The cleanest engine inside I have ever seen.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 24, 2004
Messages
31
Location
Ma.
I posted here earlier in the mechanical section about a knock my car a 1999 sentra is making and the sludge buildup I found in the engine. I asked my local machine shop for a price on machining my head and crank. He said it would range from $800 to $1500 dollars, which I thought was way high. I then went to my local junk yard and looked at some cars with the engine I need. I found one with 160,000 miles that looked like [censored] on the outside but when I took the oil fill cap off and looked inside at the camshaft and surrounding area it looked brand new. Not a sigh of any discoloration. The metal looked as if it was new. The only problem is that they leave the hood up and the spark plug holes had water in them. I am going back tomorrow to remove the water from the sparkplug holes and take the valve cover off. If the engine turns out to be as clean as it appears I am going to try to track down the owner of the car if the registration is in the car and ask them what did they used for oil as I have never seen an engine this clean, I will try to take a picture.
 
Bet you it was bulk oil changed every 3K miles!
wink.gif


Please post the information if you get it...
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: StevieC
Bet you it was bulk oil changed every 3K miles!
wink.gif



Hmmm,my 93 Sentra had Castrol 10w-30 every 3,000 miles at the dealership and I know it was not the cleanest engine inside. Sump was 3.4 quarts. The oil worked very hard in that engine. I would bet they used synthetic oil if it is that clean inside.
 
I dunno, I have seen many 2.5L Chrysler engines run on nothing but el-cheapo dino and for the most part over used and they are always spotless inside.

I think the engine you are speaking of might just be one of the hard ones on oil.

I'm still interested though to find out what was used if possible.
20.gif
 
I recently changed the oil on my wife's friends 2000 Honda Civic. It's pretty beat up, she's had it since high school. However, it was absolutely spotless inside the engine. No coloration or varnish. Just like the day it came of the assembly line. She has only run Mobil 1 5w30 since she bought it. It has just about 200,000 on it and going strong.

She's how I found out that Walmart has dropped the price on Mobil 1 and her car solidified my choice this past weekend to switch both my truck and my wife's Malibu over to Mobil 1. The inside on my F150's engine is pretty darn clean, no varnish (80,0000 miles on it). However, my wife's 2005 Malibu shows some varnish inside despite 3000 mile oil changes (69,000 miles on it). Hopefully, the Mobil 1 will clean up her engine a little. Yes, I know varnish is nothing to worry about. I just prefer the sprarkling clean look.
 
Originally Posted By: StevieC
I dunno, I have seen many 2.5L Chrysler engines run on nothing but el-cheapo dino and for the most part over used and they are always spotless inside.

I think the engine you are speaking of might just be one of the hard ones on oil.


Yes, hard on oil. I had it from around 70,000 miles and 160,000 miles. In that time is had two pan gaskets and two crank seals replaced. The pan gasket I replaced was baked. That engine was spunky and seemed to beg to be run at high RPM's. I guess the price was heat.
 
All kidding aside, I would love to know the history of that engine, oil, filters, etc. The looks are pretty impressive!
 
Quote:
I bet you it was using a Fram Filter


I think it needs a lens filter. The exposure is washing everything toward white. Hardly a shadow to be found
56.gif
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Originally Posted By: StevieC
Bet you it was bulk oil changed every 3K miles!
wink.gif



Hmmm,my 93 Sentra had Castrol 10w-30 every 3,000 miles at the dealership and I know it was not the cleanest engine inside. Sump was 3.4 quarts. The oil worked very hard in that engine. I would bet they used synthetic oil if it is that clean inside.


sump size doesn't matter that much...
the 1.6 in those sentras have a 3.4 quart sump
my 2002 sentra has a 1.8 with a 2.9 quart sump!, my friends' bikes hold more oil! My engine is as spotless or even cleaner than the one pictured in this thread..
 
It is quite possible that engine was rebuilt at least once before the car ended up in the scrap yard. Sometimes people pour a bunch of money into one repair and then find several months later another high dollar repair is needed on the old beast. At some point it hits the scrap yard.

With eagle eyes you can identify the lightly used parts on junked cars. This engine might be one such.
 
This looks like the original engine, I have owned Sentras since 1995 and that was the first thing I thought off but the outside engine crud indicates no overhaul. Also there were no tool marks on any of the bolts.
I have always worked on every car and bike I have ever owned and ever with regular oil changes I never had an engine look like this, even at a lot less then 130,000 miles. If the makers of oils that perform like this had advertising that informed me of this I would use nothing but their product.
I am assuming that this is Mobil 1 because that was probably the only synthetic around in 1995. I figure the cost is work it and in the long run the money saved on engine repairs and improved gas mileage will be worth it.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top