I'd say it meets expectations. There's plenty of staining obviously. What did the underside of the VC look like?
Photo: under valve cover. 16 Trax 80K.
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I'd say it meets expectations. There's plenty of staining obviously. What did the underside of the VC look like?
Always PP 5W30 in there? My only spotless engines are my 2001 Kingquad 300 and my 2011 tractor, and they've had mostly Rotella T of some flavor in them at ~100hr intervals.
The Subaru looks more like the OP's engine inside inspite of 6k mile intervals of mostly highway, but it had about 7-8 changes of dealer "synthetic 0W20" before I started used PP Euro in 5W30 or 0W30.
This Focus I got with 220k km on it, with cheap oil run long I think. This is after a few 8-10k mile OCI's of Motomaster Synthetic, and some PYB too. Not great, but not terrible either.
Looks fine to me. Wonder how mine looks, pretty much the same base engine as you have there. Eventually my PCV/valve cover assembly will go out and I guess I'll find out then. I have no maintenance history on the vehicle but I changed the oil recently a few months after buying it just because I wanted to and intend to change it at 50% of OLM in the future. Engine is ONLY used on longer highway drives. Around town/short trips the engine is not used.
I guess that might be something to consider if you're planning on following the OLM and you're looking to keep an engine clean and varnish free. IMO an OLM isn't programmed for keeping an engine Bitog clean.
I didn't say anything about cleaning varnish.
Okay, but then what good would RT6 do for the OP?
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LOL - only because there is scrubbing action happening on the wear surfaces. Some engines (not necessarily this one) have VVT/VCT that is sensitive to varnish.
It's not horrible, but nothing to brag about either...
OVERKILL
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Problem is that it gets into the ring land areas and can cause stuck rings. Basically, areas or low flow and high temperature are prime targets for varnish and lacquer.
In my opinion, that looks great. For 8,000k OCI, not bad at all.
You can lead a horse to a good oil & maintenance practices, but you can’t make him use them.
Ot bad really.
I was also getting low boost, which might have been a byproduct of vacuum issues, but I took of the wastegate actuator and shortened the rod, thus closing the wastegate firmly, as those are prone to opening slightly under boost.
I really wouldn’t lose too much sleep over the internals of that engine. It looks about what I’d expect for a high strung turbo on a somewhat longer OCI.
Before I met my wife she had the dealer do oil changes on her Encore with the 1.4T by the OLM. Since I took over maintenance I’ve been doing 5k OCIs. It’s been fed an exclusive diet of Valvoline synthetic. The power these engines produce is impressive, and they’re fun to drive.
Before I met my wife she had the dealer do oil changes on her Encore with the 1.4T by the OLM. Since I took over maintenance I’ve been doing 5k OCIs. It’s been fed an exclusive diet of Valvoline synthetic. The power these engines produce is impressive, and they’re fun to drive.
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Interesting, I kind of figured it would look a little cleaner/less varnish, but with a turbo going 8,000-9,000 on a group lll synthetic I guess this is to be expected.
Not bad, but you do wonder if the oil control ring and grooves on the combustion rings might be on the way to sticking a little bit. Then again maybe not.
Not bad, but you do wonder if the oil control ring and grooves on the combustion rings might be on the way to sticking a little bit. Then again maybe not.
yeah, but for most people, they are only going to keep the vehicle X amount of years... follwing that oil life monitor is good enough, so the varnish doesn't really matter.
I still remember my FIL's truck... he didn't change the oil every 15000 miles. we used synthetic oil because we knew he wouldn't get it changed.. . in the 160,000 mile range engine develops a noise that was a crack one piston.. yeah there was varnish in the engine but the bearings and stuff were perfect. I replaced one piston and put the head back on.
thing was still running fine at 277k.
I just don't think it hurts the engines as much as some people think it will.
insides of both my harleys looked like that too..
put 200,000 + on two of them.
so I dont think it makes much difference, not the varnish.
OVERKILL
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Well, that's the trade-off, right? As I mentioned earlier, the OLM and API testing protocols aren't designed to yield "pristine", because there's no logic in mandating an engine goes to the wreckers looking brand new.
If the engine is down a few ponies and has a bit of blow-by, what's the significance if the rest of the vehicle is on its last legs?
So, for average Jane or Joe, for which this system is designed around, it's totally adequate.
exactly right... BITOG's is the holy grail of compulsive oil changers, so that varnish coating offends their sensibilities.
The rest of the world, who see an oil change as an inconvenience with a cost, the inside of the engine is just something that they will never see.
the rest of the world is who that OLM is aimed at.
I bet that this is as clear or cleaner than 95% of the cars on the road. Drivers in Europe have much longer OCI intervals which seems to work for them. Have a look at Mileageimpossible” on Facebook and you’ll see high mileage cars from all over the world. This 1.4 will go a long time with synthetic changes at the OLM recommendation.
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