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Holy cow that's a 500,000 mile engine? That looks great!
Cam lobes look brand new! No varnish or scarring at all!
Post your engine oil fill hole & under valve cover photos
- Thread starter BigShug681
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Cam lobes look brand new! No varnish or scarring at all!
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yes, whoever owned it previously really looked after it.Holy cow that's a 500,000 mile engine? That looks great!
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Man no doubt! I would love to know what was used throughout its previous life. Being that it's a high end vehicle, I'd wager it was a good synth, probably M1 or Toyota dealership synth. Every one of those vehicles I see are always in pristine condition, with the type of owners who definitely care about their vehicles.
I just enjoy seeing stuff like this I always find these photos super interestingI love these kind've threads! Thanks BigShug! Looks great!
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Me too, these are my favorite kind've threads!
Mileage? Oci?
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Our current crop of vehicles is too young for pics to be of value, so, I'll post one from a car I no longer own, my 2001 M5, which had ~180,000km on it when I traded it on my 2014 SRT-8 Charger.
Not sure as to the mileage this was taken at, probably around 150,000 or so? I was using M1 0W-40, no idea what was used prior to my ownership.
Not sure as to the mileage this was taken at, probably around 150,000 or so? I was using M1 0W-40, no idea what was used prior to my ownership.
48000km 6-7000km oci acea a3/b4
29800mi 3700-4400mi
I really think engine design and oil change interval plays a more important role in varnish / baked on deposits / color than does the oil used. These days, oil is so good (current API rated stuff) I don't think it matters what you use.
I've been on BITOG since 2004-ish? so I've seen my fair share of under the valve cover pics. The trend I see, assuming a reasonable OCI, is decreasing deposits / cleaner looking engines as the years go by. Improvement in base oils probably has much to do with that. Sure, you have certain motors that are known for PCV/sludge issues but that seems less common these days.
Mine looks oily.
212k miles on my 05 Honda Element before HPL EC thru fill, waiting for full 5k to be the judge as at 2500miles has had some improvements but not much, just waiting. I've had it 20ish thousand miles about 2 yrs. Ran 2 Rislones, short oci's and gumout mstu 500 miles prior to oc couple times. Mobil1 HM for one 5k interval, Maxlife blend for couple short changes and it has QSFS in it now. PO ran cheap midas changes at unknown intervals, said 3k but I doubt it, he had it for 120k miles.
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My 04 Expedition 5.4l 2v w 192k on it, put 10k on it since we bought last year from older retired couple. They had it thoroughly maintained by dealer every 3k miles, he was a truck driver and believed in 3k oci. Tad bit of varnish, have HPL EC and Valvoline EP 5w30 in it that should clean up nicely
That doesn't look like 3K change intervals to me, but I bet it's not as bad on the inside (with valve cover removed) as it appears to be through the oil fill hole.
I personally don't think varnish is the end of the world-- some folks associate varnish / deposits with poor maintenance habits or a worn engine. A lot of that depends on engine design. Some engines may not have a lot of oil splash up top, which leaves residual oil in places that forms varnish and deposits. But that same engine may be perfectly lubricating the moving components- cam/rockers/valve stems/timing chain/etc.
My big concern on a used vehicle would be previous owner sticking with mfg recommended OCI which are often extended to 10K and beyond, combined with short trips, especially in a cold climate. You can usually discern that by the miles driven each year (car age/mileage).
Thankfully it runs likes a Honda should and is a good suv, wifes dd. I had the valves adjusted and they said it wasn't terrible w sludge but had a fair amount and that thick varnish. I am not too worried about it but want to clean it up. Will do a bunch of short oci's as I stocked up w rebates and sales for a while and then may try the EC again or a run or 2 of HPL oil in a year.
Valvoline synthetic- 4000 mile oci
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