Pennzoil Platinum vs Mobil 1 HM for this vehicle?

[MuzzleFlash40]

A co-worker of mine has a 2002 buick Lesabre with 96k miles on it. He usually used Mobil 1. He said he uses about 1 1/2 quarts during a 8k OCI. I was under his hood the other day and noticed a little bit of sludge when I looked in the engine fill hole. This was strange sincea good quality synthetic was being used. I asked him what his driving style was, he told me that it might take him a year or more to put the 8k on the vehicle. He only lives 2.5 miles from work. Plus all of his other driving is around town, so it sees very little freeway trips. I suggested that he go with a 6 month OCI with this car since all it does is stop and go short trips. Is this sound advise? Furthermore, would PP be better to clean the engine? Or would the Mobil 1 HM have the same cleaning ability plus help with the oil loss?

 

[volk06]

You gave him solid advice I would just tell him to shorten up the OCI and take the car on a long drive( 30 min+) every few weeks to get everything up to temp. 1.5 quarts in 8k miles is not that bad. M1 HM will more than likely stop the leaking and clean it up. Mobil 1 is a high quality oil and the SN formula keeps impressing so I'm not sure how much better PP would be.

 

[A_Harman]

I think your advice to go to a 6-month OCI was good. One question though: has the owner been changing according to the Oil Life Monitor? I don't have anything against PP, but the M1 HM will probably do better for reducing oil consumption. In my 2002 Camaro, M1 HM had a consumption rate of about 1/2 quart in 5000 miles.

 

[KCJeep]

Could be something to be gained by introducing a different add pack to clean things up, but I also think the driving pattern is mostly to blame.

 

[chubbs1]

Good advice, really either would be good. I have seen the cleaning abilities of Platinum first hand. I took over the maintenance of my uncle's Honda Accord and there was varnish all over the dipstick and down the fill hole, 2 OCI's later the varnish is GONE. No driving changes, he is a short tripper too. I had tried to clean the dipstick before with various solvents and they did nothing. I think PP could not only clean it but possibly stop the consumption.

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

I'm not sure if he has been using the OLM or not i'll have ask him. So is Mobil 1 HM the better choice here? Or should he go with PP for a change or two to get it cleaned up before going to the HM oil to help with the oil loss? Or is it just trial and error to see which one works better?

 

[229]

Ask him to also do a coolant consumption test. If it is internally leaking at the intake manifold then that could cause some sludge.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: MuzzleFlash40

I'm not sure if he has been using the OLM or not i'll have ask him. So is Mobil 1 HM the better choice here? Or should he go with PP for a change or two to get it cleaned up before going to the HM oil to help with the oil loss? Or is it just trial and error to see which one works better?

M1 HM can do cleanup and oil consumption reduction at the same time. But its cleaning rate may be slower than PP. I don't recall reading on BITOG that PP is good at oil consumption reduction.

 

[tig1]

If he has only used M1 and only doing 8K OCIs then it's not the oil. M1 oils keep engines very clean, especially with this short of an OCI. His engine will have the infamous lower intake manifold coolant leak. Their well known for this problem. Coolant is leaking slowly into the engine oil and forms a lot of sludge over time. He will have to have this repaired.