Increase oil "Weight" in old cars?

Aye, Phillip touched on a point in the "camry Oil change mess" thread that I would like to chase down.

Is it advised to go to thicker oil as a car ages.

I have an '87 Corolla. It uses about a quart of oil every three months. Several little "seeps" here and there that my mechanic says are not worth spending money on.

I have religiously changed the oil and filter every 3,000 miles following the break-in period with the recommended 10W-40 oil. Good oil and good filters.

Now, with 230K on the car and a "noisy" engine, would I be advised to shift to another oil. I'm in the Pacific Northwest where we will have an occassional 28-degree low, but for the most part the winter driving temps are mid 30s to mid 50s and in the summer it ranges from lows of

55 to the rare 102.

Mostly local, low speed, country driving.

Reply to
timbirr
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Have you tried the "high mileage" type of motor oils? I found those to be quite forgiving to a Camry with 100K. I have since converted to Mobil1 Synthetic and am very happy so far with the cold weather starts. (Of course, my engine has 103K on it vs. your 230K)

Have you poked around over here at the Bobistheoilguy Forum:

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There's a wealth of info in the various forums and many helpful people.

Congrats by the way for keeping the beastie alive for 230K worth!

Reply to
Ken Peterson

I would NOT choose a heavier oil in an effort to slow an oil leak.

For your engine, when the historic oil consumption rate has deteriorated by

50% (my own rule of thumb), then .... assuming the rubber valve guide seals are NOT the reason for the consumption increase, I would increase the oil weight. Remember, oil clearances and temperature are the primarily determinants for the oil weight you choose.

For comparison, my last car was a '90 Geo Prizm that I bought new. It had the 4AFE (dohc FI) engine. Always ran Mobil1 10w-30 in it. After break-in, the car would pass about 1/2 a quart between oil changes (4,000 miles). When I sold the car with 285k miles on it, oil consumption was about 3,000 miles per quart. I used 15w-50 only during the summer months after the car passed 200k miles because the southern CA and AZ deserts have temperatures for about 3-4 months over 100 degrees (110-115 at times), the car had A/C, and was on the highway quite a bit. Gearing had the engine spinning along at 3500 rpm / 70 mph.

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- Philip

Reply to
Philip

Thanks, Ken and Philip for the replies.

I have thought about changing over to the high mile oil. But not really sure that they would be of benefit. My mechanic is of the "ain't broke, don't change it" philopsophy -- and I appreciate that in him!

Philip, I'm not trying to stop the leaks (I'd use oatmeal for that -- just joking), but I am trying to be kind to the car as it ages, and maybe coax an extra 10-30K out of it. And if a different oil would help, I am interested.

This one has the 4LC engine in it.

Reply to
timbirr

My Camry was thirsty for regular oil and would use about 3/4 of a quart between oil changes (I change oil at 2K), and would use more on highway driving. Switching over to Mobil synthetic blend for high-mileage cars (over 75K) took care of the oil consumption issue and made the engine quieter. I had been running that type of oil for the past year until we had some really cold weather here on the east coast and I went to 100% synthetic Mobil 1.

It wouldn't hurt you to try a crankcase full of the higher mileage type of motor oil - if it quiets down the insides of your 4-banger, it might make you happy.

It may even address your "seeping" issue.

Reply to
Ken Peterson

I'll agree with Ken on this issue. High Mileage oil, not higher viscosity oil. Your car is old, the seals are old. If you change the oil viscosity to higher, you may cause harm, where the other route should be safe.

Your environment does not call for a higher viscosity oil. I would recommend , even highly, Against it.

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Reply to
MUADIB®

If the engine is not sending the oil black in the first 2000 miles or month of driving (burning oil, poor sealing rings) and there is no oil-pressure problems which translate to engine bearing noise,..I'd stay with the recommended oil-grade as per the driver's h/book.

In the event an engine does need a heavier oil, one grade shift only is what I would do in these engines eg 15/40 to 20/50 or 10/30 to 15/40. Any further and its possible more wear may occur due lack of oil- flow at critical clearances which have not increased in other areas of the engine..

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

There are several oils now available for high mileage cars that you should try. Available in any auto parts store or discount store.

Reply to
Mark A

Keep in mind though that synthetic oil has smaller molecules. If the engine is already leaking oil, the use of synthetic will exacerbate the situation.

Reply to
Viperkiller

My friend, your agreement is misplaced. Do you have some idea what constitutes "High Mileage" oil? Go on ... give it a go. ;-)

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    - Philip

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Reply to
Philip

HOW do you connect oil discoloration to oil pressure problems? Really. Have you EVER owned a DIESEL ? As for increased wear from a small increase in viscosity, may I remind you that oil clearances in diesels are ususally a little wider than comparable gasoline engines, hence the 15w-40 wt from new. When a gasoline engine is well worn, what's the difference?

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    - Philip
Reply to
Philip

I dont. They are separate issues, tho to some extent if one is present (the engine's tendency to dump carbon in the oil due oil-burning) the other is often not far behind.

Really.

As good as,..we had a Nissan-Patrol Diesel at work which discoloured the oil rather quickly,..but that is not what we are talking about here. He has a petrol motor.

As for increased wear from a small increase

a

new.

I framed my answer to the original post thus: If the engine sends its oil black prematurely, then its reasonable to assume there are wear issues with rings and piston-ring-grooves and/or the stem-seals. In this event a change to a higher viscosity should help. Similarly, if the engine suffers from bearing noise, a heavier grade oil will help,..but not too heavy an increase as the reduced flow may hasten wear in parts of the engine which are still within spec wear-wise.

Jason

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Your car uses a quart of oil every three months with 230K on the clock? You've been blessed. Don't mess with success. Why tempt fate? Just add oil when needed.

"When a legislature undertakes to proscribe the exercise of a citizen's constitutional rights it acts lawlessly and the citizen can take matters into his own hands and proceed on the basis that such a law is no law at all."

- Justice William O. Douglas

Reply to
MisterSkippy

Also true if the engine is burning oil due to wear. I bought a used riding mower that smokes a little. First oil change I switched to synthetic and it smoke big time. :-) Didn't look like a mosquito fogger but smoked a lot more than with dino. Switched back to dino for older engines and now I get hardly no smoke. Only mowed about 3 or 4 times after so I don't know about usage but it still show full so I may not be losing any now. davidj92

Reply to
davidj92

I guess I read in-between the lines that our friend was also looking for a way to quiet down his noisy engine, and the oil made for high-mileage engines might be worth a shot. Otherwise I am in total agreement! :-)

Reply to
Ken Peterson

In rethinking the issue, a max life oil might well be a good choice as you suggest for quieting things down. I doubt tight bearing clearances and too heavy an oil are an issue at 230K. In his place, I'd still use regular oil but then again, my radio can play very loud and drown out anything.

"When a legislature undertakes to proscribe the exercise of a citizen's constitutional rights it acts lawlessly and the citizen can take matters into his own hands and proceed on the basis that such a law is no law at all."

- Justice William O. Douglas

Reply to
MisterSkippy

I won't take a position on the debate but pose a question.

I have an old Camry with about 196,000 miles on it, and it seems to burn a quart about every 1500 miles. A mechanic recommended that on my next oil change, I put in a quart of what he called "Lucas"; he said that if I did, afterward my Camry wouldn't burn as much oil. Now, I'm skeptical, because I figured the reason why the car burns as much oil as it does is that with mileage, the clearance between the piston rings and cylinders has grown - so I don't understand how such a product would work. Any feedback?

Mike

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Reply to
M. Hamill

At 230000 go to a heavier weight.

Reply to
m Ransley

Hi Mike,

I'd first try the high-mileage oil before I used Lucas.

Check out this article:

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When I used the high-mileage stuff, it really worked.

Reply to
Ken Peterson

I

so

Heavier weight oil has a higher viscosity which translates to an oil which flows slower at the same temp as a lighter oil and retains its volume better and has higher sheer strength.. These characteristics mean the oil will stay in place between increased clearances (due wear) longer and stop metal on metal contact and also offer some added protection against burning (oil being sucked up into the combustion chamber on the intake stroke) and reduced noise,..however, if a much greater oil is used or a viscosity increaser additive is used in large concentrations, other problems may arise such as overheated oil (due oil staying too long in bearings) or lack of lubrication in thosae areas of the engine where clearances are still tight, (valve stems for example. On cam and bucket designed valve operation, there is no anglular force such as with rocker operated valves, therefore stem wear is minimised)

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

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