Which average priced synthetic oil would you run to tackle varnish?

[Patman]

What Wm has used oil on the shelf? First I have heard of that. Is it customers returning used motor oil and the employees just put it back on the shelf?

That’s exactly what happens. A few members here have had that happen with them

 

[D1dad]

SAE or HPS\HMX?

High mileage/hmx. I’ve got hps in my 18 right now to see what that does. It’s not GDI and had nothing but maxlife synthetic up till 80k, then Schaffers. I doubt that there’s much to clean considering it had 4-5k oil changes its whole life.

 

[D1dad]

That’s exactly what happens. A few members here have had that happen with them

I had it happen. I did a buy online pick up in store and 1 of the 3 jugs was used. I also bought brake pads on amazon wharehouse and used they were. Someone stuffed some sort of used pad in an ebc box and returned them then Amazon sold them to me.

 

[JAG]

I bought a 5 qt jug of motor oil at Walmart that was used oil. Didn’t notice until I was about to pour it. Checking at the store is warranted.

 

[incognito_2u]

I bought a 5 qt jug of motor oil at Walmart that was used oil. Didn’t notice until I was about to pour it. Checking at the store is warranted.

Also check those Oil filter boxes………..ask me how I know

 

[GI_GRIFF]

hey all, i completely understand that the goal of motor oil is not to clean, it is to prevent deposits and i assume minimally clean as otherwise if it was cleaning too much filters would get clogged and etc etc

i also understand that it may seem as if this thread is always being asked but i did some searchs and i can't seem to find a perfectly helpful thread that is recent in 2023 or 2024 that could help with this

i want to take upon a experiment to tackle the varnish in my engine however my goal is to not run an engine cleaner or any other product like that. i want to see if i can get it cleaned by using normal off the shelf motor oils. I assume I will fail but it doesn't hurt to try.

First and foremost, i assume most people will say VRP as a first oil that comes to mind for this and luckily I am already running which I believe should be my 2nd OCI of VRP. I will do the full 4 oci's, however i want to prepare for the future and wondering what oil you think / would run / have run to tackle varnish.

I strictly want to use oil that can be bought off a walmart shelf and or auto part store shelf, budget between 30-40 usd max for a 5 quart. I understand this probably kicks off HPL, Redline, Amsoil off my list but thats essentially my goal as those products are in a tier of there own just based on price alone

I heard m1 fs 0w40 is a good cleaner but then I assumed M1 ESP 0W30 would be better since it has esters unless its reformulated. I don't think there is enough love on this forum for Castrol products so I doubt anyone would vouch for them, moving then to pennzoil i assume it would have to be between the Ultra Platinum or the Platinum Euro. Further down the list comes royal purple, quaker state, and etc etc but not sure enough love on this forum for people to have tested or vouched for those products in this usage scenario


essentially TL;DR - what oil to use to clean varnish that is fair priced

IMHO, run a bottle of Rislone Engine Treatment ( product 4102) every time you change your oil, it works great. Run it forever at each oil change. It will cost less and is quite effective with time. https://rislone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/4102-PDS-3.pdf

 

[Astro14]

What Wm has used oil on the shelf? First I have heard of that. Is it customers returning used motor oil and the employees just put it back on the shelf?

A plethora of anecdotes on this site alone where used oil is found for sale on the shelves of Walmart.

Slimebag buys oil, changes oil on his car, fills the jug with used oil, returns it for a refund, and Walmart employee puts the jug of now-used oil back on the shelf for sale.

I don’t buy oil at Walmart.

 

[burbguy82]

That’s exactly what happens. A few members here have had that happen with them

Wow. Never happened to me, guess I am lucky. That is pretty dirty of someone to do for sure.

A plethora of anecdotes on this site alone where used oil is found for sale on the shelves of Walmart.

Slimebag buys oil, changes oil on his car, fills the jug with used oil, returns it for a refund, and Walmart employee puts the jug of now-used oil back on the shelf for sale.

I don’t buy oil at Walmart.

That is pretty low. I suppose you gotta do what you gotta do, but man.....I do buy Walmart oil on occasion, and never seen that around here. I am surprised really as there are "those kind" of folks around here and I guess everywhere. I do check the seal however.

Thanks for the info.

 

[tblt44]

M1 HM most likely will cause leaks
Stay away

 

[Patman]

M1 HM most likely will cause leaks
Stay away

Any proof of this outrageous claim?

 

[tblt44]

Any proof of this outrageous claim?

No proof
I just have 2 vehicles that the HM version caused oil to almost pour out
I say everyone try it hope it works for you.
Me no more M1

 

[Faawrenchbndr]

Because it’s not just the distributor or the store, it’s their clientele.

It’s a special kind of shyster who “returns” oil to the store full of dirty oil. Which the store’s flunky puts back on the shelf.

I think they need to make certain things “all sales final” if they come in a refillable package. Motor oil, laundry soap, cleaning products, etc.

I’m sure it happens. Was at WallyWorld a few weeks ago, picking up an Endurance filter. For some reason, I got the idea to open the box and check the filter for debris and make sure the seal is there all that jazz low and behold somebody had swapped it out with a Extra guard filter.

So some scum bags do pull a fast one now and then

 

[OilUzer]

A plethora of anecdotes on this site alone where used oil is found for sale on the shelves of Walmart.

Slimebag buys oil, changes oil on his car, fills the jug with used oil, returns it for a refund, and Walmart employee puts the jug of now-used oil back on the shelf for sale.

I don’t buy oil at Walmart.

If returning used stuff like engine oil is a problem, then it can happen at any store. I don't think this a Wal-Mart issue! This is an oil site and Wal-Mart sells LOTS of oil so you may run into more cases of used oil from WM.

For example Costco has a much more relaxed return policy.
I know a friend who bought a luggage set at Costco and didn't like the one she used and returned them. Few months later got a phone call from the airport that we found your luggage or your luggage is here ... She told them she didn't fly. Long story short, another person had bought the same luggage set after she had returned them. she told me they found her name tag and phone number in one of the zippers.

I only buy oil at Costco (Kirkland 5W-30) and Wal-Mart and have never had any issues but from now on I will pay better attention. I've bought different products from different places that were used so I inspect the packages more carefully.

 

[wemay]

Stick with VRP.

 

[Patman]

If returning used stuff like engine oil is a problem, then it can happen at any store. I don't think this a Wal-Mart issue! This is an oil site and Wal-Mart sells LOTS of oil so you may run into more cases of used oil from WM.

For example Costco has a much more relaxed return policy.
I know a friend who bought a luggage set at Costco and didn't like the one she used and returned them. Few months later got a phone call from the airport that we found your luggage or your luggage is here ... She told them she didn't fly. Long story short, another person had bought the same luggage set after she had returned them. she told me they found her name tag and phone number in one of the zippers.

I only buy oil at Costco (Kirkland 5W-30) and Wal-Mart and have never had any issues but from now on I will pay better attention. I've bought different products from different places that were used so I inspect the packages more carefully.

The difference at Costco is that the oil is sold in boxes, so if someone were to return the oil and they actually put it back out on the pallet you would see that the box was not sealed anymore.

This discussion is making me think twice about ever buying oil at Walmart anymore. I really don’t buy oil at Canadian Walmarts but I have bought a lot of oil over the years from the Walmart in Niagara Falls NY and it is actually in a kind of sketchy area there so I’m surprised that I haven’t been burned there before. One of the more recent times was I was there I saw an Impala in the parking lot that had no back window at all, and it was winter time

 

[4WD]

Wow. Never happened to me, guess I am lucky. That is pretty dirty of someone to do for sure.

That is pretty low. I suppose you gotta do what you gotta do, but man.....I do buy Walmart oil on occasion, and never seen that around here. I am surprised really as there are "those kind" of folks around here and I guess everywhere. I do check the seal however.

Thanks for the info.

Never to me either - not sure how’d they get past the double seal on M1 … but not all brands do that …

 

[buster]

M1 HM most likely will cause leaks
Stay away

I know a few people that used M1 HM and it completely stopped their leaks.

 

[OilUzer]

The difference at Costco is that the oil is sold in boxes, so if someone were to return the oil and they actually put it back out on the pallet you would see that the box was not sealed anymore.

This discussion is making me think twice about ever buying oil at Walmart anymore. I really don’t buy oil at Canadian Walmarts but I have bought a lot of oil over the years from the Walmart in Niagara Falls NY and it is actually in a kind of sketchy area there so I’m surprised that I haven’t been burned there before. One of the more recent times was I was there I saw an Impala in the parking lot that had no back window at all, and it was winter time View attachment 267493

Do you have to change your oil in the Wal-Mart parking lot or can you take it back? Do you have to pay customs for oil?

We had a story here several years ago on the news that the outlet mall which is not far from the Canadian boarder had a problem with garbage cans or dumpsters being full of clothing. Many Canadians shop at this mall. I've been there many times and you see lots of Canadian license plates.
They figured Canadians wear their old clothing and buy new ones at the mall and dump the old ones to avoid customs duties. Now that's clever!

I have crossed the boarder many times and sometimes they even check the trunk.
Let me see ... You are bringing Euro oil from America to Canada. That will be taxed 300%

 

[Patman]

Do you have to change your oil in the Wal-Mart parking lot or can you take it back? Do you have to pay customs for oil?

We had a story here several years ago on the news that the outlet mall which is not far from the Canadian boarder had a problem with garbage cans or dumpsters being full of clothing. Many Canadians shop at this mall. I've been there many times and you see lots of Canadian license plates.
They figured Canadians wear their old clothing and buy new ones at the mall and dump the old ones to avoid customs duties. Now that's clever!

I have crossed the boarder many times and sometimes they even check the trunk.
Let me see ... You are bringing Euro oil from America to Canada. That will be taxed 300%

I have crossed the border many times with oil and not once have I ever had to pay duty. The border patrol doesn’t even care if I have spent as much as $150, even if I was only in the US for a couple of hours. They are more concerned with people bringing back alcohol and cigarettes, which I never do.

 

[buster]

Going back to the OP, there is only one - VRP. I don't think any other off-shelf oil could remove varnish. Valvoline told me VRP can remove varnish. Maybe M1 FS 0w40 but that formulation has been changed as it doesn't show any ester fwiw.