Nasty rumor about Penzoil

Arnoldr45 · Mar 28, 2012

I was shopping for oil awhile back, probably a good 5 years ago and was looking at Pennzoil.

now... someone came up to me, the guy was covered in oil and grease and told me he was a mechanic after I questioned him on it. Anyways he recommended I steer clear of Pennzoil. From the way he tells it every engine he took apart that used Pennzoil was in horrible condition, I guess from the lack of detergents.

Is there any truth to that at all? I've stayed away from it ever since but I'm seeing a lot of people here prefer Pennzoil

RamFan · Mar 28, 2012

No truth to it.

synthetic_crazy · Mar 28, 2012

Pennzoil is one of the premier motor oils available. The person who told you this is VERY MISINFORMED! In my opinion, after viewing some of the used oil analysis posted on this site I believe that Pennzoil conventional is the best conventional available.

Search around a bit on this site and you will find a plethora of threads on this very topic.

Rand · Mar 28, 2012

it might have been true in 1970.

Topo · Mar 28, 2012

Highly unlikely its the worse oil ever. It's a Top 5 Conventional Oil out there IMHO. Won't say it's number 1, because to each their own.

UNC151 · Mar 28, 2012

Total hogwash...too many people with different vehicles and different driving conditions using different versions of Pennzoil with outstanding results on this website for this to be a fact.

The amount of wrong/bad/mis-information that exists today is disheartening to say the least.

bepperb · Mar 28, 2012

Well there may have been some truth to it at some point in time. Not in a decade at least, maybe in the 60's or 70's.

Spazdog · Mar 28, 2012

that rumor again?!

boxcartommie22 · Mar 28, 2012

i believe him.....lol

simple_gifts · Mar 28, 2012

Originally Posted By: Rand
it might have been true in 1970.

Yeah, back when bacon, eggs, buttered toast, and whole milk was a "balanced breakfast"

123Saab · Mar 28, 2012

Originally Posted By: Arnoldr45
I was shopping for oil awhile back, probably a good 5 years ago and was looking at Pennzoil.

now... someone came up to me, the guy was covered in oil and grease and told me he was a mechanic after I questioned him on it. Anyways he recommended I steer clear of Pennzoil. From the way he tells it every engine he took apart that used Pennzoil was in horrible condition, I guess from the lack of detergents.

Is there any truth to that at all? I've stayed away from it ever since but I'm seeing a lot of people here prefer Pennzoil

NHGUY · Mar 28, 2012

I know of a guy in the business who thinks the same way.He claimed you could go online and type in Pennzoil and Sludge and tons of sites would come up proving that it causes sludge in engines.He is partial to some brand I have never heard of (mail order only I guess),but uses Amalie for his customers cars.People like that will never change their minds...they have already made them up,for right or wrong..and oh yea he is a Chevy-only guy.Try to change his mind there too,yea right.

fdcg27 · Mar 28, 2012

Pennzoil and Quaker State were at one time rumored to cause engine sludge.
They probably didn't then when changed on appropriate intervals, and they certainly don't now.
I have been using PP since its intoduction.
I've seen nothing but good results with it, and even had a really good UOA using it on my older Accord.
It's posted in that forum.
I've used a little Pennzoil Conventional and Quaker State Conventional here and there as well, and would not hesitate to use either again.
In short, an old wives' tale.

electrolover · Mar 28, 2012

dont buy the lie!! sopus is awesome!

tommygunn · Mar 28, 2012

Originally Posted By: Arnoldr45
From the way he tells it every engine he took apart that used Pennzoil was in horrible condition, I guess from the lack of detergents.

Well, truth is all oil causes sludge eventually if you never change it. Maybe you should steer clear of oil altogether.

Guaranteed you get no sludge the entire life of your engine.

Capa · Mar 28, 2012

Originally Posted By: bepperb
Well there may have been some truth to it at some point in time. Not in a decade at least, maybe in the 60's or 70's.

And probably also 80's. Pennzoil actually addressed the rumor in their Q&A that was posted here. They admitted to the problem but said it was mainly mechanical. They also stated that since Pennzoil was/is the top selling dino it is logical that's more vehicles slugged up with it than with any other brand.

dparm · Mar 28, 2012

What, no mention of the wax content?

Lyman · Mar 28, 2012

Back in the late 70s early 80s my buddy was an automotive machinist. He would ask every customer what oil they had been using before he tore the motor down for rebuild. He told me that Pennzoil users always had the most sludge in the pan. And Valvoline users had the cleanest engines. Kind of a crude way to judge oil but for the time it worked for him I guess. Those were the only two oils he mentioned to me. I know that was a long time ago and oil in general has come a long long way. My last fill was Pennzoil.

tommygunn · Mar 28, 2012

Yeah, problem is what was cheaper back then, Valvoline or Pennzoil?

This is half the reason why people running boutique synthetics have cars that last longer...the oil is better, but the person turning the wrench will have a lot more common sense.

The_Jeff · Mar 28, 2012

At some point they mentioned "paraffinic" and someone put two and two together. Even though one does not cause the other.

Nasty rumor about Penzoil

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