Thicker oil equals more timing chain wear

[wpod]

Years ago a friend asked me about advice her friend gave her on investment property. I responded Sylvia, Micky can barely afford rent !

 

[SC Maintenance]

What for you revive this older thread?

I'll ask. Maybe in this case you just don't want to beat the same horse, so ok.

However I don't see a lot of older threads that are relevant re-opened - compared to other forums. Is there a reason, or is it just considered bad form here?

 

[wpod]

I am going to ask the question...

Who on here as had a motor die because of a broken timing chain ??

I have actually...

On my ol 95 Nissan Sentra. Timing chain broke at 241,000+ miles. In the daggone Wendy's drive thru at that....

I got the car with 118,000 miles and changed the oil every 4,000 miles with Castrol Syntec 5w30.

I wonder what caused that timing chain to break ?

I have several theories... 1) the previous owner really did not keep up with changing the oil in that car... 2) And because of that the timing chain already had a lot of wear on it when I got it. 3) it is also possible that tiny abrasives cause the most issues with timing chains. Sizes smaller than 10 microns and maybe down to 5 or 6 microns or potentially even smaller than that. Therefore it makes air filter performance and oil filter performance key in maintaining timing chain condition. However long, long runs mean more and more extremely small abrasives are still in the oil even with a very good air filter using small dust testing per ISO 5011 and a very good oil filter with high efficiency ratings 99 percent at or less than 20 microns. Shortening a run is the best way to get rid of those very tiny abrasives that wear on timing chains.

I have cut my run interval on my car has it has gotten older and more miles on her. Now at 329,000 miles it still runs very, very good. I got the 08 Nissan Altima VQ with only 39,990 miles on it.

Garbage quality.

 

[RDY4WAR]

I'll ask. Maybe in this case you just don't want to beat the same horse, so ok.

However I don't see a lot of older threads that are relevant re-opened - compared to other forums. Is there a reason, or is it just considered bad form here?

I think it's due to more frequent changes in details. Oil formulas change with new standards and in-between standards with new series/formulas released. There's a constant feed of new vehicles with different engines and different demands/problems. A thread that's 3-4 years old can easily be obsolete.

 

[ChrisD46]

If owners manual states : “5W20 , 5W30 or 10W30 acceptable” then using a 30 weight oil was already taken into consideration by engine engineers . If a GDI engine then there is possibility the 5W30 you started with is now a 5W20 at the end of the OCI .

 

[Bill7]

Today i read something interesting in a dutch automotive magazine that is handed out to a lot of repair shops, they also discuss a lot of common engine problems and discuss and clarify things with the help of experts.

This topic was about sticking to oem oil spec or going to a different spec/weihgt. So one of our favorite subjects

One lubricant expert stated that you should stick to oem wheight/spec (which i agree with) because with switching to a thicker weight the oil pressure will increase which in terms will also put more force/pressure on the timing chain tensioner because those are motor oil hydraulicly actuated.

I thought this was an interesting point which probably has some truth to it: thicker oil= less internal leakage/flow = higher pressure = more force on tensioner = more tensioning/stretching force on the chainlinks and sprockets itself.

Especially when the oil is cold, and by using thicker cold grades then oem spec.


Some engines are known for having poor timingchain quality, other have no problems at all.
I guess that maybe the engines that are known for poor quality might wear a little faster, but i dont think it will cause a lot of trouble on the cars that dont have any problems with it generaly.

One interesting thing to note is:
Ford initially switched a lot of their vehicles to 5W-20.
But later on, Ford switched from 5W-20 back to 5W-30 because 5W-20 wasn't protecting their timing chains well enough.

Even today, most of Ford's engines are speced for 5W-30.

 

[Hootbro]

It does not help when the board software will recommend sometimes a necro thread in the "Similar threads" at the bottom of the page. Easy to go down a rabbit hole and lose track of dates.

 

[4WD]

Excuse me while I whip this out (again).
When it comes to residual pressures - flow rate and geometry mean much more than OT viscosity … Many of these utilities have very low fluid flow - so a 20 or 30 matters little at all for P*A effects

 

[ZeeOSix]

More viscosity means more film thickness between moving parts, all other factors held constant - nothing changes that aspect of the physics of Tribology. More separation of moving parts equates to more wear protection and less wear, even on a chain that is just lubricated by slash lubrication.

 

[Averroes]

As the uniter of the Gauls, this won’t be the first time you taste defeat due to something foreign! Also, you weren’t stabbed in the back, that was Caesar.

Jokes aside I’d still use the M1 0W40. GOAT oil.

 

[4WD]

More viscosity means more film thickness between moving parts, all other factors held constant - nothing changes that aspect of the physics of Tribology. More separation of moving parts equates to more wear protection and less wear, even on a chain that is just lubricated by slash lubrication.

Yep. And that chain tensioner ramble is someone who’s clueless on hydraulic systems …