Generally speaking, I don't think it was an issue in the past, either. It's not like one brand was fantastic and another major was utter garbage. Oil wasn't as good, but neither were engines, or the gas, despite our rose tinted glasses at times.
Bad experiences with a particular oil brand.
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Ford of Europe also had camshaft wear problems in the OHC "Pinto" ( similar to the 2.3 Lima ) engines in the 70s and 80s, the problem was not only the oil, but that the cam was lubricated by a spray bar that, ofcourse on API SE dino oils got sludged up if the oil was not changed at the appropriate intervals ( Ford was already recoemdning 6000 mile oils changes at the time ) and it would cut lubrication to the cam.
It was the first Overhead cam engine that Ford had developed themselves in 1970, and they didn't quite get the valvetrain lubrication right, but the engine remained in production until 1994.
It was the first Overhead cam engine that Ford had developed themselves in 1970, and they didn't quite get the valvetrain lubrication right, but the engine remained in production until 1994.
The Ford issue was related to lack of lubrication. The GM/Chevy issue was related to soft cam cores. Easy to diagnose. Pull valve cover one at a time, start engine (warm) and if all the push rods are not spinning the same rate (visually), you have a cam going ... If they are all spinning same, fine. Put new valve cover gaskets in and be on your way
If you have a bad one, don't wait. Change it now. Cam and lifter metal going through an engine, or just the oil pump is not good ...
I usually use a Howard cam and Direct Lube lifters as replacement. 5 year guarantee as long as installed per instructions. You can usually step the cam up a notch, but check with them on the phone before order.
If you have a bad one, don't wait. Change it now. Cam and lifter metal going through an engine, or just the oil pump is not good ...
I usually use a Howard cam and Direct Lube lifters as replacement. 5 year guarantee as long as installed per instructions. You can usually step the cam up a notch, but check with them on the phone before order.
Royal Purple....that shyt made my engine purple!
Originally Posted By: Peter_480
Aren't "bad experiences with oil" a thing of the past with modern oil?
Totally agree here. Any bad experiences is either a bottle tampered with-or in the head imagination. Of which BTW-there is PLENTY of on here (imagination).
Aren't "bad experiences with oil" a thing of the past with modern oil?
Totally agree here. Any bad experiences is either a bottle tampered with-or in the head imagination. Of which BTW-there is PLENTY of on here (imagination).
Originally Posted By: bchannell
When i see a thread like this, the first thing through my mind is,... How would you know? I mean, i had a gorgeous 1998 Ranger V6, that sheared the oil pump drive on the way home from work one day. Should i have blamed the oil? , (which was changed religiously). I don't remember what was in it, but it was one of the major brands. How would i know? It sure settled that little V6s hash. I also had a 74 Impala that had cam, rod and lifter failures, but it never occured to me to blame the oil. Darn QS, shoulda known better... Wait ive got QSUD in my Taco right now,... and i wouldnt doubt it was in the Ranger too. Ok, no more QS for me.
See how it happens? With no basis in fact at all... How would you know?
Bingo....its the poor design and quality....not the oil ....unless of course, it is so old or none of it...lol
When i see a thread like this, the first thing through my mind is,... How would you know? I mean, i had a gorgeous 1998 Ranger V6, that sheared the oil pump drive on the way home from work one day. Should i have blamed the oil? , (which was changed religiously). I don't remember what was in it, but it was one of the major brands. How would i know? It sure settled that little V6s hash. I also had a 74 Impala that had cam, rod and lifter failures, but it never occured to me to blame the oil. Darn QS, shoulda known better... Wait ive got QSUD in my Taco right now,... and i wouldnt doubt it was in the Ranger too. Ok, no more QS for me.
See how it happens? With no basis in fact at all... How would you know?
Bingo....its the poor design and quality....not the oil ....unless of course, it is so old or none of it...lol
No, I've never had bad experiences with Pennzoil, Quaker State, Rotella, Castrol, or Valvoline. I've mainly had non-engine related issues with cars. Transmission failures in two Fords 98 F150 under warranty & 06 Focus at 89k. Lots of other issues like alternators, thermostat housing leaks, etc. Seems like every car I get rid of has a good motor still but everything else is falling apart. Now electrical gremlins on my Hyundai Accent keeps it in the dealership.
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Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
I've had bad luck with Valvoline- Pontiac Grand Am seized. Other than that, never had bad luck with any other of their products such as the Steering wheel fluid or Zerex
The engine seized because of the Valvoline?
FermeLaPorte is likely the previous poster TexasVaquero (also from "south Texas") who got banned. He would often state that his engine "seized" due to Valvoline, but when questioned about it never gave details.
TexasVaquero/FermeLaPorte probably have other, previous screen names but those seem to be the most recent two.
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
I've had bad luck with Valvoline- Pontiac Grand Am seized. Other than that, never had bad luck with any other of their products such as the Steering wheel fluid or Zerex
The engine seized because of the Valvoline?
FermeLaPorte is likely the previous poster TexasVaquero (also from "south Texas") who got banned. He would often state that his engine "seized" due to Valvoline, but when questioned about it never gave details.
TexasVaquero/FermeLaPorte probably have other, previous screen names but those seem to be the most recent two.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
I've had bad luck with Valvoline- Pontiac Grand Am seized. Other than that, never had bad luck with any other of their products such as the Steering wheel fluid or Zerex
The engine seized because of the Valvoline?
FermeLaPorte is likely the previous poster TexasVaquero (also from "south Texas") who got banned. He would often state that his engine "seized" due to Valvoline, but when questioned about it never gave details.
TexasVaquero/FermeLaPorte probably have other, previous screen names but those seem to be the most recent two.
Well, i guess i'm in trouble as i have been recomending Valvoline VR1 to my friends with classic cars for a while, just a question of time until my friend's Mini blows up...
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
I've had bad luck with Valvoline- Pontiac Grand Am seized. Other than that, never had bad luck with any other of their products such as the Steering wheel fluid or Zerex
The engine seized because of the Valvoline?
FermeLaPorte is likely the previous poster TexasVaquero (also from "south Texas") who got banned. He would often state that his engine "seized" due to Valvoline, but when questioned about it never gave details.
TexasVaquero/FermeLaPorte probably have other, previous screen names but those seem to be the most recent two.
Well, i guess i'm in trouble as i have been recomending Valvoline VR1 to my friends with classic cars for a while, just a question of time until my friend's Mini blows up...
Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: bchannell
When i see a thread like this, the first thing through my mind is,... How would you know? I mean, i had a gorgeous 1998 Ranger V6, that sheared the oil pump drive on the way home from work one day. Should i have blamed the oil? , (which was changed religiously). I don't remember what was in it, but it was one of the major brands. How would i know? It sure settled that little V6s hash. I also had a 74 Impala that had cam, rod and lifter failures, but it never occured to me to blame the oil. Darn QS, shoulda known better... Wait ive got QSUD in my Taco right now,... and i wouldnt doubt it was in the Ranger too. Ok, no more QS for me.
See how it happens? With no basis in fact at all... How would you know?
Bingo....its the poor design and quality....not the oil ....unless of course, it is so old or none of it...lol
This especially GM's older 3.6.
Maybe even new ones as we will see later down the line
Originally Posted By: bchannell
When i see a thread like this, the first thing through my mind is,... How would you know? I mean, i had a gorgeous 1998 Ranger V6, that sheared the oil pump drive on the way home from work one day. Should i have blamed the oil? , (which was changed religiously). I don't remember what was in it, but it was one of the major brands. How would i know? It sure settled that little V6s hash. I also had a 74 Impala that had cam, rod and lifter failures, but it never occured to me to blame the oil. Darn QS, shoulda known better... Wait ive got QSUD in my Taco right now,... and i wouldnt doubt it was in the Ranger too. Ok, no more QS for me.
See how it happens? With no basis in fact at all... How would you know?
Bingo....its the poor design and quality....not the oil ....unless of course, it is so old or none of it...lol
This especially GM's older 3.6.
Maybe even new ones as we will see later down the line
When I was a teen, my dad used ARCO graphite for a 2-3 years, so he wouldn't have to change his oil as much(not that he did anyway). When that [censored] got on any clothing, it would never come out, metallic black. I had saved up to buy a new winter jacket. My dad had me check the dipstick, and I got a splotch on my sleeve. It was there for the next two years. It seemed like it got bigger over time.
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Well, I used to work on an aluminum extrusion press - let me tell you about wearing some graphite ...
There are a few hundred million vehicles running on Castrol on any given day, worldwide. I don't see lines of them on the roadside ...
And we get pretty good UOA's and incidental reports of good usage, so I think it must be your proximity to the North Sea or something ...
You did not let an Russian friends drive these did you? No Germans either? Both can be a bit rough on vehicles
And we get pretty good UOA's and incidental reports of good usage, so I think it must be your proximity to the North Sea or something ...
You did not let an Russian friends drive these did you? No Germans either? Both can be a bit rough on vehicles
Here's my opinion on the matter (for what little it's worth):
An engine is not going to develop problems solely because of the brand of oil used. As long as the oil meets the minimum specs required for that engine, 99.9999% of the time the oil will not be the problem should the engine meet an untimely end.
With that said, I do believe that engines can respond differently to specific oil brands. The only evidence I have to support that theory is of the anecdotal variety, but it's not hard to see the possibility. Some 5W-30s are heavy than others, for example, and each brand has their own "recipe" (except Valvoline SynPower and Royal Purple
). In my case, my old AMC straight 6 loved PYB. Never burned it, it slowed the leak at the oil filter adapter, no strange noises, etc. I put Valvoline Maxlife HM in it once and while it did the job, the leak picked up and I was about 1/2 quart low by the time my OCI rolled around. My most recent example is in my Elantra. I ran PUPPP in it and for the first 3k miles, it was smooth as butter and my cold starts were nice and quiet. After about the 3k mile mark, I started to notice some rattle during cold starts. Only lasted about a second, but it was a new (and disconcerting) sound. I dumped it and put in Schaeffer 9000 and haven't heard it since, but we will see what happens when I get to the 3k mile mark on this OCI
.
An engine is not going to develop problems solely because of the brand of oil used. As long as the oil meets the minimum specs required for that engine, 99.9999% of the time the oil will not be the problem should the engine meet an untimely end.
With that said, I do believe that engines can respond differently to specific oil brands. The only evidence I have to support that theory is of the anecdotal variety, but it's not hard to see the possibility. Some 5W-30s are heavy than others, for example, and each brand has their own "recipe" (except Valvoline SynPower and Royal Purple
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