Mobil 1 0W-20 - Cleaning and Consumption

[Art_Vandelay]

I just checked the oil in my 96 Town Car today and it was down about 1 quart. I have 5 months and 3000 miles on it so far. This is my 3rd oil change since I bought the car with 59,500 miles on it.

First change: (Motorcraft 5W-20) 3 months 3000 miles - Zero consumption. Oil was still pretty clean at the end.

Second change: (German Castrol 0W-30) 7 months 5000 miles - Zero consumption. Oil was extremely clean at the end.

I just checked the oil last month at about 2400 miles into the cycle and it was full. It also was a lot cleaner. Almost new looking. Now suddenly it has darkened considerably and is down a quart in less than 1000 miles.

Maybe it's doing some deep cleaning? Can all that cleaning jack up consumption? Anyway, just sharing the experience with the BITOG community. I'm going to throw a quart of Kendal 5W-20 full synthetic in as make up oil.

It's smooth as silk on the 0W-20. Starts beautiful in the freezing cold and is clean as a whistle looking through the fill hole. Here's some pics showing the oil color which is actually darker than it appears in the photos:

 

[tig1]

Art,
You may want to replace your PVC valve. On my 96 Merc 4.6 with about 175K it suddenly went from it's usual 1 qt. oil comsumption per 6500 miles to 1 qt in 4000 miles. I checked the PVC and it was spotless, but I changed it anyway. Next time I was back to 6500 miles to a qt. Just a thought.

 

[Boss302fan]

The oil looks kind of red. Did you use a little bit of MMO? If you did, that is normal for the MMO to burn off.

 

[buster]

I would check the pcv valve and keep running the M1. It can take time for oil consumption to slow down when switching due to a few reasons.

 

[daman]

I agree with the above posts,i run the 0/30 and no consummation at all,zero! just a nice clean engine.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Art,
You may want to replace your PVC valve. On my 96 Merc 4.6 with about 175K it suddenly went from it's usual 1 qt. oil comsumption per 6500 miles to 1 qt in 4000 miles. I checked the PVC and it was spotless, but I changed it anyway. Next time I was back to 6500 miles to a qt. Just a thought.


Thanks for the suggestion tig1. I was hoping you'd take the Grand Marquis to a million miles on Mobil 1. It's only 100 oil changes by your clock!

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: Boss302fan
The oil looks kind of red. Did you use a little bit of MMO? If you did, that is normal for the MMO to burn off.


No. It's straight Mobil 1 0W-20 no additives. The color is thrown off in the picture. It looks dark brown in person.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Originally Posted By: tig1
Art,
You may want to replace your PVC valve. On my 96 Merc 4.6 with about 175K it suddenly went from it's usual 1 qt. oil comsumption per 6500 miles to 1 qt in 4000 miles. I checked the PVC and it was spotless, but I changed it anyway. Next time I was back to 6500 miles to a qt. Just a thought.


Thanks for the suggestion tig1. I was hoping you'd take the Grand Marquis to a million miles on Mobil 1. It's only 100 oil changes by your clock!

Art,
The Merc had 218K on it when I traded to the Fusion last August. No doubt it will run for many more miles as the Ford dealer where I trade told me it was going to be used as a taxi. The engine ran good as new and was spotless through the oil fill hole. Only hope the Fusion does as well.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

I wish you well with the Fusion Tig1. Seems to be a good car.

 

[mechtech2]

The color is not too important - it is hardly colored.
But that sudden consumption is a BIG problem.
It is burning it, blowing it out, or leaking.
As mentioned, check the WHOLE PCV system. This includes checking the valve cover gasket for leaks, as this won't allow the PCV system to flow right.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
The color is not too important - it is hardly colored.
But that sudden consumption is a BIG problem.
It is burning it, blowing it out, or leaking.
As mentioned, check the WHOLE PCV system. This includes checking the valve cover gasket for leaks, as this won't allow the PCV system to flow right.


+1. Something that might be of interest to you. I was warned by a few of the oil company tech guys that I should be careful with 0w-xx oils in older cars that might be on the verge of leaking. It was their opinion that 0w-xx oils have a way of finding their way out of an older engine.

That is why I'm only running a 0W oil in the new Jeep. My Aerostar and E150 are using 5W-xx oils. I do plan on testing 0w30 in the E-150, it is 100% leak free.

 

[rclint]

PCV valves are mentioned often on here, and I have heard of times like tig1 mentioned with his PCV valve problem. However of all the cars, trucks etc that I have owned, and I also have been working out of town for awhile now...never have I seen a PCV valve issue. I have cleaned them out with carb cleaner before, however I assume they were working just fine before I done so. I think your problem is it's just taking the Mobil 1 to settle in to your engine, and by that I have no idea what goes on when switching brands of oils that cause this, however I have read about it often here. Or you may just need to switch back to another brand if the consumption does not go away, I have also read about people here who find there car does not like a particular brand of oil, and I have myself seen cars use oil with one brand, and not with another, I'm sure this is one reason why some people fall in love with certain brands of oil, or on the other hand develop a distaste maybe even a hate for certain brand/s of oils.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
The color is not too important - it is hardly colored.
But that sudden consumption is a BIG problem.
It is burning it, blowing it out, or leaking.
As mentioned, check the WHOLE PCV system. This includes checking the valve cover gasket for leaks, as this won't allow the PCV system to flow right.


+1. Something that might be of interest to you. I was warned by a few of the oil company tech guys that I should be careful with 0w-xx oils in older cars that might be on the verge of leaking. It was their opinion that 0w-xx oils have a way of finding their way out of an older engine.

That is why I'm only running a 0W oil in the new Jeep. My Aerostar and E150 are using 5W-xx oils. I do plan on testing 0w30 in the E-150, it is 100% leak free.


Thank you both for the input. I will check the PCV system out. I also did a lot more city driving with short trips this time around, compared to the first 2 oil changes. Last time I checked it fuel dilution and water may have artificially elevated the level. Recently the car has been on some 1 hour highway trips and maybe that burned off the excess?

I think the 0W-20 is OK for use in my car. I have another 5 quarts so I'll at least give it one more shot. After I top off do you guys think I can still go to 5000 miles or should I just change this out soon?

 

[demarpaint]

If the PCV system is not opeating properly I'd do an early OCI, truth is the oil can easily handle a 5K OCI. I tend to be overkill though. You can also mix the 0W20 with 0W30 or 5W30 and use it up that way, if you are doubtful.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: rclint
PCV valves are mentioned often on here, and I have heard of times like tig1 mentioned with his PCV valve problem. However of all the cars, trucks etc that I have owned, and I also have been working out of town for awhile now...never have I seen a PCV valve issue. I have cleaned them out with carb cleaner before, however I assume they were working just fine before I done so. I think your problem is it's just taking the Mobil 1 to settle in to your engine, and by that I have no idea what goes on when switching brands of oils that cause this, however I have read about it often here. Or you may just need to switch back to another brand if the consumption does not go away, I have also read about people here who find there car does not like a particular brand of oil, and I have myself seen cars use oil with one brand, and not with another, I'm sure this is one reason why some people fall in love with certain brands of oil, or on the other hand develop a distaste maybe even a hate for certain brand/s of oils.


I too have read about the adjustment an engine may make to new oil chemistry. That's one of the reasons I wasn't too concerned yesterday when I saw the dipstick.

Going from Castrol 0W-30 to Mobil 1 0W-20 was a drastic change as well. Though they are merely a grade apart, in name, there is a world of difference between them. The GC was an awful mistake in my car. Every winter day below 40 degrees it caused a high idle condition upon start up. Fascinating experiment just a bad move. Didn't meet Ford's ESE-M2C153-E spec either. I actually would roll my car out of my driveway, I'm on a slight incline, in neutral rather than have it slam into reverse. I have no tach but it sounded like 1100+ RPM. Took a while to settle down too! As soon as spring hit it ran normal so I kept it in.

Maybe this wonderful Domestic 0W-20 simply cleaned out all that evil, black bottled, Foreign 0W-30, that tried to clog up my beautiful Lincoln.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

UPDATE:

I rechecked the oil today, after it sat overnight, and it only reads half a quart down. Yesterday I checked it 5-7 minutes after shutting it off. I guess I didn't give it enough time to drain back for a true reading.

I had just under 3/4 quart of Castrol 0W-30 laying around so I threw it in. I figure it'll make an excellent additive.

I took a few shots of the fill hole. Looks like new inside.

 

[rclint]

I guess out of the PCV valve, thin oil, oil settling in theories, you had the very best luck with the car not sitting long enough for the oil to drain down. If I ever have a quart low on oil I had rather have your problem than any other !!

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Yes, I agree. It was still down about a half quart but not bad. In fact I'm not even sure you are supposed to add oil when it is in between the dots. I have to go check the manual lol!

 

[dwendt44]

Go back to one of the earlier brands of oil and keep an eye on it.
Some engines like some oils better than others.

 

[Jason2007]

My 07 Mustang GT w/4.6 love the M1 0w-20, doesnt use a drop.