Time to change oil in my Olds Aurora - Opinions?

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Greetings all. The vehicle up for discussion today is a 1998 Oldsmobile Aurora, 4.0L Northstar V8. Factory specs 10w30 to be used, but I think we can do better than that, especially for the cold months...

It has 7.5 quart sump with filter, so it is going to cost a little more to fill it than my previous vehicles. I have just bought my Amsoil EaO oil filters (thanks Pablo!), so all I need is the oil.

I would love to do longer OCI intervals on this one (maybe 7500 miles/6 months), so I am figuring a synthetic would fit best, since I also need good winter protection. I have my VSOT and LC20 ready also.

Now, for those that are going to say, "this should work, but you should check with analysis", I have you covered. I am about to order the super package from Terry, so I will know everything about everything after that...

So, all of this being said, suggestions for my new baby's oil? I would love to do a 0w30 grade for this car, but have no idea how the engine will respond.

Would especially love to hear from people with similar engines, or the big brother 4.6L Northstars.

As always, I look forward to your replies.

David
 
I'd do an AutoRX treatment before switching to synthetics and extended OCIS. The 4.0 is, afterall, a Northstar.
 
I've heard from Cadillac mechanics that these engines often had top end and piston ring problems, and they had a procedure to use GM Top End Cleaner like Seafoam to suck into the engine through a vacuum line and soak for an hour or two and then it would smoke like crazy on startup.

Sure sounds to me like a good candidate for Auto RX.
 
We have an '01 Olds Intrigue with the 3.5 DOHC V6 "ShortStar" and it seems to do well with 0W-30 GC. We've owned it since new and it now has ~67K on it. I've seafoamed it a couple of times and Auto-Rx'ed it at 50K. I've been running GC for the last few OCIs (5k OCI), most recently with LC20, and it's kept the typical NorthStar oil consumption low. I used to run M1 5W-30 in its early years and it gobbled it up at a rate of about a qt every 3K or so. I know that's not too bad but I've never owned a car that consumed oil (at least to that extent) and I wanted to reduce the oil consumption rate as much as possible. Its UOAs with GC have also been very good.

HTH
 
Thank you so much for that information! Cool, too, because I had really been curious about trying GC in it! Are you using green or gold GC? What filter brand? Also, what is your treat rate on the LC20?

Thanks again.
 
I've been using green GC.

I'm not sure if the filter set up is the same in the Aurora V8 but the 3.5 V6 uses an oil filter cartridge, not a typical spin on filter. Because of this, the filter choices are limited; I'm using AC Delco (I bought a case of them online since they can sometimes be hard to find at the local auto parts store).

I use 1 oz LC20/qt oil when I change the oil and add 1 oz. LC20 halfway through the OCI. I've noticed that by the time 5k rolls around, I'm down maybe 1/2 qt. I'm OK with that oil consumption rate.
 
I'd definately do an Auto-Rx treatment. This engine, while an excellent design does have ring-pack sticking problems. Do a complete AutoRX and then refill with Mobil 1 5w or 10w30 (Walmart 5q for $21.88). Just what I would do. Ed
 
What type of driving? Miles? Trips? We need to know these things.

If the manufacturer specs 10W30, why go lower? The wider the viscosity range, the more viscosity index improvers, and the less actual oil! Extended drain makes it even worse.

If you want to go lighter, try the 5w30.

If you don't want to RX, consider dumping a pint of either; Seafoam, ATF, MMO, or whatever as a mild engine flush. You know, right at oil change, pur that in, idle the car 5 minutes, then drain.
 
The 10w30 spec comes from the likelihood that the typical consumer will be using regular bargain dino oil from the local oil-change shop.

In recommending the 10w30 grade, GM is likely worried that this engine will promote oil shearing out of grade due to the increased use of VI's in 5w-30 oils.

Synthetic oils have a much better resistance to this type of shearing, so a 5w-30 would be no sweat, I'd be more inclined to use a 5w-30 than a 0w-30, again because of the increased quantity of VI's going from 5w-30 to 0w-30, and because GM's choice to use an oil with less VI.
 
Shearing is generally not an issue with the 0W-30 grade as most are blends of synthetic base oils and little or no VI Improvers.
smile.gif
 
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What type of driving? Miles? Trips? We need to know these things.




Well, I do about 200 miles a week, probably 40%city/60%highway. My car gets a good fully warm drive at least once a week at high speeds. I am conservative with my driving, but occasionally give it some more gas. Never been to redline in it.

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If the manufacturer specs 10W30, why go lower? The wider the viscosity range, the more viscosity index improvers, and the less actual oil! Extended drain makes it even worse.




Sorry, I know you are new here. The whole point of this forum is to do WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CAR, not to blindly follow what a manufacturer specifies as gospel. Besides, I am not going to use an oil with debatable quality. That is another point of this forum, to find out what is safe and good for the cars. And as for going to different viscosities, we have thousands of people here running all sorts of oil grades, and their UOAs look pretty good if they are doing things correctly.

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If you want to go lighter, try the 5w30.

If you don't want to RX, consider dumping a pint of either; Seafoam, ATF, MMO, or whatever as a mild engine flush. You know, right at oil change, pur that in, idle the car 5 minutes, then drain.




Sorry, still knowing you are new here. One of the cardinal rules of dealing with engines is to NOT BREAK TONS OF CRUD OFF AT ONCE. ATF is generally considered a mechanics "trick" from the 1940's and 50s, and as such, is not very appropriate for todays modern engines with much tighter clearances. MMO and Seafoam, while sometimes used in the fuel, are not appropriate for the oil, as they just dilute the protective qualities of the oil, do little for true cleaning, and can break off chunks of crud, thereby clogging oil passages and damaging engines. Besides, what is running any of these things FOR 5 MINUTES going to do to an engine that, if dirty, took YEARS to accumulate?

While I appreciate your input, maybe you should do a little more reading around these forums, and learn some more before making wild claims and suggestions. We all had a learning curve to go through, and we are still learning even now.
cheers.gif
 
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The 10w30 spec comes from the likelihood that the typical consumer will be using regular bargain dino oil from the local oil-change shop.




Heck, even when cars spec other grades, "dippy-lubes" tend to put in 10w30. Makes for easier teaching - "Here is the air hose, here is the water hose, and here is the oil hose. If a car comes in, be sure to use all three..." Harsh, maybe. True, likely.

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In recommending the 10w30 grade, GM is likely worried that this engine will promote oil shearing out of grade due to the increased use of VI's in 5w-30 oils.




The reason they say is that the earlier Northstar engines have flat tappets. But, since we know that there are oils with different viscosities that still give great barrier lubrication, if not better than bland 10w30 originally specced, then I am not worried about that shearing.

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Synthetic oils have a much better resistance to this type of shearing, so a 5w-30 would be no sweat, I'd be more inclined to use a 5w-30 than a 0w-30, again because of the increased quantity of VI's going from 5w-30 to 0w-30, and because GM's choice to use an oil with less VI.




I will be careful to use only a good strong oil if I do go with 0w30. And, I do not really think GM even knows much about VIIs muchless designs engines for them. If they did, they would be more inclined to refer their customers to a specific brand of oil for that very reason, would bring up warranty issues more readily, and cause all sort of grief if the oil they intended based on their initial designs was not used...
 
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Shearing is generally not an issue with the 0W-30 grade as most are blends of synthetic base oils and little or no VI Improvers.
smile.gif




Exactly! A well designed oil used properly will yield little to no shearing...
 
I miss my Olds. I had a 2001 Green Aurora 4.0 with all the goodies. Anyhow, for what it's worth, I always ran Mobil 1 with an AC Delco filter for 5k changes and used Redline fuel system cleaner on a regular basis. No problems with typical Northstar issues. Only wierd thing was the digital oil pressure readout would sometimes indicate 100psi or more on occasion. I never knew what was going on there, but sold the car with 40,000 miles just this year.
 
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I miss my Olds. I had a 2001 Green Aurora 4.0 with all the goodies. Anyhow, for what it's worth, I always ran Mobil 1 with an AC Delco filter for 5k changes and used Redline fuel system cleaner on a regular basis. No problems with typical Northstar issues. Only wierd thing was the digital oil pressure readout would sometimes indicate 100psi or more on occasion. I never knew what was going on there, but sold the car with 40,000 miles just this year.




Why did you sell that beauty? It was just getting broken in...

Which grade of M1 did you use, BTW?
 
I was using Mobil 1 10W/30 in the summer, 5W/30 in the winter when I lived in Maryland. I live in Texas now and used 10W/30 all around. I do regret selling that car. I wanted to keep it because the blue book value was dropping so fast that you're just giving the darn thing away. But the wife wanted a new car, so it went. Small things were also starting to go wrong here and there and we just got out of warranty anyhow. Thanks for the complement, though!
 
It's surprising if they don't spec that you can use 5W-30 below 50F or 60F degrees. Most GMs "preferring" 10W-30 usually allow for a thinner oil in winter climates...
 
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