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

[D1dad]

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

That car isn’t a Niagra falls one off, it’s a Walmart in general deal. I saw a mini van just yesterday that was missing both side windows and loaded full of junk like Sanford and sons. I bought the Walmart plus membership just so I can avoid the place as much as possible.

 

[Hohn]

Here’s a couple data points for you from my 2005 Honda Odyssey. 212k on the clock. The engine is *heavily varnished. Or should I say— was.

I switched to VRP last summer.


Last August after about 1000 miles on VRP:
View attachment 261824


A month later:

View attachment 261825


Changed the oil just before Christmas. This is now the second fill of VRP:

View attachment 261826


So after just one drain of VRP and about 1000 miles into the 2nd drain, I’m already seeing considerable cleaning in an area of the engine that see very little oil flow and is notoriously hard to clean— the rocker arms. The external surface is not directly oil-wetted, yet VRP is removing some VERY heavy varnish.

Bump for a photo update.

This is as of today, having just drained the 2nd fill of VRP. Drained when OLM said 60% life remaining. I refilled (3rd go) VRP 5w30 in my van. I decided to try the Baldwin B7318 after all since it’s I’m running such short filter intervals.

The M1-110 I removed will get posted to C&P once it wicks a bit. I expect there’s nothing to see.

As you can see, the thick varnish is almost completely removed from the top of the rocker arm now. Only the side of the arm which sees almost no oil has much of a varnish left on it.

The engine is running better than it has in recent years. While there’s no consumption problem to solve, I’m pleased that I can see essentially zero consumption after 214k miles.

 

[TomYoung]

M1 HM most likely will cause leaks
Stay away

This is simply not true. Mobil 1 is an engineered, time-tested, superb brand that essentially invented the idea on mainstream synthetic oil.

 

[tired]

I don’t think any oil is going to clean varnish. I used to run my Toyota 4 Runner on every single synthetic oil I could find on sale. M1 Turbodiesel truck, M1, Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol, all of them. 5,000 mile intervals.

Still had varnish.

You’re looking for a miracle in a can, and it doesn’t exist.

The only products that might clear it up are the Valvoline and the HPL.

But the bigger question is this - does it need to be cleaned up?

If you have stopped the deposit formation, and the engine is running good oil, I would forget about the varnish and move on to the myriad of other issues with your 200,000 mile SUV.

VRP cleaned all the varnish off the dipstick of LSJ's wife's Sienna. He had been doing 10k OCIs at the dealer because of a lifetime drivetrain warranty if he did the service at the dealer. One change with VRP, and the dipstick was new.

 

[Hohn]

VRP cleaned all the varnish off the dipstick of LSJ's wife's Sienna. He had been doing 10k OCIs at the dealer because of a lifetime drivetrain warranty if he did the service at the dealer. One change with VRP, and the dipstick was new.

I’m posting compelling photographic proof that VRP removes varnish, how can someone question it at this point?

 

[tired]

I’m posting compelling photographic proof that VRP removes varnish, how can someone question it at this point?

Agree. Yours is a great example of it working, among many others here.

 

[Sienna dude]

Is varnish inevitable over time? My dipstick looks like this at 200k

 

[dubber09]

Huh? Varnish on dipstick? How do you get that?

 

[Sienna dude]

Huh? Varnish on dipstick? How do you get that?

I want to know too lol

 

[tired]

Huh? Varnish on dipstick? How do you get that?

I want to know too lol

LSJ had varnish on his wife's Sienna's dipstick from 10k OCIs at the Toyota dealer. He had a lifetime powertrain warranty if he got all the maintenance done at the dealer, so no real downside for him I guess to do the long intervals since he could get engine problems fixed for free forever.

 

[facility1]

seems to me varnish on the dip stick can be related to overheating of the engine & oil or too low of viscosity and or over extended oci.

 

[OVERKILL]

Is varnish inevitable over time? My dipstick looks like this at 200k

View attachment 276214View attachment 276215

It's common, though I wouldn't say inevitable. Do you have a scope? You could check the heads or sump, those are far more likely locations than the dipstick.

 

[Sienna dude]

It's common, though I wouldn't say inevitable. Do you have a scope? You could check the heads or sump, those are far more likely locations than the dipstick.

Recommend a cheap scope

 

[OVERKILL]

Recommend a cheap scope

Not sure how good this one is, but it's cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/Inspection-B...e&qid=1745944558&sprefix=scope,aps,78&sr=8-27

 

[dubber09]

LSJ had varnish on his wife's Sienna's dipstick from 10k OCIs at the Toyota dealer. He had a lifetime powertrain warranty if he got all the maintenance done at the dealer, so no real downside for him I guess to do the long intervals since he could get engine problems fixed for free forever.

Lsj, "the oil guy"? Did they tell him lifetime warranty is limited to 200k miles? it seems to me that maintenance is lacking if dipstick has varnish on it.

 

[Sienna dude]

Not sure how good this one is, but it's cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/Inspection-Borescope-Pancellent-Endoscope-Smartphone/dp/B0CC27QRQ6?crid=2P4TR7AW1MEH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hN8iJLhuGVi1OFmNDvP22r3alglFP3cQTS0NP4JD7AOoUt6ucIYtLZN2O07CFY5u51aAPax98x_2QrpBacbTgEPmIdc5-l1f6nt_J6L_5rYTDr7bN4eQoOd2Ml8CUh1ZfdUE7pO_BBOZI6-s3DEAfR_M9UJ7HHhQ9r8xmNQ3Ymakb1mj_gcXs_QzW6DbeSWFVPzNN9Dqda0HO4rz6-kWTuaYQU3omyzNIBJKii0UvPYvhYU2tbBSOrWoFhBgTigv0nGJTvEhj9soXPTYOp1VlUPb5rLRcGTE1St46zDE5-I.RnXzOfYRbg2T5Mbjn5A-_ACWmrbDsI9bLrtQqWTCuc0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Scope&qid=1745944558&sprefix=scope,aps,78&sr=8-27

Thanks. So once I drain all the oil out I should look for varnish in the oil pan?

 

[OVERKILL]

Thanks. So once I drain all the oil out I should look for varnish in the oil pan?

Pan, windage tray if equipped, maybe the underside of the block and pistons, main caps...etc, basically anything you can see to provide as complete a picture as possible.

 

[Bill7]

Bump for a photo update.

This is as of today, having just drained the 2nd fill of VRP. Drained when OLM said 60% life remaining. I refilled (3rd go) VRP 5w30 in my van. I decided to try the Baldwin B7318 after all since it’s I’m running such short filter intervals.

The M1-110 I removed will get posted to C&P once it wicks a bit. I expect there’s nothing to see.

View attachment 270596

As you can see, the thick varnish is almost completely removed from the top of the rocker arm now. Only the side of the arm which sees almost no oil has much of a varnish left on it.

The engine is running better than it has in recent years. While there’s no consumption problem to solve, I’m pleased that I can see essentially zero consumption after 214k miles.

I have 3 Honda Odysseys EX-L's: 2006-2007 years, all with VCM enabled. I used to have 4, but I sold the 4th one.
I've been changing the oil every 5,000 miles / 6 months with Super Tech HMFS 5W-30 and some other clearance oils in my stash
(when the oil life monitor hits 30%).

I was a little too aggressive buying shopping carts of 5 quart jugs at that Tractor Supply clearance sale about 18 months ago.
I also stocked up on the Super Tech oil from Walmart when I had the 5% Walmart cash back credit card.

Thanks for the update, I will start using Valvoline R&P on them once the 2.5 years worth of oil in my stach eventually gets used up.

 

[tired]

Lsj, "the oil guy"? Did they tell him lifetime warranty is limited to 200k miles? it seems to me that maintenance is lacking if dipstick has varnish on it.

I'm not sure. He said that employees of Joe Gibbs got the deal through their local Toyota dealer. It was apparently lifetime. I can see the logic behind letting the maintenance go a little knowing you have a lifetime powertrain warranty.

I also wonder when they'd do a rebuild if you started burning oil. They might tell you go pound sound even if you burned a quart every 600 miles.

 

[dubber09]

It makes little sense for an 'oil guy' to go with bare min maintenance and make this public unless he's running some sort of experiment. I'd not run experiments on my wife's vehicle esp if I paid for it.