SuperTech 5w-30 Synth 5K, 96 Saturn SL2, 166K

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ToyotaNSaturn

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I forgot to tell Blackstone that I changed the valve cover gasket at about 3K into this run. It's a press-in rubber-style. About 3500 miles, I added some black silicon to a small part of the cover as there was a small leak. The leak is gone, but the silicon is obviously showing up in the UOA. Good to see that no extra wear came from the high silicon.

Miles on oil: 5,000
Miles on car: 166,500
Oil filter: M1-EP
LC used, 5oz at initial OCI, 2oz each 1K
Air filter: K&N

All the hype about SuperTech synth not having a "good" add-pack is just that, hype. It doesn't matter what oil I've used in this car as it protected just as good as any other oil I've tried. I like this oil. I wouldn't hesitate to use it again (after I use up all the Pennzoil, Castrol and M1 I have on hand first
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"0.5" quarts make up oil. It definitely looks like 5 quarts. Of course, if the bloody car required THAT much make up oil, I wouldn't be doing an UOA!
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you never know with a saturn
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But your saturn is the lowest oil usage that I ever heard of. bravo.
 
I have 2700 miles into my Maxlife 5W30 SM fill and I'm only down 1/3 qt. Amazing considering that I used to go through 1 qt every 2k or less.

Replacing the leaking tube seals can do wonders.
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I am using 1 quart per 1,000 miles with Mobil 1 5w30, but did mix in some 0w30 I had on hand. This is on a 99 SL2 with 116,000 miles. Two Auto-RX treatments and regular use of Lube Control for the last few years per your advice. Car runs great, but drinks oil, and i have no leaks. Do you have some sort of magic wand you wave over your Saturns to decrease oil consumption?
 
MM, no special magic wand. If those bottom rings are stuck, they need to be unstuck...replaced.

Have you tried the thicker oils to see if consumption lessens? ...namely a 5w-40 such as Rotella or or Pennzoil High Mileage 10w-40 or Syntec 5w-50?
 
Funny that you stay that. I am going to run Rotella T 5w-40 this summer. Going to do Auto-RX next oil change for good measure. It just may be the oil. This summer, when I went off warranty I started using up some Mobil 1 0w-40, mixed in with conventional 5w30. My consumption almost doubled, and has continued to increase using the Mobil 1. Also, I sold a Sentra which I almost used exclusively to drive the 150 mile round trip to my parents. Now the Saturn is used for that once or so a month (that is where the highest consumption occurs). However, my Saturn keeps running better? I did notice when I tried using Lube Control at the 2 oz dose just before a 150 mile trip to my parents, I used 1/2 quart of oil (at least twice what I ever used). I am thinking oil is too thin. I also purchased some Rotella T 10w30. It seems to be a solid 30 weight, and not a wimpy oil. I know some of the other Saturnfansforum members had success with HDEO with success as far as reducing consumption. The trend at Saturnfansforums seems to be toward 3,000 mile oil change intervals with 10w30. I read your UOA's, and it seems that is not your experience, nor does it fit a lot of the info I read at BITOG. Oh well, my car runs great and the oil was fairly cheap. Nice to see an older Saturn that does not have a drinking or coke habit.
 
You're running into the inevitable Saturn burning problem. You can try Mike's solution (The Critic), that may be the cause and you'll find the oil nirvana you've been seeking.

With my 91 SL, it only consumed oil when the A/C was in use. The 98 I owned, and my current 96 all exhibited the same A/C oil-use behavior. It wasn't much, but it did move the indicator down the dipstick a notch...enough to be noticeable.

Now, my 93 DOHC was an oil drinker. I sold it as the car was in pristine shape. Got my 96 so I could get 5 speed.

Some Saturn tech here mentioned that the bottom rings stick and once they carbon up, only their replacment brought the car's consumption back to normal. However, that doesn't address the gaskets that The Critic recently replaced that cured his consumption problem...or at least severely reduced it.

HDEO is the way to go IMO...cheapest/best thick oil. For winter, 10w-40 HM or 5w-50 synth (costly).

Take your best stab at the beast.
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Well, my Saturn is not really a beast...more like a lady that has special needs. I try to give her what she wants, but in return I just ask another 5 or 6 years of service. Oil burning is not my main concern, and I will do the best I can. I have about a 3 year supply of oil, so I need use it, weather she likes it or not. I really enjoy reading your UOA's. Gives me something to think about, and is a tool to better understand what works in the 1.9 engine.
 
""Replacing the leaking tube seals can do wonders.""

My daughters saturn burns (no leaks) 1 quart/1,000 what tube seals do I replace have not worked on it much runs to good.
bruce
 
Based on what I've seen on the Saturnfans site, 300,000 miles is no big deal if you keep pouring in the oil.
Buy it cheap and check level every gas fillup.
If you have state emissions testing, you may have to have a "fresh" 89 dollar cat converter that you throw on only for test days.
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FWIW I have a LOT less consumption on my 97 SC1 using Rotella 5W40 or GC but I'm not sure it's cost effective. The guy that's run 500,000 miles on his uses the cheapest 10W40 he can find which is some 59 cent/qt west coast special.
 
TNS - what oil did you run in previous OCI? this UOA does not jibe w/ the VOA of ST 5W30 syn. maybe some "leftovers"

regardless, the engine is doing great.
 
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