Is this a good idea....??

[JB]

Wife drives a 1995 Mitsubishi. The car is driven gently and has only done about 40,000 miles in all these 8 years. All this time, it's been using conventional oil 20W-50 (various brands). Bear in mind it's hot & tropical here, it's 86-90°F everyday!

So I'm thinking of doing this at the next oil change:

1) Flush the engine
2) Replace with Castrol GTX 15w40

Good idea or not? I'm primarily concerned about the flush. Don't want any leaks or increased oil consumption after.

 

[Pablo]

I would never use a conventional 20w50 in any climate. But that is just my opinion.

I don't hesitate to use synthetic 20W-50 on the other hand in some older cars that are still in good shape.

15W-40 shouldn't be a problem.

What kind of flush?

I don't see it as a bad idea. The crankcase maybe needs a good clean. Also you could have some carbon build-up in the combustion chambers.

 

[Spector]

Okay?

Is engine using oil, yes or no

Has mpg decreased in past year, yes or no

Any other concerns, sludge in valve cover etc.

Are any seals or gaskets leaking, yes or no

If the answer to these are no I say, do not play with a perfectly fine operating engine. We all have a tendency to read something on these boards that seems to work and we are all striving for the perfectly operating engine so we want to rush out and do a flush or put in an additive.

Resist the temptation. If it ain't broke don't fix it because many times you will not like the fix. Now, if a problem sure, give it a shot. Unless you know for certain your engine is filthy or carboned up etc. just let the urge go.

 

[JB]

Ha-ha, Spector... good reality check.

I would have to answer "No" to most of your questions. Maybe only mpg has declined a little, otherwise engine looks clean when I peek in through the oil cap hole.

Yes, in reading these boards there is a temptation to try flushes/additives/new oils to keep the engine at optimum.

The flush I was thinking about using is the Shell Flushing Oil (4 litre pack).

[ February 26, 2003, 08:09 PM: Message edited by: JB ]

 

[Patman]

Are you sure they even make GTX 15w40? I know there is a Castrol 15w40 but it's not under the GTX name, it's RX Super or something like that.

 

[sprintman]

We have GTX 3 which is 15W40. just got off the line from Mobil tech and after much internal discussion there he said 10W40 now top seller in Oz slightly ahead of 15W40. 20W50 now fallen way behind. 15W40 the majority by far for diesels herew but said far more should be using D1 in the types of conditions they are in.

 

[Ken2]

JB's "from:" is interesting--Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Many of us here don't know what the climate really is (even though you told us--hot all the time), certainly don't know what auto products are available, and likely would have trouble finding it on a map.


Ken

 

[Flimflam]

quote:

---

Originally posted by JB:
Wife drives a 1995 Mitsubishi. The car is driven gently and has only done about 40,000 miles in all these 8 years. All this time, it's been using conventional oil 20W-50 (various brands). Bear in mind it's hot & tropical here, it's 86-90°F everyday!

So I'm thinking of doing this at the next oil change:

1) Flush the engine
2) Replace with Castrol GTX 15w40

Good idea or not? I'm primarily concerned about the flush. Don't want any leaks or increased oil consumption after.

---

At only 40,000 miles you do not need any of that flush nonsense except if you are gonna start using an oil that is chemically very different from the ones you have been using all along. Since you are going from conventional to conventional, there is no issue of chemical incompatibility. Just dump the old oil and pour in your GTX. In your type of climate, I would go with GTX 20w50, though.

 

[JB]

Ken2: great job in figuring out where "KL, MY" is.

It's fascinating, the diversity of lube products even from the oil majors and the variants under the same brand name, e.g. we do get GTX in 15w40 here. You guys get stuff we don't and we get stuff that you don't (e.g. Castrol Magnatec).

One thing, you all are darn lucky to get lubes so cheap. Here, the major synthetics cost the equivalent of $8.00-9.36/qt. Redline is $14.47/qt.

Even conventional oil is between $2.30-2.60/qt. We never see anything for a buck a qt.

 

[Ken2]

I've been to Penang briefly, but didn't have time to go to KL.


Ken