Thickest oil my Honda can handle? 363,000 miles.

[expat]

I think this is one case where you could safely toss in a can of STP (or similar heavy Goop) to 'up' the VI if you don't need to do an oil change.
Really, even in -15c 20w-50 won't break anything.
in the 80's I put several 100k on a Toyota with nothing but 20w-50 in the pan year round.

 

[mene]

hello Shark, nice to see somebody with a decent amount of miles in an engine. Did you take the head out to check or used a bore camera?, Is it misfiring in the damaged cylinder? I'm asking because in one of our cars even using synthetic oil the valve stem seals had to be replaced every 100K miles or thereabouts, granted not a Honda but a Mitsubishi, when it was at around 300K miles it used 1qt. every 1K miles or so and when I replaced the seals dropped down to about a quart every 4K, a big drop. So my point is that perhaps you can claw back some or perhaps most of that oil use from new valve seals, that amount of oil consumed in just one cylinder must cause a lot of vibration an a totally fouled plug in very few miles from my experience.

 

[virginoil]

Is the vehicle posted in the 150000 miles plus thread ?

If not you should.

 

[tommygunn]

Keep a eye on your MPG when you go thicker on the oil, the oil savings may be costing you on the gas side. In a former life I used to drive a 18 wheeler locally in Ga and had to hand pump Chevron Delo 15W 40 out of a 55 gallon drum. That is some very very thick stuff in the winter and you might want to go with a 10W40 in the winter.

 

[meep]

i had a badly scored VW bus. I dumped some additive (either "Restore" or "Rislone, don't recall) into the oil and it did help after a few days. premise is it basically sludges up in cylinder scratches at combustion temps.

I found it works as the top speed of the van increased from ~20 to almost 30 mph on level ground. however, if you ran it hot, like a takes-forever-1st-gear WOT climb, and overheat, it would seem to melt back into the sump, and would have to be driven "nicely" for a few days to build back up.

 

[addyguy]

Like meep, I'd recommend trying the additive 'Restore', in the silver can. It's supposed to 'paste' tiny soft metal particles into scratches in cylinder walls.

I've read many times that it does work on really worn, oil-burning engines. I'd add some to the 15W-40 you have in there when it needs some top-off.

 

[Gasbuggy]

Originally Posted By: mene
hello Shark, nice to see somebody with a decent amount of miles in an engine. Did you take the head out to check or used a bore camera?, Is it misfiring in the damaged cylinder? I'm asking because in one of our cars even using synthetic oil the valve stem seals had to be replaced every 100K miles or thereabouts, granted not a Honda but a Mitsubishi, when it was at around 300K miles it used 1qt. every 1K miles or so and when I replaced the seals dropped down to about a quart every 4K, a big drop. So my point is that perhaps you can claw back some or perhaps most of that oil use from new valve seals, that amount of oil consumed in just one cylinder must cause a lot of vibration an a totally fouled plug in very few miles from my experience.



Around 280,000 I took the head off, had the head decked, changed the valve seals, lapped the valves. That is when I got to see the score in the cylinder, there were two, you could stick your finger nail into them.

So far my engine seems to be burning the 15w40 up faster than it burned up 5w30. That doesn't make sense.

 

[virginoil]

Originally Posted By: Shark

hello Shark, ................................
So far my engine seems to be burning the 15w40 up faster than it burned up 5w30. That doesn't make sense.


Not really. There are several threads that discuss thin grades control oil consumption better than thicker grades oils.

It was something to do with better sealing of the rings.

Sounds strange but it has been reported.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I have to agree with addyguy: Restore is worth a shot. I have seen that it often DOES work!