OIL ?'S FOR HIGH MILEAGE INTREPID

[rbrogle]

Good Evening,

It has been awhile since I posted and I have an issue that I need some advice on. I have a 2000 Dodge Intrepid 2.7 V6, with 252,000 miles on it. No, the mileage is not a misprint! It's a great car and I have been using Amsoil 10w30 in it since I bought it at 22,000 miles. It is starting to use oil, about a quart in 1500-2000 miles. We even switched it to 10W40 and it's still using it.

My question is, I'm not surprised or upset that the car is using oil (the car owes me nothing!) but I am considering switching to regular oil. I have had excellent luck with Valvoline Maxlife in my older cars. Does anyone think I'll burn less oil if I do this?

Any other ideas to burn less oil? I'd like to get another year (40,000 miles) out of the car. In fact, I want ot get it to 300,000 and take a pic of the odo!

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Stock up on name-brand oil sales or use SuperTech conventional & inexpensive filter like Motorcraft, Purolator or AC Delco -- change the oil every 3.5K and don't worry about oil loss. My Chrysler minivan has been using a quart every 1300 miles for two years now with no change in consumption & it continues to purr. I use a variety of good dinos like Castrol, Pennzoil, Havoline & Kendall. When this stash is gone, I'm going to something like Super Tech for the final chapters of it's life.

 

[-Clayton-]

WOW! A 2.7 with 252k that has to be some kind of a record.

 

[rbrogle]

95, you're not the first person to say that! other than a water pump and timing chain at 190,000 miles, the engine and transmission have been rock solid. The Mass. roads are doing a number on the suspension though.

 

[Schism]

That is amazing, see those on ebay with blown motors all the time, many before even 120k! Must of been the oil as I believe those are sludge prone, if i'm not mistaken. Hmm, i'm sure it is costing you quite a bit using that much oil... not sure what I would do, i'd maybe go to a cheaper synthetic like pennzoil platinum, but it's really your call. Castrols 10w40HM decreased consumption in my moms E150, might work for you, might not.

 

[BrianWC]

The consumption MAY be nothing more than a PCV issue if you are lucky. Otherwise, a thick oil w/ a high flashpoint!

'Course, you could arx it!

 

[55Test]

That's a lot of miles for a 5 year old car. Do you do a lot of driving to get to work or something? Give one of those high mileage oils a try. I prefer Maxlife myself. You may even consider a 15w40 HDEO in the summer months.

 

[rbrogle]

I just changed the PCV valve and have done so at regular intervals. The throttle body was cleaned as well. I am on the road in sales and this is my office on 4 wheels! I think the oil was the savior of the engine from the sludge monster.

Can someone please explain what ARX'ing it means?

 

[55Test]

Auto-Rx® Automotive Application Instructions

 

[fred0803]

You have my attention to say the least. I have an 02 Intrepid 2.7. 106,000 trouble free miles. I always used syn Mobil 1 5w30 or semi MC 5/20.
Great job.
Question: Did you ever change the timing chain.?

Any trans problems.?

 

[BrianWC]

Yeah, he said he changed timing chain and water pump at 190k

 

[fred0803]

I think that your oil consumption is probably or could be related to valve stem seals or check this out, http://www.dodgeintrepid.net/forums/showthread.php?t=46856

 

[rbrogle]

Yup, as I said chain and water pump at 190K. The water pump started leaking through the weep hole, so it was time. When they disassembled it, the chain had a lot of slack, so the pump, chain and guides were all replaced.

The trans. is the amazing thing. I switched (very reluctantly) to the Amsoil transmission fluid on the advice of my late mechanic. After I had heard of some issues with the Mopar 4 speed auto, I was very concerned that the fluid would hurt the transmission. I spoke to the local Amsoil guy and he told me that if the transmission fails, he's buy me a new one and pay to have it installed. And here we are at 252K, fluid/filter changes every 50K and the braided transmission lines were replaced at 150K.

It has been an excellent car. It needs an evap core as it won't hold Freon. I've done struts a few times and some other stuff that would be considered mornal wear at this mileage.

Thanks for the link on the seals. If that's the case, I'll just keep running it for another 50K which is a little over a year. I'm confident it will make it.

 

[kkreit01]

Congrats! My Dad has the same car/engine: except I think his is an '01? He has 97K miles. No incidents. He's only replace the plugs once. He's used Conklin Convoy since new: 5-6K mi OCI.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Wow, another Convoy user, I thought I was alone here! I run it in both our (wife's and mine) Intrepids, and change oil once a year.

A question for the original poster: do I understand correctly, is the original transmission still going strong? If so, THAT has to be a record!

Jeff

 

[Russ300H]

In my opinion the reason your engine lasted so long is the use of full synthetic since 22k. My LHS has 221k on it (older type 3.5)and came back with an unbelievable UOA on Mobil 1 10w30.I was going to shoot for 300K until the trans let go. Still thinking about what to do with that.

To you, keep using the synthetic for the long term. It got you this far, why change? Certain demise for a 2.7 is dino. I would do an Auto R-X treatment on dino then go back to your routine. Personally, I would switch to a less expensive synthetic. Castrol (I know, Group III) and Pennzoil have been on sale for about $2~3/qt., not much more than conventional. Now ruin our day and tell us you have been using Fram filters!

 

[vin_ams]

In my opinion the reason your engine lasted so long is the use of full synthetic since 22k. My LHS has 221k on it (older type 3.5)and came back with an unbelievable UOA on Mobil 1 10w30.I was going to shoot for 300K until the trans let go. Still thinking about what to do with that.

I agree with your statement completly. Good advise. I don't know if the Group 111, will do as well as a PAO Synthetic. But either way, much better than Dino.

 

[vin_ams]

I have to agree that over 200k in a 2.7 is super good, as is the oil consumption (for that engine). I don't think that a viscosity change will help consumption. Have you had an oil analysis, to see if there is potentially anything else going on. Maybe some oil dilution, due to out of range oxygen sensors. Have they ever been checked, over 50-80k they can be somewhat out of range without lighting the emission light. What about partially restricted fuel injectors, that also can give some fuel dilution. Crankcase ventilation issues can increase consumption also. But if I had a 2.7 liter Intripid with that milegage, using around a quart around 2,000 miles, I would do an oil analysis, and continue changing oil with the same grade as before. Many owners of this engine that you have would indeed be really happy with that rate of consumption on that engine. If you change to non synthetic, you may loose some of the benefit that got you as far as you have already gotten. An oil analysis can sometimes pickup on some of those issues. If all above, including emissions is good. I might try the HDD 5w30, which is more expensive, but it would be interesting to see what consumption is like with that. You could also use one of BITOG Sponsers to set you up as a Preferred Customer, to get the oil products wholesale, which would also reduce your cost per quart. The reason I mentioned the HDD 5w30 is that I have seen some customers have some success in certain high mileage vehicles that have used mostly synthetic oil, bring consumption down to some degree, don't ask me why though. I have had some customers experiance that a number of times however.