The plot (and perhaps the oil) thickens

[ericthepig]

As some of you know, I do 1 yr OCIs on my mom's 98 Taurus - been doing these since 2003 - chg it every July using various M1 products. A few weeks ago I dropped in Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w30.

My mom calls me last nite and says - "the car overheated - the needle hit the high temp mark - I turned off the AC & radio - drove it home slow. Took it to the mech. - they don't know what's wrong - ran hot on the way home, but hasn't pegged on the high mark again."

I told her about turning on the heater to buy some time if it happens again - but if it pegs, pull over and stop. I also told her she might want to try a different mech - seems to me like it's either the thermostat or the water pump. (?)

Here's my question - this Mobil 1 High Mileage fill has about 11 months and 6-10k miles to go (some yrs she travels hard, some years not so much) - do you guys think the burn the HM got yesterday (and to some degree is still getting - hopefully resolved soon) - do you think the 1 yr OCI is compromized?

Thanks!

 

[JAG]

Check if it smells burnt. I've done many high temp tests on various oils and when they are heated to over 300F temps even for short time periods, they smell burnt. It's a bit like burnt corn smell. The fuel dilution in used engine oil will tend to mask that smell though.

That's not a conclusive test unless it does smell burnt. It may not smell burnt and still have a shortened life. Do a blotter test as a supplement. Do more blotters as the months pass by. Without any other insight, I'd probably change the oil next spring.

 

[d00df00d]

After an event like that, where the car is driven on the verge of overheating, it's always a good thing to change the oil.

How good your OCI is depends on quite a lot more than whether the car overheats. However, on the assumption that it was okay before, I would think it'd be okay now. Just make sure you change the oil again if it overheats again, and track down the cause ASAP.

 

[ericthepig]

Thanks! My mom is 330 miles away so I'll have my uncle chk for the burnt smell - and if it appears ok, then I'll do the blotter test the next time I'm there (or when she travels here) - could be a few months.

 

[lazaro]

an oil sample will show how the oil took the hot engine parts.
would be nice to see the results on that.

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

If it did it suddenly and wasnt low on coolant and hasnt done it since it can be one of 2 things. Thermostat get stuck closed or the fans didnt kick on. There really isnt much else that could cause that.

 

[steve20]

if the Taurus had the 3.8 motor they are known for bad head gaskets

The 3.0 Vulcan motor though, is a good as you can get in a Ford for reliability

 

[SkyPup]

It isn't always easy to find the cause of overheating... Had a 2000 Durango company vehicle that started overheating- the leasing company spent over $4000 trying to fix it over a year period at 3 different shops, never did find the cause or fix it! It would be fine for weeks then overheat, had multiple radiators, fan clutches, thermostats etc..all to no avail.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro
If it did it suddenly and wasnt low on coolant and hasnt done it since it can be one of 2 things. Thermostat get stuck closed or the fans didnt kick on. There really isnt much else that could cause that.



Exactly,not much else it could be. I would change the oil if it were my car.

Frank D

 

[cmhj]

When in doubt change it out.

 

[meep]

OR the rad cap isn't holding enough pressure. That absolutely helped my jeep. And I could swap between 13psi and 16psi (oem) caps and have the engine temp change accordingly.

M

 

[ericthepig]

The mechanics are supposedly reputable - recommended by some police officers that know my brother (my brother is a Mjr. in the OKC police dept.) I didn't realize that overheating could be such a mystery. The engine is the low level Taurus engine (not sure what it's called).

Just for giggles, I'll post some pics of it below.

The two pics above are last years (July 2007) fill of Mobil 1 0w40 going in (and those are my kids (I did a proof of concept UOA on the oil that was in before the 0w40 - that was Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10w30 - ~10k miles - stellar UOA from Blackstone).

This last July, the 0w40 only had about 6k on it and still looked good at one year, I was tempted to talk my mom into leaving it to 1 1/2 year mark - but I thought she might start to doubt me - I did however (didn't ask/didn't tell) leave the Mobil 1 filter on - I was planning to leave it on till next July (2 yrs - perhaps 15k) - but this latest oil burn may chg that as well.

BTW, I have another engine pic I could post (from July 2007) but won't go to the trouble - it shows the oil shelf under the oil cap - looks like pure stainless steel - like it was last touched by robots - this is after 5 years of 1 yr OCIs on Mobil 1 products.

 

[ThirdeYe]

My sister's old Firebird overheated, coolant came spewing out of the overflow tank and all over the parking lot. I was using Maxlife 10w30 in it at the time, and it was only in there for a couple hundred miles before that happened. I checked the dipstick afterwards and it wasn't even dark yet so I just left it in, we got the fan relays switched and it didn't overheat again, and the oil seemed to hold up fine for the 3k or so we had it in afterwards...

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: ericthepig
My mom calls me last nite and says - "the car overheated - the needle hit the high temp mark - I turned off the AC & radio


You gotta love moms. Those radios can get mighty hot.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Originally Posted By: ericthepig
My mom calls me last nite and says - "the car overheated - the needle hit the high temp mark - I turned off the AC & radio


You gotta love moms. Those radios can get mighty hot.


Radio = electrical usage = more load on the alternator = more demand on an engine.

 

[ericthepig]

This is a stock radio - like a few watts. Now if she had the Gangster Granny Gigawatt get-up, then I'd recommend she turn it off.

 

[chevrofreak]

Still, it shows some logical thinking on her part.

Plus, she may have wanted to hear if there was something audibly wrong with the engine.

 

[FZ1]

When in doubtump it out! Go back to the M1 for 1 yr oci's. Work the change schedule so that you put in fresh oil for the Fall/Winter. .02.

 

[ericthepig]

Good pt Chevrofreak. FZ1 - that's the way it'll work out - she'll likely visit here in a month or two, otherwise it'll be thankgiving - hopefully the Mobil 1 High Mileage can prove it's mettle till then.

 

[ericthepig]

This reminds me of those Amsoil testimonials where the engine overheats, the car catches fire and burns to the ground. But they drain the oil and it looks like cooking oil.