-Hello All
I have a '01 Saturn SL1 with around 160k on it, 5 speed. I've been running M1 5w-30 in it for roughly the past 3 years. Before my last oil change when I would accelerate from first my car would shudder horribly, it felt like my clutch was hopping on and off the flywheel.
For no reason other than to try something new I decided to purchase some shell rotella t6 5w-40 and throw it in my Saturn.
Since I've done that I have not had this "clutch" issue whatsoever. Now typically this problem happens when it is cold out and after I changed my oil the ambient temp did jump from the 30's (F) to the 40's and 50's (F). However this last week it's been down in the 30's (F) and lower.
Now I'm aware that changing engine oil would not fix a clutch issue but now I'm curious if there was an engine problem happening when I was accelerating out of first gear that the Rotella fixed or masked.
This issue has me baffled, I'm glad the shuddering went away but I have no idea why it did. Thoughts?
Shell Rotella fixed my clutch problem?
- Thread starter justinbaileym
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2023
It is not recommended to drink the engine oil, it will cause hallucinations.
Then why do they make it so tasty?
Does you car leak oil into clutch area? T6 is rated for wet clutch motorcycle use, but I'd think that wouldn't matter much for an oily dry clutch?
I suspect your clutch shudder will be back soon. Motor oil shouldn't matter at all.
I don't have any external leaks. I'm thinking this issue will be back too it just seems wacky that the moment I changed the oil this problem went away.
so if I do a 50/50/50 mix of amsoil, RP, and Rotella does my car become Voltron?
I had a 2009 Mazda 5 speed that did something similar when it was time for an oil change. It would shudder a bit when releasing the clutch somewhere after 5K miles on the oil. This would disappear after the oil change. I can't say it wasn't a combination of factors creating it ( old oil, old oil in combination w/ old motor mounts, etc. ) but an oil change corrected the slight shudder which would then reappear again some point after 5K miles on the oil.
I have heard that some people on here think German Castrol is better than Viagra
Originally Posted By: CT8
I tried Amsoil and I haven't had any flat tires for 3 months!
You might have some end play in the crank and the thicker oil is cushioning or damping (not dampening) the movement. I do know excessive crankshaft end play will cause a clutch to chatter. This is why sometimes as oil ends its useful life, it shears and thins taking away that cushion.
Castrol 0W30 cured my erectile dysfunction.
Originally Posted By: Michael_P
You might have some end play in the crank and the thicker oil is cushioning or damping (not dampening) the movement. I do know excessive crankshaft end play will cause a clutch to chatter. This is why sometimes as oil ends its useful life, it shears and thins taking away that cushion.
All it takes is a couple thousandths of an inch. I have seen people change out nothing but thrust bearings and solve clutch chatter. I can put an engine on a stand, pull the oil pan, get a prybar and wiggle the crank from front to back. If there is play, I would ask the vehicle owner if there was clutch chatter. 99 times out of 100 they would say yes. These are vehicles that did not leak a drop of oil. Endplay starts the chatter. Once it gets going, resonance kicks in and the chatter will continue til the clutch pedal is released or fully pushed in. You can hear endplay on a AT car at lower RPM under a light load. With a MT car, the clutch when fully released will take up endplay at the bell housing so you will not generally hear endplay on a MT car at lower RPM under a light load unless its bad.
Here is an interesting thread
End play or crankshaft deflection?
I have always considered end play to be lateral defection, (runout) and not longitudinal movement, so maybe we are using different terms.
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Deflection:
Even if it is end play justinbaileym, I wouldn't be to concerned about it. Inline engines can take more endplay than a "V" configured engine. Some might tell you horror stories about connecting rods smashing into the crankshaft weights, but on your Saturn, I would not worry about it at all. Particularly if a thicker oil reduces symptoms. You have plenty of life left in that car, even at 160,000 miles.
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