I have a 94 Saturn SL1 that I purchased over the summer. At the moment I've just rolled past 160k Miles. I've had some prety strange luck with the different oils I've tried and was wondering if anyone has any input.
As you may know, the twin cam saturn engine is known as an oil burner. However, this is not usually true with the single cam engine. Initially when I got this car it was noticibly burning oil(could see smoke). but now, after 4 changes there is no smoke and a leak had developed(but was fixed by an oil additive by STP). Here's my luck with the different oils.
First change:
Mobil1 5w30 for higher mileage engines:
This oil got burned very quickly(2 quarts in the first 2k) and I ended up adding 2 quarts of 20w50 to the oil to try to slow it down. This was all in vain but it took me to the 3k mark. Smoke was noticibly lower.
Second change:
Shell 10w40:
This oil was recommended to me by an old timer at autozone and was on sale for $.79/qt. The consumption of this oil was very low(less than a quart for the 3k) and smoke was less than before.
Third change:
Mobil Drive Clean 5w30:
This oil was on sale at the local murrays auto parts store. They were out of the higher weights of it and the guy there said I'm lucky I didn't kill my engine with the 10w40. This oil was burned much less than the mobil1 5w30 (about 1qt per 3k).
4th change:
Mobil1 10w30:
Recommended by the nice fellow at Advanced Auto this oil has been in the pan for about 1900 miles. There is no sign of smoke at all anymore but now I've noticed a significant drip on my driveway about 400 miles after the change. I added another quart of this oil to top it off along with a bottle of STP Stop Engine Oil Leak. The leak is gone completely and the oil level has not changed since about 500 miles after adding that additive.
Now, I am looking for a good oil to use for my next change. With so many different high mileage oils on the market and everyone seeming to think maxlife is not good I am lost as to where to go to keep the engine going smoothly and to try not to get the leaks back. I am now pretty aware that I should stay away from synthetic oils. They seem to clean the engine very well but lack the properties that protect seals. Everyone seems to be down on the STP stuff and thinks the leak will come back. Is there any higher mileage oil that still stands up to it's designation?
Sorry for the long post and thank you for any help you can provide.
--Matt
As you may know, the twin cam saturn engine is known as an oil burner. However, this is not usually true with the single cam engine. Initially when I got this car it was noticibly burning oil(could see smoke). but now, after 4 changes there is no smoke and a leak had developed(but was fixed by an oil additive by STP). Here's my luck with the different oils.
First change:
Mobil1 5w30 for higher mileage engines:
This oil got burned very quickly(2 quarts in the first 2k) and I ended up adding 2 quarts of 20w50 to the oil to try to slow it down. This was all in vain but it took me to the 3k mark. Smoke was noticibly lower.
Second change:
Shell 10w40:
This oil was recommended to me by an old timer at autozone and was on sale for $.79/qt. The consumption of this oil was very low(less than a quart for the 3k) and smoke was less than before.
Third change:
Mobil Drive Clean 5w30:
This oil was on sale at the local murrays auto parts store. They were out of the higher weights of it and the guy there said I'm lucky I didn't kill my engine with the 10w40. This oil was burned much less than the mobil1 5w30 (about 1qt per 3k).
4th change:
Mobil1 10w30:
Recommended by the nice fellow at Advanced Auto this oil has been in the pan for about 1900 miles. There is no sign of smoke at all anymore but now I've noticed a significant drip on my driveway about 400 miles after the change. I added another quart of this oil to top it off along with a bottle of STP Stop Engine Oil Leak. The leak is gone completely and the oil level has not changed since about 500 miles after adding that additive.
Now, I am looking for a good oil to use for my next change. With so many different high mileage oils on the market and everyone seeming to think maxlife is not good I am lost as to where to go to keep the engine going smoothly and to try not to get the leaks back. I am now pretty aware that I should stay away from synthetic oils. They seem to clean the engine very well but lack the properties that protect seals. Everyone seems to be down on the STP stuff and thinks the leak will come back. Is there any higher mileage oil that still stands up to it's designation?
Sorry for the long post and thank you for any help you can provide.
--Matt
