Strange positive experience with Castrol

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I just changed the oil in my Accord. This vehicle has seen a steady diet of M1 but the last OCI I went with regular Castrol 5W20 sludge protection oil because I picked up a large batch on sale. Usually with M1 I would find a small amount of metal shaving on my magnetic drain plug. This is very normal and the quantity is so little that the engine would last 400k miles if it wears at that rate. When I changed the oil this past time, the quantity was even much less, almost non-existent on the magnetic tip. I was quite surprise and impressive as well as puzzle. Is Castrol dino juice better than my below M1 5W20.

My current oil is Valvoline synthetic 5W30. I want to see how much wear there will be for sanity sake. I am loyal to any oil and lately just go with whatever oil talked about most and the fancy bottle. Life is too short to stick with one brand.
 
What are the variables?

Was the OCI length the same?
Was the driving conditions/weather conditions the same?
Was the oil filter used the same?
 
Im not sure that observing metal shavings on your drain plug is an accurate way of measuring wear. How much made it off the drain plug and was thrown away with the filter?

Any oil that is rated SM is really good stuff. The only thing you really get from Synthetics is extended drain times and extreme tempature performance (both extereme hot and cold). As long as you stay within sane OCI's they will both get a engine to 500,000 miles. Unfortionately everything else on the car may wear out before then.

Then again, your car could just have a craving for dino oil.
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If your engine is producing metal that can be seen, either your engine is new, or you have a serious problem. As an aircraft engine mech in the Navy our engines had filtering screens that could pick up very small particles of metal. If the particals were the size you are describing serious engine damage had already occured.
 
I agree, metal is not good. I have magnetic drain plugs on a high mileage 1985. I have observed a paste-like build-up with a dark color of moly grease but this was over lots miles. Actual 'shavings' would be disconcerting and unlikely since the filter would screen out anything >40um.

I doubt this has anything to do with the oil.

I did get shavings and a tooth chip out of my manual transmission. I know what this means.
 
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OP is it strange that you got the positive experience, or was the experience itself strange? Is any oil related positive experience strange? Sorry, I am trying to keep on my new self reform promise. Pan drain may not flush all old oil well and metal present could be from long ago, and struck until now, or a recent thing. I hope this was not difficult to read.
 
Maybe the metal bits were larger with Castrol and got caught by the filter. :)
 
Mobil1 is really good at suspending particles in the oil allowing them to be carried to the filter. Maybe Castrol left them all in a big "clump" in the bottom of your oil pan.
 
I had a 1994 Jeep GC that showed metal on the dipstick at 100K miles. It died in a car accident, still running pretty darn strong at 143K. FWIW...
 
LOL...see what happens when you get old! :)
I meant to say Castrol GTX is good at suspending particles and maybe Mobil1 left them all in a clump at the bottom of your pan....my point is I doubt if Mobil1 was doing a bad job of lubrication....just a bad job of suspending particles to be carried off to the oil filter....I sometimes believe this is why Mobil1 shows high lead etc. Not bad lubrication....but bad suspension characteristics.
 
I would do a UOA with both and see what the numbers are for both oils...

Surely if there is more metal in the M1's sample on the drain-plug than the Castrol then it should also show higher numbers on a UOA.
 
IIRC Mobil has higher than expected iron numbers, even new stuff. Could/can be from wear metals in piping and pumps used to process it though.
 
Originally Posted By: GrampsintheSand
LOL...see what happens when you get old! :)
I meant to say Castrol GTX is good at suspending particles and maybe Mobil1 left them all in a clump at the bottom of your pan....my point is I doubt if Mobil1 was doing a bad job of lubrication....just a bad job of suspending particles to be carried off to the oil filter....I sometimes believe this is why Mobil1 shows high lead etc. Not bad lubrication....but bad suspension characteristics.





No oil holds chips of metal in suspension. Only PPM which can't be seen by the human eye.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
No oil holds chips of metal in suspension. Only PPM which can't be seen by the human eye.


Pennzoil Platinum might... Has those crazy adaptive molecules that seem to know how to do all kinds of things!
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Sorry the marketing people got me...
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Originally Posted By: steve20
more evidence M-1 may not be all it is cracked up to be........


Oh yeah, real solid evidence here...... ???????
 
Originally Posted By: jldcol
IIRC Mobil has higher than expected iron numbers, even new stuff. Could/can be from wear metals in piping and pumps used to process it though.


I would think a big company like XOM would address that issue at the processing level, they're charging enough for the product. I'd hate to think that I was actually pouring iron into my engine all those years I was using Mobil 1.
 
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