MMO on long highway trip?

[Kaboomba]

That ole Buick probably never got to stretch its legs with the previous owner.

That's why, if it were me, I would run some PP with MMO and do a few Italian tune-ups to clean out the oil control rings.

 

[demarpaint]

I would make a long trip with MMO in the sump w/o hesitation. I've done so plenty of times. Some engines do use a little extra oil with the addition of MMO, some don't. My suggestion is check the oil at each fill up. Use regular oil for top ups if you are running the MMO at 20%. For those who suffer with OCD, add 20% MMO to the top up oil.

 

[badtlc]

Forget just a long highway trip. Leave MMO in the sump for 4-5000 miles or so. It won't hurt anything.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: badtlc
Forget just a long highway trip. Leave MMO in the sump for 4-5000 miles or so. It won't hurt anything.


+1

 

[bigmike]

I drove a 200 mile trip, twice a week, for almost a year with MMO in the sump. I used a higher grade, though, 10w40 or 20w50 back then.

Used to do 500 mile trip once a week for several months with MMO and Castrol GTX 10w40, later with PYB 5w30 and MMO.

All of these were different vehicles. I changed oil then based on time, rather than miles usually. For over a decade, I ran MMO the entire OCI.

I've backed away from that some and use it when I think it's needed now.

 

[ronrackley]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've done it many times, go for it, it will certainly help clean things up. I would however keep an eye on the oil level. Do not exceed 20% of MMO in the sump. If you are a real fanatic you can mix 20% MMO into your top up oil, otherwise just use your favorite oil if you need to top up.


I followed the "add MMO for the last few hundred miles before a change" conventional wisdom for many years until I decided to try the 20% all the time approach recommended by the MMO manufacturer. I've done it several times since because of the excellent UOAs that I've gotten. Here is a link to a page of my UOAs with two OCIs having 20% MMO for about 5,000 miles each:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...494#Post2111494

Each one had at least one approximately 1500 mile in two or three days round trip.

 

[demarpaint]

I've mentioned there were some impressive UOA reports with the addition of MMO. Yours is one of them! On their forum they explain why MMO drops TBN slightly. I've been saying for a long time now MMO is not for the extended drain camp. IMO if you are cleaning an engine you shouldn't be doing an extended drain anyway. Follow the car mfg OCI and you'll be fine. JMO

 

[ChuckBerry]

The dichlorobenzenes in MMO are perfect for a nice, gradual cleaning of the carbon fouling on the metal parts in the crankcase. So long as you are not towing something heavy at highway speeds in the desert in the height of summer, the slight reduction in oil weight is nothing to worry about.

 

[ronrackley]

Originally Posted By: ChuckBerry
The dichlorobenzenes in MMO are perfect for a nice, gradual cleaning of the carbon fouling on the metal parts in the crankcase. So long as you are not towing something heavy at highway speeds in the desert in the height of summer, the slight reduction in oil weight is nothing to worry about.


With the RTS 5w40 I use, the viscosity drops to the low end of the 40 weight specifications with20% MMO - almost making it act like a 30 weight oil, in other words - and 30 weight is what is specified for my engines anyway.

The first time I ran 20% MMO for more than a day or two was to attempt to cure a piston slap/carbon noise problem in a 2000 Deville with a Northstar engine that my wife had been driving very gently [they were notorious for that] when it was just a few years old. I put MMO both in the oil and the gas and just left it. The noise went down every day for several days and was completely gone within a week. I think we put another 40,000 or 50,000 miles on that car and it never came back.

The oil leaks that the engine had - it was spotting the driveway lightly and using a quart maybe every 1500 miles before I put the MMO in - got significantly worse, so I didn't run MMO in the oil after that. The cars I have now do not leak oil at all and, if anything, I think might use a little less oil with MMO in them [I do not have to add oil to keep the dipstick happy either way with a 5,000 mile OCI.]

So, I'd watch for consumption with an engine that is known to have leaks but other than that not worry about having it in for 5,000 miles of normal driving.

 

[KW]

I run the recommended 20% mix off MMO and Rotella T 15W40 in my 5.2 Dodge Ram 1500 with no problems. In mid 09 I started seeing signs of the oil pump screen getting clogged up (something the Magnum motors have a problem with). I have made several long 500+ mile trips hauling cars on a 21 foot trailer with the Rotella MMO mix.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: Kaboomba
That ole Buick probably never got to stretch its legs with the previous owner.

That's why, if it were me, I would run some PP with MMO and do a few Italian tune-ups to clean out the oil control rings.

Yeah, I've seen the way the previous owner drives his new LaCrosse, and before that, his Lucerne. It seemed like it took him five solid minutes to get out of the barbershop parking lot. I drive a bit harder than that.

I'm back from the trip. I started with the oil in the middle of the safe range on the dipstick. In Houston, the halfway point of the outer leg, it looked low, so I added a pint of MC5000 10W-30. In Tyler, TX, 500 miles later, it didn't seem to have dropped any. I put about a half pint of MMO in the crankcase and drove it back home, 450 miles at 60-70 mph.

Now I'm back to my regular routine, with 4200 miles on the current oil and the OLM reporting 52% life left. I may change it or have it changed at 5000, just for my peace of mind, and then see if the consumption has lessened any.

 

[rslifkin]

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Sounds like a good plan to me.


Sounds like a good plan to me too. No point in keeping any junk in the sump any longer than you have to. A 5000 mile OCI is fine. Next OCI I'd use straight oil and MMO as top up oil not to exceed a qt.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Yesterday I changed the oil to the same stuff, MC 5000 10W-30, 5 qts., with 4500 miles on the oil/47% oil life left. the car's odo read 82,076. I'll keep an eye on the level and add some MMO if necessary.

 

[mongo161]

I just added 1 pint of MMO to my Formula shell with 3500 on the oil, prior to my RT run to South Carolina on Tuesday. Just got back this AM. I plan on adding the rest of the bottle this weekend and leaving it in for my OCI at 6K miles. Should help to thin things out a bit. RT mileage was 1,500 miles and I used a good dose of 1 ounce of TC-W3 for every 4 gallons of gas along with 3-4 ounces of Chevron Techron/ at each fill up. Engine runs smooth and the idle is very quiet. That UCL of TC-W3 is nice for lubrication of the fuel system.

North Carolina, much to my surprise, had lots of gas stations with regular gas WITHOUT ethanol. Nice pleasant surprise.

 

[bustednutz]

I've ran as high as 25% Marvels in my sump before. No issues. And that was on a 1000 mile trip. 3 quarts of Valvoline Durablend 5w30 and 1 quart Marvels and a fresh MC oil filter. No worries at all. This was on a 98 Ford Escort Wagon with 90K miles.