Question about synthetic oil

[08762456]

I have a 91 accord and it's a real oil burner. Every morning plumes of smoke come out the exhaust and it goes through a quart in about 300 miles. I replaced the valve seals and it seems like that has improved the smoke slightly, but the cars not really worth it to spend any more money on. Anyway, my question is that will using synthetic oil reduce the amount of visible smoke from the exhaust? I've heard that it burns cleaner, but it also burns easier. In other words it doesn't smoke as much, but it would be consumed more than dino oil. I know it doesn't make sense to spend more money on synthetic when I'll just burn through it. I was just curios to see what your opinions are.

Btw - I've tried most conventional/synthetic blend oil brands, and haven't noticed any significant change from one to to the other. In terms of consumption or smoke.

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

oil control rings are shot. dont waste money on synthetic. start running a thicker weight such as 40 or 50 to slow it down. i would sell thr car or put in another engine. save the environment

 

[ZZman]

No.

Run a heavier weight oil. Like a 10-40.

**Another option might be something like Auto-RX if the ring packs are gunked up or something like Engine Restorer if the cylinder walls are messed up.

 

[heypete]

Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
oil control rings are shot. dont waste money on synthetic. start running a thicker weight such as 40 or 50 to slow it down. i would sell thr car or put in another engine. save the environment


Seconded.

That, or get a ring job done. Of course, on a 91 Accord, it's probably not worthwhile unless one wants to learn how to do it oneself.

 

[Bluestream]

I would run a 20W50 in summer and a 10W40 in winter.

Does it pass an e-test?

 

[danthaman1980]

Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
oil control rings are shot. dont waste money on synthetic. start running a thicker weight such as 40 or 50 to slow it down. i would sell thr car or put in another engine. save the environment


Exactly. If you're burning a quart per 300 miles then don't waste your money on synthetics. Use a cheap dino 10W-40 or 15W-40... Maybe try 20W-50 in the summer. Bottom line though, sounds like the engine really needs to be rebuilt or replaced...

Quote:
Another option might be something like Auto-RX if the ring packs are gunked up or something like Engine Restorer if the cylinder walls are messed up


I'd be hesitant to use Auto-RX - I think that could make the oil burning worse.

Good idea on trying Restore - I think that, in addition to using a xW-40 or xW-50 oil, would be your best bet.

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Gator]

Try and run some cheap Rotella 15w40,, if this doesn't stop it, then their is not much hope for the engine. You could add some Lucas oil stabilizer but that is kinda frowned on here.

 

[addyguy]

Try the additive 'Restore' - it comes in a shiny silver can.

It is very small particles of the soft metals copper, silver, and lead, in a carrier oil. It is 'supposed' to fill in scratches in cylinder walls and reduce smoking.

In really worn out engines, a fair few people have reported that it seems to work, and make engines run better. It can't hurt to try it. I'd use a 15W-40 HDEO with it, to further help consumption.

 

[qship1996]

20w-50 oil ought to slow down consumption.

 

[Gary Allan]

Can we assume that you've checked your PCV system for function and attempted some adaptive remedies if that is the source of much of your consumption?

 

[08762456]

I'm going to give restore a try, and see if it makes any difference. My PCV valve was just replaced, and other than the excessive oil consumption the car runs perfectly fine. I'll probably keep driving it until it finally dies.

 

[Vincent_Vega]

Dont use Auto Rx in this engine. It will complicate matters. Nothing against the product as I do love it but it will clean out too much and make the problem worse. Do as stated above and run a 40 or 20w50 weight with a Lucas oil treat thrown in for good measure. JMO.

 

[fdcg27]

How many miles on this Accord?
I've owned six Hondas, and other than valve guide wear producing a start-up plume from our '76 Civic, I've never known them to consume much oil or produce much smoke out to 200K or so.
How does it look under the valve cover?
If it is really sludged, the car was not well maintained before you got it, and may have sticking rings, along with sludge everywhere.
You might give AutoRX a try.
If sticking rings are your problem, it should help.
Many also report good results with MMO, although I have not tried it.
Do check the crankase ventilation setup, although this was never much source of trouble on the Hondas we have had.
Failing either of the above providing any relief, go with a thicker oil, and run the thing until it dies.

 

[lui]

dump in some lucas......hehe

 

[menezes]

Hey guys i was wondering since we are on this topic, whats thicker, a 10w40 or a HDEO staright 30 w.t.?

 

[08762456]

259,000 miles. When I replaced the valve seals about 6 months ago the rocker area looked pretty good IMO. No sludge, but there was some varnish. At this point I think it's got to be the oil control rings, since the compression is level across all cylinders, or the valve guides. A couple hours ago I put in a 4 cylinder can of restore. We'll see what happens.

 

[[RT] ProjUltraZ]

straight 30 is prob thicker for the first 20 minutes, then the 10W-40 will be thicker

try some Restore w/ a cheap 5W-30 weight, you want more friction to get the metal to (supposedly) plate on

 

[Geonerd]

You might try running some High Mileage Syn through it, in an attempt to free potentially gooped-up rings. I don't know that HM oils really 'clean' all that much better, but it would be an easy thing to try. If you wanted to blow some $, you might even turn Pennzoil Ultra loose!

I think the only Thick+HM+Syn widely available is M1 10/40.

 

[jorton]

Originally Posted By: jimwards17
My PCV valve was just replaced, and other than the excessive oil consumption the car runs perfectly fine.


Miraculous! Mazda rotary rx engines don't take synthetic because Mazda says it leaves more combustion chamber deposits than dino so you should stick to dino too.

Read about the Amsoil engine flush procedure.

 

[jorton]

" Default spoke to amsoil rep today

We have amsoil product at my shop for boats we have stuff called Power Foam. The rep told me have someone step on gas while i spray foam thru MAF sensor will not hurt it, it helps clean it an helps clean carbon out of motor. Might be something you guys want to try with 80k or more on the beasts. Do it just before an oil change, this stuff will free up stuck rings."