Mobil 1 Covering their butts on this one

[ALS]

I decided to ask Mobil a question on my use of Mobil 1 here is the question.

I switched from 10W30 Dino to 10W30 Mobil 1 in my 1987 Volvo Turbo. I am concerned over the increased oil temp. If sitting in traffic the oil temp will jump up to as much as 290 degrees.
Once airflow is reestablished through the oil cooler the temp drops back to 190 degrees.
With dino oil it would rise at the most to 200 to 210 degrees with a normal running temp of 180 degrees. I'm very concerned to why the Mobil 1
is holding heat in and not dissipating it as quickly as dino oil does.


Subject: Mobil1 product Technical question

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 22:53:07 -0500(CDT)

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]
Dear Sir,

Thank you for your inquiry into Mobil -1 10W-30. We are not aware of any problems with Mobil -1 holding heat as you described. I suggest that you
pay close attention to your owners manual.

Regards,

REC - Technical Support

The above information is provided in good faith based upon the information
presented by the customer. ExxonMobil is not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from inaccuracies or errors in any of the information
provided or any acts or omissions taken in response to our advice.

Exxon Technical Support:
Mobil Technical Support:
1-800-44Exxon Prompt #3
1-800-Mobil25 Prompt #3
1-800-443-9966)
(1-800-662-4525)

Pay close attention to your owners manual?
What the Phuck is my owners manual going to tell me about why my oil temp is running 10 degrees hotter under normal use. And jumping 100 plus degrees if I'm stuck in traffic when using M1 over dino.

 

[williar]

Well, what did you expect them to say? It is plusable that M1 has a higher operating temp than the equivalent dino, but you might find that 10-degreee difference amongst dinos, too. As for the 100-degree rise in traffic, something is wrong here. It sounds like you have a problem with your auxiliary cooling fan not turning on. It can't be the oil. I bet if you put the dino back in you'll see the same problem.

 

[tenderloin]

100 degree increase by use of Mobil 1?

No way

 

[ALS]

Yes way

 

[highmiler]

There can be several causes but I'll bet the Mobil 1 is not the culprit.

Replace Mobil 1 with 10W-30 dino and find out.

[ August 29, 2003, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: highmiler ]

 

[GregH]

ALS, Not meaning to sound mean but if you are convinced the oil brand is causing this tremendous elevation in temp why bother asking anone on this forumn. Just fix it and let us know the technical reason.
GregH

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GregH:
ALS, Not meaning to sound mean but if you are convinced the oil brand is causing this tremendous elevation in temp why bother asking anone on this forumn. Just fix it and let us know the technical reason.
GregH

---

Bingo. You took the words right out of my mouth (or off my keyboard). If it were mine, and I was convinced that Mobil 1 was the problem, I wouldn't be on here complaining about it, or wasting my time asking Mobil about it, I'd be getting the oil out of my engine and putting something else in it. (Then again, if I had an axe to grind against Mobil 1...)

 

[ruking77]

This might be a dumb question, but is your temperature gauge one specifically for the coolant temperature and/or the OIL temperature? My Corvette has both so I can get a read both on oil temperature and coolant temperature. In daily operation the coolant temperature is usually VERY stable. The oil temperature fluctuates from a rare high of 250 degrees in 104 degrees the desert going up a long steep grade in Death Valley to a more normal 210-220 degrees. If the gauage measures coolant temperature, I would take a look at the coolant system.

[ August 29, 2003, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: ruking77 ]

 

[DEWFPO]

With all due respect ALS, something else has to be wrong.

The reason I say this, I run synthethic oil in our 2003 Audi Allroad which is a 2.7L twin turbo and on a 4 mile, 7 percent constant uphill grade from ~7000 ft. elevation to over 10,000 ft. in elevation, the oil temp gauge will hit 250 degrees every time. That's at about 3,500 rpm with both turbos spooled up, 4th gear and 65 mph. As soon as I reach the top and start coming down you can almost whatch the oil temp gauge move back down to about 210-220 degrees.

Is there a thernmostat in your oil cooler line that might be malfunctioning? What's your coolant temp gauge saying?

DEWFPO

 

[jthorner]

I very much doubt that Mobil 1 is "holding the heat in".

Heat flow is something very few people understand well ... or even at all. Somehow I doubt that ALS has *any* training in thermodynamics or has bothered to get self educated on the subject.

The odds of Mobil 1 causing a high temperature condition are vanishingly low.

The first test would be to switch back to dino and recheck under identical circumstances.

John

 

[buster]

quote:

---

Bingo. You took the words right out of my mouth (or off my keyboard). If it were mine, and I was convinced that Mobil 1 was the problem, I wouldn't be on here complaining about it, or wasting my time asking Mobil about it, I'd be getting the oil out of my engine and putting something else in it. (Then again, if I had an axe to grind against Mobil 1...)

---

I agree. It's not the oil.

 

[WeyounDS9]

quote:

---

Originally posted by jthorner:
Somehow I doubt that ALS has *any* training in thermodynamics or has bothered to get self educated on the subject.

---

Whoa!
Easy on the judgement fella!
The man had a question and deserves respectful answers, even if most of us disagree with his basic premise.

Fred

PS: Sorry Mods, I know I am not a moderator here, but I am a 6000 post Admin on another site, and old habits die hard..

 

[JohnBrowning]

Check oil cooling system. I suspect that the thermostat/actuator for the oil cooler is not properly funtioning. Their might also be issues with temp guage/sender or other systems.

When the oil temp gets close to 300 F your engine will not sound the same. The water temp would also climb as their is a direct coralation between water and oil temps as the oil provides 20% of engines cooling. This assumes all systems are functioning as designed.

I think your post clearly points to a problem not related to oil. You mention that when moveing (I assume you are above 25-35 mph) that their is only a 10 degree difference. 10 degree's is not even going to be significant due to intrementation error and your abilty to resolve the pointer if not digital. Air flow seems to be the key in your post.

[ August 29, 2003, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: JohnBrowning ]

 

[Drstressor]

Interesting post. Synthetic oil base stocks have a higher specific heat value than conventional base stocks. In practical terms, that means that a synthetic oil can remove heat away from a source more efficiently than a conventional oil. But that also means a synthetic will "hold" heat (i.e. not cool off as fast) as a conventional oil when exposed to the same heat sink such as an oil cooler.

But so much for theory. The difference in specific heat is small and is unlikely to account for the large differences reported here. I agree with the other guys. It ain't the oil's fault. There must me some other problem.

 

[YZF150]

Palmer, well said.

ALS, you posed the same query in this post on August 15. I'm sorry that you've not received a satisfactory response.

As to whether Mobil is CYA on this, that's one way of looking at it. But, they, like the rest of us here, would have no way of knowing the cause either, short of having had the same experience. In your previous post, you suggested that it was synthetic oil generally that was suspect.

Before attributing the cause to anyone or any thing, I recommend that you have the oiling/sensing system checked out. There are all kinds of people here who like to help with anything, but I think we're stumped on this one.

It is unlikely in the extreme that the oil itself causes this.

 

[AudiJunkie]

That's interesting. Since I have used Mobil 1, my left fron tire won't hold air well.

Steering is unpredictable. After driving in the rain now, my car is unusally dirty. I have only noticed this effect only since using the Mobil 1.

Do you think it was a bad batch of oil or maybe agents from Castrol are sabotaging my car.

The worst thing about Mobil 1 is the trouble it has caused in the bedroom with me and my lady friend. Frigg'in Mobil 1 !!!

[ August 29, 2003, 10:52 PM: Message edited by: AudiJunkie ]

 

[White 03]

I hope Volvo's have better temperature gauges than my Ford. The Fords from what I have read and seen dampen the gauge out so it only reads in the middle. Oil pressure gauge is even worse.

I wonder if the whole engine is getting hot and only the oil gauge is going hot?

 

[pscholte]

quote:

---

Originally posted by AudiJunkie:
Do you think...agents from Castrol are sabotaging my car.

---

AJ,

I can't tell you how I know, but Castrol agents only go after automobiles using Shell Helix motor oils...you are quite safe.

 

[turbochem]

quote:

---

That's interesting. Since I have used Mobil 1, my left fron tire won't hold air well. Steering is unpredictable. After driving in the rain now, my car is unusally dirty. I have only noticed this effect only since using the Mobil 1.

---

You are sssooooooooooooo wrong....it's the type of fabric softener you use that will cause all that!!!

 

[S2000driver]

There is some basic flaws to this logic. If the oil is holding the heat in, then how comes the heat is delivered to the sensor? Therefore, the oil is carrying the heat from the engine to the sensor quite well.

The difference in specific heat values between oil bases is not enough to justify the differences in temperature you describe. I would search for other sources of inadequacies in you oil cooler. Seems that the oil is doing its job removing heat from the engine just fine, maybe too well for the way your car is set up to reject the heat from the oil.

quote:

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Originally posted by ALS:
I'm very concerned to why the Mobil 1
is holding heat in and not dissipating it as quickly as dino oil does.

---

[ August 30, 2003, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: S2000driver ]