Under the Valve Cover... how's it lookin'?

[RugopsOP]

Changed the valve cover gasket a few days ago. Car runs fine but consumes oil. This is what under the valve cover looks like at 224,000 original miles.

Oil changes every 3k with Mobil 1 Full synthetic or for a whole I was running Shell Rotella T6.
Kinda disappointed it wasn't cleaner. Thoughts? And what do yours look like?

 

[Bjornviken]

 

[FCD]

Have you owned it from new? If so that does look pretty dirty for 3k changes with Mobil 1.

 

[RugopsOP]

@FCD I've owned it for the last 7 years. Since about 160k.

If you zoom in, hopefully not too much quality was lost, but there are a couple little hot spots on the cam lobes and scoring. Though nothing was feelable. Car does consume oil (1500mi) and has blowby. I'm the second owner. So I believe the car wasn't as well maintained in it's early years, never had overheated in my ownership and runs pretty good all things considered.

 

[Vander1]

How much oil it's consume?

 

[RugopsOP]

@Vander1 1qt/1500mi

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

G4GC?

 

[RugopsOP]

G4GC?

Confirmed.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Looks like a job for HPL Engine Cleaner.
Or just switch to Mobil1 flagship oil (FS 0W-40/5W-40) and call it a day.

 

[RugopsOP]

Looks like a job for HPL Engine Cleaner.
Or just switch to Mobil1 flagship oil (FS 0W-40/5W-40) and call it a day.

I typically ran 5w30 or 10w40 Mobil 1.
But for a time I did run Shell Rotella T6 because it came in the most ideal 5w40; but I stopped using it due to the higher cost.

I never really considered the European car formula oils

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

Looks a bit dirty, I don’t think the previous owner had anywhere near the same OCI as you do. My old Elantra and Soul with that engine (both with more than 145k miles or so) are nice and shiny when looking down the oil fill hole.

 

[RugopsOP]

@Hyundai Respecter definitely. She was a college student that her parents bought the car for and the CarFax shows that she drove it all over the country.

Looking down the fill hole it looks really shiny. The cleanest I've seen from these 2.0L motors irl, so that helps explain some of my disappointment when I pulled the valve cover off.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I never really considered the European car formula oils

Maybe it's time to try. These oils are held to a much higher standard and are subjects to more extreme testing, as compared to "normal" Mobil 1 offerings. They're known for the ability to clean better, and are able to go the distance in extended OCIs. Although I wouldn't recommend extended OCIs in your case. Your short OCIs with a Mobil1 0W-40 would likely provide a lot more cleaning.

 

[RugopsOP]

@Graham Piccinini I'd be up try it...too bad my local Walmart put a lot of the Mobil 1 oils on rollback lol. Stocked up on a bit of my usual 10w40 while I could.

 

[PontiacHO]

1/4 million miles. Slam the valve cover back on and drive.

 

[demarpaint]

I wouldn't be happy with it.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

For comparison here is picture from my car at 82k after head was pulled to change head gasket.

Regular oil changes every 5k with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 0w20.

 

[FCD]

The cause of the blowby and oil consumption may well be because of stuck rings, HPL engine cleaner would be a good idea for sure.

 

[atikovi]

Run a few doses of Kreen in it. Maybe help clean it up and free up the rings.

 

[yowps3]

Does the crimson colour indicate heat wear due to inadequate lubrication?