Lucas Oil Stabilizer gelling heading into winter

[lairdwd]

My 2004 Jetta with 150K miles consumes about a quart of oil every 1k miles. Since I only drive 7K a year and consume so much oil, I do a once a year OCI, using 10W-40 in April , then start topping up with 5w-30 heading into winter. No gelling, and worked great last year.

The last change, however - due to lifter tick and pressure loss, my mechanic recommended LOS, which I did use (and did help).

This year with the LOS, it still seems pretty thick and suspect the LOS isn't being consumed as much as the lighter weight oils, and am concerned with gelling.

Is there any way I can thin what's in the crankcase down a little bit heading in to winter?

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Why don't you wait and see what happens or change the oil now for the winter using a cheap dino?? Otherwise throw something with a solvent like a Seafoam or MMO in there. Just don't overfill.

10w40 + Lucas... impressive. Bet RTV flows better than that concoction! ...‚

 

[Chris142]

Dump the Lucas. Run a 20w-50 instead.

 

[lairdwd]

Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Why don't you wait and see what happens or change the oil now for the winter using a cheap dino?? Otherwise throw something with a solvent like a Seafoam or MMO in there. Just don't overfill.

10w40 + Lucas... impressive. Bet RTV flows better than that concoction! ...‚


That's what I'm thinking too. Little seafoam will thin it out if it's needed.

Prefer to keep what's in there and not do a oil change, as every time I wrestle with the oil filter for an eternity and make a mess in the process. It's not the most user friendly placement. Plus, the thick stuff is always helpful, even in the winter.

 

[PimTac]

I would dump it all and start fresh. You put an additive in to thicken things up and adding another additive to thin it back down makes no sense. You will end up with a cocktail of unknown in your crankcase.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Originally Posted by lairdwd
Plus, the thick stuff is always helpful, even in the winter.


Unless your car is garaged and decently warm, you're just asking for oil starvation on startups in Boston winters with 10W40 plus LOS. I'd NEVER use LOS to start with, testing has shown it's just essentially a super thick oil with no additives, and only serves to weaken any oil that it's added to, both on anti-wear chemistries, and acid-reducing capabilities (TBN). To add something that is as thick as molasses when it's 100* in a car that will likely see 0*F this winter is crazy. Change your PCV, check for leaks, use a 0W40... because even at 7 quarts of top-off a year, that's infinitely cheaper than an engine rebuild because you spun a bearing because your oil's CCS was so dang high it wouldn't circulate in winter.

IMO you're chasing the wrong end of the problem with the wrong fix; find where your consumption is and fix that rather than endangering your engine. Oil is cheaper than labor.

 

[lairdwd]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Dump the Lucas. Run a 20w-50 instead.


Yep - next time this is what I'm thinking. Although even with the lucas/10w-40 I still did have lifter tick. But the pressure was much better, and overall the valve train quieted down quite a bit.

These Jetta's use a flat tappet cam, which are known the shhi*tt the bed right about where I'm at now mileage wise. I supplement with ZDDP to keep it going little more. The thicker oil obviously helps too.

 

[RDY4WAR]

Lucas Oil Stabilizer is just a thick bottle of olefin copolymer (viscosity modifier) with a bit of tackifier. It has horrible shear stability with an SSI of 50 (loses over 50% of its original viscosity with use). Tackifier serves no beneficial function in an engine since engines have a pressurized oiling system. It's not like a gearbox that relies on splash lubrication. This is why it clings so well in those gimmicky little plastic gear displays at Pepboys. It doesn't do anything for an engine.

 

[lairdwd]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted by lairdwd
Plus, the thick stuff is always helpful, even in the winter.


Unless your car is garaged and decently warm, you're just asking for oil starvation on startups in Boston winters with 10W40 plus LOS. I'd NEVER use LOS to start with, testing has shown it's just essentially a super thick oil with no additives, and only serves to weaken any oil that it's added to, both on anti-wear chemistries, and acid-reducing capabilities (TBN). To add something that is as thick as molasses when it's 100* in a car that will likely see 0*F this winter is crazy. Change your PCV, check for leaks, use a 0W40... because even at 7 quarts of top-off a year, that's infinitely cheaper than an engine rebuild because you spun a bearing because your oil's CCS was so dang high it wouldn't circulate in winter.

IMO you're chasing the wrong end of the problem with the wrong fix; find where your consumption is and fix that rather than endangering your engine. Oil is cheaper than labor.


The 2.0 Jettas are known to consume oil. It's inherent in the line. The car itself is a beater and worth less than $1k, and I'm the 5th owner.. so not too attached to it. I nursed it back to health when I bought it, and it's in a good spot now. Not sure what's ultimately gonna get it sent off to the crusher - the transmission issues, the valve train, or something new.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

So... sell it while it's still running?

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted by PimTac
I would dump it all and start fresh. You put an additive in to thicken things up and adding another additive to thin it back down makes no sense. You will end up with a cocktail of unknown in your crankcase.

This is exactly what was thinking. You've got (presumably) good oil in there, contaminated by the Lucas, and you're thinking of contaminating it further with seafoam.

You need to go back to a reliable oil in there and get rid of the gunk. If it were me in your shoes, I'd dump and then refill with Rotella 15w-40 and take it from there.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Have you tried a HiMi oil? If it's just a thousand dollar car at this point, just do what ya gotta do to get by until you can afford something less troublesome. Don't spend any more on it then you absolutely have to.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

That Lucas *#$@ is nothing but a VI improver. STP will do the same thing. Maybe just use a higher viscosity oil.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by lairdwd
Originally Posted by Chris142
Dump the Lucas. Run a 20w-50 instead.


Yep - next time this is what I'm thinking. Although even with the lucas/10w-40 I still did have lifter tick. But the pressure was much better, and overall the valve train quieted down quite a bit.

These Jetta's use a flat tappet cam, which are known the shhi*tt the bed right about where I'm at now mileage wise. I supplement with ZDDP to keep it going little more. The thicker oil obviously helps too.

I'm going to guess that a 10w40 with Lucas added would be closer to a 50w-80. Way too thick.

 

[askani79705]

https://www.valvoline.com/our-products/motor-oil/vr1-racing-oil