cooler. I have heard lots of chatter on other forums thinking its valve seals, but then I would think I would see a blue plume on startup, but I do not. I havent done a compression test to see if any cylinders are low, perhaps that should be on my list.

A few thousand miles ago I did try some seafoam in the oil and directly via a vacuum line. Lots of smoke, but no change in oil consumption.

I should also mention the oil "looks" dirty. (Yes, I know, I know....) but its pretty darn black for the amount of miles on it.

 

[Drivebelt]

Quote:
Lately my oil goes missing between changes (5k OCI). I say missing because I dont see any leaks, but I dont see any plume of smoke out the back either. Im now having to add probably two quarts between changes, minimum. My drive is 50 minutes each way, mostly highway.

I have an idea about this. That NAPA synthetic is made by Ashland which means it's probably the same as Valvoline Synpower. AFAIK Synpower has some Group IV (PAO) synthetics in it. Modern seals on engines seem to handle PAO based synthetics well, but many older cars can develop leaks with them. PAO's can cause a small amount of seal shrinkage depending on the seal material, which is usually counterbalanced with esters, but depending on how the oil is formulated and the particular car … your mileage may vary.

I have an older vehicle (1987 Jetta 1.8 gas). Every time I have used any synthetic oil with any PAO (Group IV) oils, it has caused leaks. We've had numerous stories similar to this one posted here at BITOG …

Quote:
BITOG… 96 Volvo …

I added 1 and a half or so quarts of 15w40 royal purple I had laying around. After the car sat in the garage for a few days i noticed two small puddles of oil on the ground.

Update, the car started leaking from the rear main seal too. The car started leaking more as the days went on, so I changed the oil to Castrol GTX High Mileage because it's been ran on GTX for a long time. I can't believe it. The leak almost stopped on the spot.
It's the same thing with my Jetta. Most off-the-shelf synthetics these days are Group III which won't cause these problems, but a few still contain some PAO, like Synpower. It's possible the PAO has affected some of the seals a little and oil is getting burned slowly.

I would suggest moving to a conventional 5W-30. Conventional motor oils have improved substantially in the last 20 years. Modern conventional motor oils like 5W-30's with the latest SM/GF-4 or SN rating are made from synthetic like ~ 99% pure Group II/II+ base oils. They are substantially better than the Group I based conventional oils of 15 years ago we were using for 3k miles oil changes. These modern conventional oils (Group II) will easily deliver the same performance in terms of engine wear (longevity) and cleanliness as synthetics at 5-6k mile oil changes on a small 4 cylinder engine like in your Protégé. The rest of the car should fall apart before the engine wears out if good oil levels are maintained.

Just find any brand name 5W-30 and try that instead.

Here are some pictures of a valvetrain with 110k miles using 5W-20 conventional at 7500 miles changes … BITOG That's a motor oil made with Grp II+ base oils, the same as conventional 5W-30 SM/SN rated oils.

 

[Clarkbug]

Thanks for the additional input. I think its definitely one of those issues thats particular to an individual engine, since my wifes car (that used to be mine) is the same car, same engine, just slightly less mileage, and doesnt burn any oil using the same brands/filters. I have run synthetic in that engine since I purchased it with 20k, and its now up to 107k.

But I agree with your idea, and Im going to go hunt down some oil later today for a change this weekend if the weather holds out. Now Im just trying to pick between conventional or high mileage...

 

[Clarkbug]

Originally Posted By: Clarkbug

But I agree with your idea, and Im going to go hunt down some oil later today for a change this weekend if the weather holds out. Now Im just trying to pick between conventional or high mileage...


Well, I answered my own question. Stopped at Advance to nab the NexGen oil change special with the rebate, figure that you cant beat it for the price. I went conventional, and figured if the consumption/leaking doesnt stop, Ill move up to the high mileage after that.