Questions - oil and My Montero, all input welcome

[OceanRuns]

I am a new owner to a 1989 Montero (3.0 engine). Overall mileage is 146,000. However, a re-manufactured engine from the Engine Factory Inc. was installed by the previous owner at 116,000. Doing so wasn't necessary, he just went overboard rather than fixing the old engine. He just wanted to keep the vehicle a long time. This was done 12 years ago. So, the re-manufactured engine has 30,000 in 12 years.

He used 10-40w oil, whatever was a decent brand and on sale.

Here are my questions...

1.) If I go to 5w-30 will there be any ill-effects? Would I gain anything (like gas mileage)? I am in California and there are summer days in the mid-90s and even a few low 100s. But, 80s is more likely.

2.) If I switch to synthetic is there a risk of oil leaks? Will I gain anything?

3.) There is some lifter noise at idle. Someone said add some Lucas oil. Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[addyguy]

In Cali during the summer, you don't need a 5W-30 oil - 10W-30 should be a good compromise.

Don't use Lucas Oil additive - it's just un-additized junk. Maybe try a quart of MMO with your next oil fill, to see if you can unstick lifters that may have become gummed up from low-mileage, short trip use.

 

[OceanRuns]

Thanks, so can I add the MMO at the oil change (substituting 1 quart for 1 quart oil) and run it for 5,000 miles?

 

[S2500Dog]

Go with a good covnetional or synthetic 10W-30 oil from Pennzoil, Quakerstate, Superetech, Valvoline, Mobil Clean or Mobil 1, Havoline, Chevron Supreme, and Shell Formula. Substitute 1 32oz bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil for 1 quart of oil and leave it in the engine for the next 5,000 miles.

 

[OceanRuns]

Thanks. So with 10w-30 the MMO won't thin it too much? Good to go for 5k miles?

Any opinion on Auto-Rx?

Will MMO risk leaks?

 

[MrMeeks]

Use a 10w-30 in warm weather.Never use a Fram filter .Fram filters restrict oil flow because their anti drain back valve is usually glued to the filter base plate.This greatly restricts oil flow.MMo is not necessary in any machine at any time.Maybe I would use MMO in very cold weather but only in a oil can to thin the oil and lube the Tin man if he shows up.

 

[Winston]

I had one of those, but I had a 1995 much longer. I ran 5w20 in the '95 while pulling a trailer up to tahoe in the middle of summer on one of the hottest days of the year. You can run anything in those engines. I have posted some oil analyses on the 1995 montero.

As far as the lifter noise, some of those engines are noisy, some are not. Trying different oil will not help or hurt.

 

[Falcon_LS]

With over 320,000 km (200,000 miles) of experience with the Mitsubishi 6G72 12-valve, I would personally recommend an oil meeting at least ACEA A3 - which can be a thicker 30 weight, or a lighter 40 weight. If you're not going the synthetic route, I would highly recommend you go with an HDEO as opposed to a regular ILSAC rated oil.

If it's conventional, change it out every 10,000 km (6,000 miles) and you're golden. If you're going the synthetic route, 15,000 km (10,000 miles) is a reasonable minimum (after which a UOA would come in handy). Some synthetic oils I would recommend:

- German Castrol 0W-30
- Fuchs Titan SuperSyn 5W-30 (might be difficult to source State side)
- Mobil 1 0W-40
- Liqui-Moly/Lubro-Moly Synthoil Energy 0W-40
- Liqui-Moly/Lubro-Moly Synthoil High Tech 5W-40 (old batch)
- Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40
- Fuchs Titan GT-1 5W-40
- Silkolene PRO S 5W-40
- Redline High Performance 5W-40
- Amsoil European Car Formula 5W-40
- Pennzoil Ultra 5W-40 Euro
- Pennzoil Platinum 5W-40 Euro
- Shell Rotella 5W-40

If you're going for conventional, I would highly recommend Pennzoil LongLife Gold 15W-40. I'm hoping others will chime in with HDEO recommendations, as I'm not too sure what's available to you. Hope this helps.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
3.) There is some lifter noise at idle. Someone said add some Lucas oil.


There's no need to use an additive. After changing the oil, drive around for half an hour or so to get the engine to operating temperature. Shift into neutral or park, gently and gradually rev the engine up to 3,000 rpm and drop the throttle at exactly the 3,000 rpm mark. Wait 15 seconds and repeat. If the ticking doesn't go away after 10 tries at the most, the HLA's are not your problem.

 

[OceanRuns]

Falcon, thanks.

Since you have on of these...

The remanufactured engine has 12 years and 30K miles on it, all with 10w-40 conventional.

If I switch now to synthetic do I risk leaks?

Also, I was thinking of going with a Mobil 1 filter, but it's smaller than the stock Mitsu one. Any issue there?

And forgive my ignorance, but what does HDEO mean? Would you got go under 15w for a conventional?

Thanks.

 

[S2500Dog]

You should not develop any problems or leaks from using synthetic oils. Try the Mobil 1 M1-110 oil filter. It has the same thread pattern and it is bigger. HDEO stands for Heavy Duty Engine Oil which is used in Diesel and Fleet application as well as some gasoline engines application. I would look for Shell Rotella T5 Synthetic Blend at your local WalMart which is made in an 10W-30 grade and is made to perform on gasoline engines.

 

[Falcon_LS]

OceanRuns,

I switched to synthetic when my engine had nearly 250,000 km (156,250 miles) on the clock - not a single problem.

If you are overly concerned, you might want to run 4 quarts of Heavy Duty Engine Oil (HDEO) and a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) for two or three oil changes to do a bit of cleaning and sealing (MMO helps swell seals). The alternative is to choose an oil of your choice (synthetic or conventional) and add Motor Oil Saver - which is a much better product to recondition seals and gaskets. In fact, if you can get hold of it easily, I would recommend it at every oil change - the 12-valve is prone to oil burning due to valve stem seals. This stuff will prevent the seals from drying out and failing.

As far as the oil filter goes, I would highly recommend a Hyundai 26300-35503. It's very well built, has a silicone valve and is a great filter to use if you're not going with any extreme (12,500+ mile) oil change intervals.

 

[StevieC]

Falcon,

I'm using the Hyundai filter at the moment because I ran out of EAO's from Amsoil.

It's definitely a great filter and hand-busting hard to cut open to look at!

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
...hand-busting hard to cut open to look at!

Oh definitely!

 

[StevieC]

Thought you would have a laugh on that one!