synthetic oil

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i have a 2001 saturn sc2. these engines are known to burn oil because their oil rings get carboned up. wouuld synthetic oil solve this problem? synthetic oil is supposed to keep the engine cleaner cutting down on that nasty carbon, & it doesn't breakdown at high temps & leave that [censored] behind in the first place...
 
A lot of this has to do with the ring break in originally, then your driving style too - more agressive you are, the cleaner the pistons (and CC) will be. I think you should look long and hard at the ULTRA banner above
wink.gif
 
Well, the differences between conventional and synthetic are certainly exaggerated, but it wouldn't hurt. More probably has to do with OCI and the additive pack, the latter would (as an overgeneralization) be better on a synthetic.
 
Are you asking because you want to prevent your Saturn from using oil? Or is it using oil already, and if so, how much? If it uses a quart between changes, synthetic could be worth a try. If you're adding oil every few hundred miles, synthetic will put you in the poorhouse.

Eljefino will steer you straight when he sees this thread.
 
Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
Are you asking because you want to prevent your Saturn from using oil? Or is it using oil already, and if so, how much? If it uses a quart between changes, synthetic could be worth a try. If you're adding oil every few hundred miles, synthetic will put you in the poorhouse.

Eljefino will steer you straight when he sees this thread.
well the engine is still tight. it might use a half quart in between changes depending on how it's driven at the most. since some of these engines burn lots of oil, i was thinking switching to synthetic would prevent this from happening to mine while the engine is still in good shape. if i wait until it's all worn out & burning tons of oil, then it's a waste. these engines are known for going for many miles. i want mine to also.... it only has 42.000 miles on it. a good time to switch...
 
There are some expensive synthetic oils that claim good cleaning.

I would first try Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase.
Use some thicker oil to compensate for the MMO's thin viscosity.
1/2 qt to a full qt of MMO.
It will not clean overnight, but is a good cleaner.
 
Originally Posted By: saturnsc2
i have a 2001 saturn sc2. these engines are known to burn oil because their oil rings get carboned up. wouuld synthetic oil solve this problem?


No.

I had _TWO_ 1997 Saturn SL2 with the same 1.8 liter engines. After the initial 1,000 miles or so, I used nothing but Mobil 1 changed at 3 month / 3,000 mile intervals. (save the comments about the OCI, please!).

I monitored the oil consumption very carefully - both of the engines slowly increased their oil consumption with every oil change.

On one of them, I even had the valve seals replaced suspecting that was why it was consuming oil. That wasn't it.

That Saturn engine is simply an oil burner, and (at least in my two cases) high quality synthetic didn't do anything to prevent it.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
There are some expensive synthetic oils that claim good cleaning.

I would first try Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase.
Use some thicker oil to compensate for the MMO's thin viscosity.
1/2 qt to a full qt of MMO.
It will not clean overnight, but is a good cleaner.
well with the saturn they do a mmo soak by pouring some mmo in each cylinder & let it soak to loosten any carbon on the rings. i don't think i really have this problem just yet & maybe switching to synthetic might over some time clean what little carbon i might have there & prevent it from forming. regular oils bake between the rings causing the carbon build-up but synthetic isn't supposed ot do this, quite the oposite....
 
I got both reduced oil consumption and an end to oil leaks using the despised Royal Purple in a Saturn SL1 SOHC.

I think it contains some ester-based Group V.

That stuff acts as detergent and a seal sweller.
 
Originally Posted By: Velo_Fello

I got both reduced oil consumption and an end to oil leaks using the despised Royal Purple in a Saturn SL1 SOHC.

I think it contains some ester-based Group V.

That stuff acts as detergent and a seal sweller.
i'm going to use valvoline syn power full synthetic oil. i always used & trusted the valvoline name.
 
Originally Posted By: Velo_Fello

I got both reduced oil consumption and an end to oil leaks using the despised Royal Purple in a Saturn SL1 SOHC.

I think it contains some ester-based Group V.

That stuff acts as detergent and a seal sweller.


Despised? I don't see people hating on it here. If anything, some thought it was overpriced but nobody has said anything in a long while. It's a good oil but $8-$9/quart good is up for debate.
 
With your low level of consumption, go ahead and try synthetic. I would be tempted to go all out and try something like Redline, but I'm sure others will have suggestions based on experience. I have a '94 Saturn with 190,000 miles that goes 200 miles on a quart, so it gets whatever dino is cheapest.

My understanding is that the Saturn engines don't have proper drainage from the oil control rings, so oil can cook in there and freeze the oil ring.
 
I had a late 90's Saturn SL and it would not mater if I would run conventional or synthetic oil it would burn 1qt. every 3,500 mile

Andy
 
Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
With your low level of consumption, go ahead and try synthetic. I would be tempted to go all out and try something like Redline, but I'm sure others will have suggestions based on experience. I have a '94 Saturn with 190,000 miles that goes 200 miles on a quart, so it gets whatever conventional is cheapest.

My understanding is that the Saturn engines don't have proper drainage from the oil control rings, so oil can cook in there and freeze the oil ring.
that's right & i hope that the synthetic will clean out that area. at least it won't break down like conventional oil & cause oil burning...
 
Originally Posted By: Andyge
I had a late 90's Saturn SL and it would not mater if I would run conventional or synthetic oil it would burn 1qt. every 3,500 mile

Andy
every car's different. maybe your car had worn valve guides/seals causing that..
 
Originally Posted By: kohnen
Originally Posted By: saturnsc2
i have a 2001 saturn sc2. these engines are known to burn oil because their oil rings get carboned up. wouuld synthetic oil solve this problem?


No.

I had _TWO_ 1997 Saturn SL2 with the same 1.8 liter engines. After the initial 1,000 miles or so, I used nothing but Mobil 1 changed at 3 month / 3,000 mile intervals. (save the comments about the OCI, please!).

I monitored the oil consumption very carefully - both of the engines slowly increased their oil consumption with every oil change.

On one of them, I even had the valve seals replaced suspecting that was why it was consuming oil. That wasn't it.

That Saturn engine is simply an oil burner, and (at least in my two cases) high quality synthetic didn't do anything to prevent it.
a lot of other people has success with it. i guess i will try it & see what happens... did you try a mmo soak?
 
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saturnsc2,

The little car was that way when I got it new from the dealer tell the day I sold it sold it.

Andy
 
I wonder why they do not make them anymore, the car had such promise I guess they forgot to add quality in the mix. So common these days....
 
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