I am in agreement with your comments. However, the ones that receive more frequent oil changes will only have the thick varnish in the front head....not the sludge that you see here.
Honda J35 V6 (J35Z4) Sludge and Cam Scoring
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
If I recall correctly, he used Amsoil SS 5W20 at annual intervals.
Annual for him was probably somewhere in the 15-25K range.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
He said earlier in the thread that 15K on AMSOIL was way too long for this engine.
On the 0w-40:
Honda 3.5L and 0w20
New owner of a used 2011 Crosstour with 3.5L which specifies 0w20. How important is sticking to this viscosity in my mild climate of North Carolina.
bobistheoilguy.com
2010 Honda Pilot, 3.5, Penn Ultra, 6k on oil
2010 Honda Pilot, 3.5, 36k on unit, 6k on oil. Penn Ultra 5W20, Bosch Dist filter BLACKSTONE: Most metal levels are at reasonable levels, so the only mark we have in the spectral results is for iron. It's still high at 42 ppm since this oil wasn't in use as long as the universal average...
bobistheoilguy.com
How bad is this...
J35a8 engine with about 150k. I think this might be as a result of a faulty pcv system and/or previous owner neglecting oil changes. Is this bad enough to negatively impact anything? The rocker arm closest to the pcv valve is black and not even just varnished. Which motor oil would you proceed...
bobistheoilguy.com
Trav said:
Agree. VCM is very rough on oil.
@ The Critic, is VCM still active, and did they ever perform a UOA?
Extended OCI should never be done without UOA.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Ahhh, OK, I thought you were saying that's what Trav was recommending.
Yeah, clearly way too long an interval for this engine, UOA or not, it is insanely hard on oil.
15K MAX with Amsoil. Per Amsoil. And that is highway. Just FYI
15k would put my olm to zero 3 times on my work truck. I could see that causing sludge under certain conditions. Definitely both the 3k/3 guys and the 10k+ is always fine guys will blindly defend their opinion and call anything that doesn't agree with their opinion a lie.
Looks like the lobes on the K20A3 I used to own on the exhaust cam. About 65k and went to check an awful ticking I thought was a valve adjustment. Nope. Cam galling. I was sad. Put about 200k on the old intake and 150k on the new exhaust cam and didn't have an issue from that point forward. Pretty certain is was bad metallurgy from the factory. But who knows.
Probably want to muzzle that beast....and if they're going to continue with extended OCIs, get a couple of analyses done.
Based on Trav's advice, on my 4 2006-2007 Honda Odyssey's I change the PCV every 30k miles, and change the oil every 4k/6 month's (whichever comes first) with a full synthetic oil. I also prefer to only use an oil which meets GM Dexos 1 Gen 3 which has stricter limits for sludge and the deposits which cause varnish. I also moved away from 20 weight oils in these engines, and am currently using a viscosity of 5W-30.
Owner has put another 45K miles since the repair. No issues at all.
Full synthetic oil with Dexos 1 Gen 3 approval is only $18.98 for a 5 quart jug (SuperTech) at Walmart.
Fram ExtraGuard oil filters with 95% efficiency @> 20 microns are only $3.50 on Amazon with subscribe and save.
I prefer to change my oil and filter at 4k miles / 6 months, since from what I've read, I will avoid issues with sludge / varnish / stuck engine control rings, engine wear, etc. I will spend less on oil changes than if I did extended oil changes with some super expensive oil and then had to do UOA's to prove to myself that engine wear was not excessive. Also, since UOA's don't measure gradual sludge/varnish accumulation from extended oil changes, I don't see a reason to ever order a UOA. Just my humble opinion.
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Only the older ones. Newer ones don't seem to have these issues anymore.
How newer? There are reports of 2015 and 2016 models with issues. VCM 1 was a 3/6 arrangement, VCM 2 was a 3/4/6 arrangement and VCM 3 is back to a 3/6, every time they revise these systems some people have a problem.
www.odyclub.com
PISTON RINGS/MISFIRES/FOULED SPARK PLUGS - The VCM mega...
www.odyclub.com
There are many versions of the J35 engine. IMO the Z4 and Z8 versions are the most problematic.How newer? There are reports of 2015 and 2016 models with issues. VCM 1 was a 3/6 arrangement, VCM 2 was a 3/4/6 arrangement and VCM 3 is back to a 3/6, every time they revise these systems some people have a problem.
PISTON RINGS/MISFIRES/FOULED SPARK PLUGS - The VCM mega...
Nah, VCM needs to be shut down. Doesn't matter what oil you put in or how often you change it
Another fine example of BITOG logic by many.
If this engine looked nice and clean, it would’ve been universally stated it was thanks to the oil choice.
Since the outcome is not pretty, it could not have been because of the oil and chosen OCI, nope. Some other bad mojo is going on.
If this engine looked nice and clean, it would’ve been universally stated it was thanks to the oil choice.
Since the outcome is not pretty, it could not have been because of the oil and chosen OCI, nope. Some other bad mojo is going on.
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