Oil weight- Oil Loss

[clarkflower]

Hi,
Looking for some help. I just bought a 97 Kia with the Mazda BP 1.8L for $700 to commute a very shot distance.

I bought it 10/1/11 with 94.6k. At 95K I put in Mobil One 10-30,checked it every 3 days for 45 days and it stayed full,no leaks under the car.

I then house sat and drove hwy miles 16 miles a day for 15 days and didn't check the oil. The other day it stared making noise and I check the oil. None showing.I am at 95.5k so we are talking about 1500 miles in 30 days

I added the only oil I could buy on Christmas, 2.5 qts shell 10-40 and it filled it. The noise went away. The car runs great. The tail pipe was pretty oily/sooty. My question is should I uses a heavier oil? Suggestions? Should I leave the blend of mobil 1 10-30 and shell 10-40 in? Is that OK?

Last-did it blow by the rings? Any Ideas?

Thanks

 

[clarkflower]

I moved this to the correct forum (gas)

 

[Jim Allen]

Sometimes a heavier oil helps, often it doesn't. It's most likely to help if the issue is rings and least likely to help if the issue is upper end (Valve stem seals). My advice is to go with a high mileage conventional oil in a 30 grade(5W30 or 10W30) to start. The HM oils have more seal conditioners and detergents and may help slow down oil usage. I think you know now that oil checking is job one for you!

Some here will recommend cleaners, Auto RX or whatever. The anecdotal reports, especially for that product, seem good but having no personal experience with them I can't comment muchhesitate to recommend them. They may free up stuck rings and they also have seal conditioners that may help.

The way I see it, the root problem is a worn engine and while you may be able to lessen oil consumption, no magic elixir is going to replace worn metal or rehabilitate worn seals. A tired engine can still last a long time if babied a little. That should be your main focus and I wouldn't count on being able to cure all the problems with viscosity changes or chemical additives.

 

[clarkflower]

Thanks Jim

 

[Gary in Sandy Eggo]

A couple thoughts. On a "very short" commute, your oil doesn't get up to operating temperature which results in two conditions:

1. Your 10W-30 IS a thicker oil than it will be at operating temperature. So, you've already got part of your answer (yes, a thicker oil will stay better).

2. When your oil doesn't come up to operating temperature, a build-up of blow-by water in the oil will mask the loss of oil. Then, when driving a farther distance, the water will boil off an it'll look like a sudden loss of oil.

On top of that, synthetic oils tend to be thinner than conventional oils.

If it were me, living in SoCal (like I do), given your exerience, I'd use 15w-40 oil for continued short commutes, and mono-grade SAE-30 for longer commutes. More importantly, I'd check the oil level regularly.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: clarkflower
Hi,

My question is should I uses a heavier oil? Suggestions? Should I leave the blend of mobil 1 10-30 and shell 10-40 in? Is that OK?

Last-did it blow by the rings? Any Ideas?

Thanks


I would try some 15w40 Rotella in there and see how it does. Don't worry about the mix you have. Also, clean the pcv valve and related hoses.

 

[fpracha]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Sometimes a heavier oil helps, often it doesn't. It's most likely to help if the issue is rings and least likely to help if the issue is upper end (Valve stem seals). My advice is to go with a high mileage conventional oil in a 30 grade(5W30 or 10W30) to start. The HM oils have more seal conditioners and detergents and may help slow down oil usage.

Hi Jim!
Agreed.
But what about the possibility of sludge having built-up due to shorter commutes and cooler winter temperatures, and thereafter the highway miles and consequently hotter running engine causing loss of this sludge (that is, fuel+water+oil) mixture via evaporation losses ?

Hi clarkflower,
Did you notice any signs of soft solids either in the oil filler cap and/or at the bottom end of the dipstick, at the time you found No Oil on the dipstick ?

 

[KenO]

It's M1. It burns. Simple as that.