I finally got some spare time and had a chance to replace my valve/cam cover gasket which has been leaking since I got this 1996 Saturn SC2 a few months ago for use as my commuter ride.
A couple of details...it had 110k miles on it when I got it and has a bit over 116k now. The previous owner was a bit "lax" with maintenance. She had "all the repair records," but there appeared to be a grand total of about 10 oil changes over the course of 110k miles. Peering in through the oil fill hole revealed what appeared to be a fair amount of sludge. Thank goodness Saturns are known oil burners and that plenty of make-up oil likely kept the additive packs up to snuff (I hope). It ran OK, but there was a slight tick, the oil was filthy, it was about 1.5 quarts low, and my guess is that it had been sitting parked for the last 1-2 years. I got it for a song, and drove it home from Philly to NY. Before I hit the freeway, I stopped in a Walmart and bought some supplies. I added 1qt of MMO and topped it off with Rotella 5W-40 Synthetic.
I didn't have time to change the oil until about 10 days later and in the meantime, I'd put about 1000 miles on the car. I kept it topped off with Rotella 5W-40 synth. When I finally had some time to change the oil, it was pretty dirty. At this juncture, it looked like hot fudge. However, the valvetrain tick had disappeared. I refilled with Rotella 5W-40 synthetic and a Fram ExtraGuard filter (I know...I know). At 2000 miles, I added a quart of MMO. Within a week and about 1000 miles later, the oil was the color and consistency of hot fudge again so I changed it. This time, I simply refilled with Mobil1 0W-30 and used a Fram ExtraGuard again. That was about 2000 miles ago and it has needed 1.5qts of make-up oil in that time. OK, so that's the back story.
Yesterday, I decided that I'm tired of the valve/cam cover leak and decided to replace the gasket. I got the Felpro kit from Napa. I was expecting to find a fairly grim picture when I opened things up based on the goop I'd drained twice before with the MMO runs. What I did find was a very clean engine. There is no discernable sludge...just a yellow "tint" of varnish on things. The flash on my cheesy mobile phone camera seems to bring out the yellow. But you'll note that you can't see any sludge. And you can even see the detailed "styrofoam looking" casting marks on the head. This is EXACTLY what things looked like when I took off the cover. I didn't clean anything (yet).
Would I use MMO in a clean engine with a known history of oil changes with quality oil? Nope.
But I would absolutely use it again for de-lousing a car with a suspect history, known sludge, or a "sticky lifter".
Best,
A couple of details...it had 110k miles on it when I got it and has a bit over 116k now. The previous owner was a bit "lax" with maintenance. She had "all the repair records," but there appeared to be a grand total of about 10 oil changes over the course of 110k miles. Peering in through the oil fill hole revealed what appeared to be a fair amount of sludge. Thank goodness Saturns are known oil burners and that plenty of make-up oil likely kept the additive packs up to snuff (I hope). It ran OK, but there was a slight tick, the oil was filthy, it was about 1.5 quarts low, and my guess is that it had been sitting parked for the last 1-2 years. I got it for a song, and drove it home from Philly to NY. Before I hit the freeway, I stopped in a Walmart and bought some supplies. I added 1qt of MMO and topped it off with Rotella 5W-40 Synthetic.
I didn't have time to change the oil until about 10 days later and in the meantime, I'd put about 1000 miles on the car. I kept it topped off with Rotella 5W-40 synth. When I finally had some time to change the oil, it was pretty dirty. At this juncture, it looked like hot fudge. However, the valvetrain tick had disappeared. I refilled with Rotella 5W-40 synthetic and a Fram ExtraGuard filter (I know...I know). At 2000 miles, I added a quart of MMO. Within a week and about 1000 miles later, the oil was the color and consistency of hot fudge again so I changed it. This time, I simply refilled with Mobil1 0W-30 and used a Fram ExtraGuard again. That was about 2000 miles ago and it has needed 1.5qts of make-up oil in that time. OK, so that's the back story.
Yesterday, I decided that I'm tired of the valve/cam cover leak and decided to replace the gasket. I got the Felpro kit from Napa. I was expecting to find a fairly grim picture when I opened things up based on the goop I'd drained twice before with the MMO runs. What I did find was a very clean engine. There is no discernable sludge...just a yellow "tint" of varnish on things. The flash on my cheesy mobile phone camera seems to bring out the yellow. But you'll note that you can't see any sludge. And you can even see the detailed "styrofoam looking" casting marks on the head. This is EXACTLY what things looked like when I took off the cover. I didn't clean anything (yet).
Would I use MMO in a clean engine with a known history of oil changes with quality oil? Nope.
But I would absolutely use it again for de-lousing a car with a suspect history, known sludge, or a "sticky lifter".
Best,
Last edited by a moderator:
