Worst oil you have put in your car?

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Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Arco Graphite!!!!


Technically, what is wrong with that oil? The average joe did not want to put what looked like used oil in their engine. That's probably it.

Wolfs Head. I used as top off.



Had nothing to do with the "look" of it. I actually used the stuff. The problem is the graphite would fall out of suspension and turn to a thick gooey like sludge. At least that is what I think caused the goo. It was HORRIBLE oil I know that. I had to rebuild an engine run on that stuff and it was just full of thick nasty sludge and the oil was changed on time and there was no other issue behind it. It was common with that oil.
 
Originally Posted By: LubeLuke
Originally Posted By: A_Harman

I changed the oil once a year in that car, which was about 12,000 miles. It lasted me through 5 years of school, and I sold it to a friend of mine in my hometown.

He must not have been a very good friend then....
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Nope. The Vega gave him good service, and he's still a friend.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I ran used motor oil from dad's 55-gallon drum in my '75 Chevy Vega for the first 6 months I went to college. Then we rebuilt the engine with iron sleeves during Christmas break, so I started using decent name-brand motor oils. (One of which was Arco Graphite. I liked it.)

I did run used 5w20 from Eaton's valve train test rigs in my riding mower one summer. It ran fine on it, but consumption was high.


I dumped a quart of gear lube in my '73 Vega college car, thinking that it might help reduce consumption.
Probaby fortunate that it didn't, since I doubt that the Vega would have done well with continued use of gear lube as top-off oil.
Kmart frequently had Citgo 10W-40 for some insane price anyway, twenty nine cents a quart IIRC.


That Vega burned a quart of oil every 100 miles. When I pulled into a gas station, I would say "fill up the oil and check the gas". Then when we sleeved it, consumption went to about 1 quart per 1000 miles. I changed the oil once a year in that car, which was about 12,000 miles. It lasted me through 5 years of school, and I sold it to a friend of mine in my hometown.


Did he remain a friend after you did that to him ? Remind me to bring a pre-nuptial agreement before we become friends....

Z
 
Originally Posted By: zray
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I ran used motor oil from dad's 55-gallon drum in my '75 Chevy Vega for the first 6 months I went to college. Then we rebuilt the engine with iron sleeves during Christmas break, so I started using decent name-brand motor oils. (One of which was Arco Graphite. I liked it.)

I did run used 5w20 from Eaton's valve train test rigs in my riding mower one summer. It ran fine on it, but consumption was high.


I dumped a quart of gear lube in my '73 Vega college car, thinking that it might help reduce consumption.
Probaby fortunate that it didn't, since I doubt that the Vega would have done well with continued use of gear lube as top-off oil.
Kmart frequently had Citgo 10W-40 for some insane price anyway, twenty nine cents a quart IIRC.


That Vega burned a quart of oil every 100 miles. When I pulled into a gas station, I would say "fill up the oil and check the gas". Then when we sleeved it, consumption went to about 1 quart per 1000 miles. I changed the oil once a year in that car, which was about 12,000 miles. It lasted me through 5 years of school, and I sold it to a friend of mine in my hometown.


Did he remain a friend after you did that to him ? Remind me to bring a pre-nuptial agreement before we become friends....

Z


Remember the old rule of thumb: "Any car that runs is worth $500"? I sold it to him for $200. I'd say he got his money's worth, because the car ran fine. It was rusty, but what mid-70's car wasn't when it was 10 years old? I wouldn't have hesitated to jump in that thing and drive it to California.
 
My Vega was also dead reliable.
I replaced the timing belt and water pump as well as the in-tank electric fuel pump, but that was about it.
If you broke a timing belt, that was no issue other than the inconvenience. It was easy enough to do that a young and poor college student could do it by the side of the road if needed.
Mine did have ignition points which required attention maybe once each fall if you wanted reliable starting in cold, damp weather.
I did have to remove the plugs every now and then to either clean and regap them them or replace them, but other than that, the Vega was fine to drive anywhere as long as you kept oil in the engine.
Too bad that GM didn't raid their Euro parts bins for engines as Ford did with the early Pinto.
GM had some very good Opel and Vauxhaul fours that would have worked well. They also had their own cast iron 2.5 from the old Chevy II and later Nova that was eventually used in Pontiac's version of the Vega.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
If you broke a timing belt, that was no issue other than the inconvenience. It was easy enough to do that a young and poor college student could do it by the side of the road if needed.


Whoa! Total feeling of deja vu here: I actually did replace the timing belt of my Vega by the side of the road when I was a young and poor college student. It died dead away as I was cruising up I69 in lower Michigan. I hiked into the next town and bought a belt, and got a local to drive me back out to the car. It took about a half-hour to replace, and I was on my way again.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I ran used motor oil from dad's 55-gallon drum in my '75 Chevy Vega for the first 6 months I went to college. Then we rebuilt the engine with iron sleeves during Christmas break, so I started using decent name-brand motor oils. (One of which was Arco Graphite. I liked it.)

I did run used 5w20 from Eaton's valve train test rigs in my riding mower one summer. It ran fine on it, but consumption was high.


I dumped a quart of gear lube in my '73 Vega college car, thinking that it might help reduce consumption.
Probaby fortunate that it didn't, since I doubt that the Vega would have done well with continued use of gear lube as top-off oil.
Kmart frequently had Citgo 10W-40 for some insane price anyway, twenty nine cents a quart IIRC.


That Vega burned a quart of oil every 100 miles. When I pulled into a gas station, I would say "fill up the oil and check the gas". Then when we sleeved it, consumption went to about 1 quart per 1000 miles. I changed the oil once a year in that car, which was about 12,000 miles. It lasted me through 5 years of school, and I sold it to a friend of mine in my hometown.


I just love a good Vega story.

Mine would use a quart of Quaker State in 350 miles. A quart of Chevron was good for about 450 miles. And a quart of Sunoco would take it down the road about 500 miles.

But the best option for my car was Castrol GTX 20W-50. It would hang in there for 7-800 miles on the average. I had to go to the import car parts joint to buy the stuff.

I bet today's 0W-20 PP would pour straight through that little engine and hit you on the top of your shoes. It certainly would be fuel saving because you couldn't drive anywhere.
 
Originally Posted By: SilverC6
But the best option for my car was Castrol GTX 20W-50. It would hang in there for 7-800 miles on the average.


There's nothing wrong with that. Did you try STP? Back in those days you were supposed to check the oil every time you filled. Somehow we evolved into a quality = no oil consumption view. I'm not sure that's a true and valid perspective.

I'd rather feed an engine oil than replace timing belts, de-carbon intakes with walnut shells, and live with weaker hyper pistons rather than forged.
 
Back to topic: my worst oil purchase and OCI has to have been 'Dollar General' brand of oil.

Not sure who made it, but engine was more noisy than any other time, and after it was drained the oil seemed VERY watered down (no coolant/water contanmination). I assume that is what shearing of oil does?
 
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Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
Worst oil was a bad batch of Amsoil 20w50 I put in my harley. Engine started getting real noisy about 40 miles into my ride. I went right home and dumped what looked like water out of it. The OCI could have been measured in hours. That was the first and last time I tried Amsoil. Went back to running Redline and never had another problem.

Same exact thing happened to me with my Harley. Never using that junk ever again.
 
If that's the oil consumption that you saw with your Vega, then you had a good one.
Mine as well as most used far more.
But, as long as you kept oil the thing, it would run for a very long time.
 
Worst oil I put in my car.....

Well, I was young and stupid. '84 Chevy Cavalier with a bad main seal. The oil light came on and it started making weird noises about 40 miles from home and I was a broke teenager. A friend lived along the route, so I stopped to beg him for some oil. All that was around the house was a couple of quarts of his dad's chainsaw bar oil. I happily dumped it in the engine and went on my way. The car still ran a year later when I sold it.
 
Originally Posted By: medic
Worst oil I put in my car.....

All that was around the house was a couple of quarts of his dad's chainsaw bar oil. I happily dumped it in the engine and went on my way. The car still ran a year later when I sold it.


That's great! Probably no additive package to speak of, but it would have been thick enough.
 
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