look of valves at 362,000 miles - 92 accord - pic

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Good lord that engine looks CLEAN!!!!!!!! Keep doing EXACTLY what you`ve been doing and don`t change a thing! Use that same oil/filter/oci.
 
Originally Posted By: HM12460
Originally Posted By: Billy007
Keep doing what you have been doing. No need to add any additives. Thanks for sharing
+1


^^Agree! Don`t use any additives........motor oil and motor oil only.
 
This shows that 5000 OCIs in dino is all average engines need...

If it were mine, I would not lay off the dino, but mix in some synthetic. Mobil1 0w40 would be excellent... start with a little synthetic and work your way up to 60% synthetic and 40% dino.
 
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
You obviously have done the RIGHT thing with this car. No reason whatsoever to change anything.
However, for the sheer joy of experimentation and curiosity I'd run the next 20,000 miles on Mobil 1.

It might do nothing. It might turn that varnish into a mirror like shine. It surely can't hurt anything.

For about $65, it's a front row ticket to an awesome experiment. I wish it were mine. I'd love every mile of it.

By the way Mobil 1 0w-40 would be my choice for your car. I mean why not use their best domestic product?



See I am not sure that Mobil 1 will remove any varnish, on my 01 Impala I ran Mobil 1 since day 1 up to about 80k on the car(last year). I had a light brown varnish over the inside of the engine. Varnish being cosmetic it's nothing to be worried about, not all oils will remove varnish, and not all engines with certain oils will show as spotless.
 
I loved my '92 Accord. My Mom recently unloaded her '91 with ~320000 KM on it. Have you noticed any oil in the spark plug wells? Those seals are know to dry out and leak. The uppers are easy to replace, the lower ones, not so much.
 
Originally Posted By: Anies
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
You obviously have done the RIGHT thing with this car. No reason whatsoever to change anything.
However, for the sheer joy of experimentation and curiosity I'd run the next 20,000 miles on Mobil 1.

It might do nothing. It might turn that varnish into a mirror like shine. It surely can't hurt anything.

For about $65, it's a front row ticket to an awesome experiment. I wish it were mine. I'd love every mile of it.

By the way Mobil 1 0w-40 would be my choice for your car. I mean why not use their best domestic product?



See I am not sure that Mobil 1 will remove any varnish, on my 01 Impala I ran Mobil 1 since day 1 up to about 80k on the car(last year). I had a light brown varnish over the inside of the engine.


What weight Mobil 1 did you use and what interval did you change it at?

80K isn't even a lot of miles.
 
Looks good for the milage. I was going to guess dino oil and 3000-5000 mile OCI's! As far as cleaning the top end spray B12 Chemtool Carb Cleaner onthe top and wipe the varnish off with a shop rag. If you have a solvent brush use the liquid B12 in the pint can. It will melth that varnish easy.

If you likehow the B12 does the top end then when you change the oil next before draining. Add 1 entire Pint size can of B12 to the crank case with the engine cold. Start and idle at 1200-1500 RPM's for 15-30 minutes. Drain and refil and change the filter.

You could try MMO but if you add a quart to it then go with M1 15W50 because MMO is coing to thin it out. RUn it for the normal oil change interval. One quart of MMO will make the M1 15W50 endup around a 10W40.
 
No oil should be removing varnish that is not their job. If you used somethign with enough ester content long enough it would clean that up but it would take a while! The problem is that the oil does not flow inthe head and spray all over the place. It is pumped up to the rocker shaft where it drains into the rest of the head area thenthe cams spining toss's the oil all over the place. Because of the lack of good high pressure flow to the head they always will varnish sooner or later with dino oil. THe reason being is that the head radiates the heat from the rest of the engine inthe process of carring away all that heat the oil that is stuck in thehead at shut down get's cooked by all the heat.
 
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
You obviously have done the RIGHT thing with this car. No reason whatsoever to change anything.
However, for the sheer joy of experimentation and curiosity I'd run the next 20,000 miles on Mobil 1.

It might do nothing. It might turn that varnish into a mirror like shine. It surely can't hurt anything.
...


I would dearly love for someone to use the M1 High Mileage products and put their claims to the test by opening the engine after about say 15,000 miles....

But it's not my money, and it's not my car.
 
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Originally Posted By: saaber1
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
ARX doesn't "get rid of varnish." After all, it's just "cosmetic."
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If I did anything, I'd consider a couple of runs of Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 (or Quaker State Syn) or maybe Mobil1 HM 5w30/10W-30...


It may not make any noticeable difference in varnish but it has as good a chance or better than anything else. I am running PP 5W30+ARX to get it cleaned out and then will switch to an ester-based oil.


Um, ARX makes it clear that it doesn't clean varnish as far as I've heard here. So why would one put a product that's almost $30 into an engine to clean something it claims it can't?
 
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Um, ARX makes it clear that it doesn't clean varnish as far as I've heard here. So why would one put a product that's almost $30 into an engine to clean something it claims it can't?


You cannot see the rings in that photo or anything else in the engine. In the example I cited which also ran it's life on dino, the BMW looked just like that on top. But when removing the oil pan there were a lot more deposits. His may or may not be the same. Auto rx appears to have freed up more power in the BMW example, likely by removing ring deposits. Again, the Honda may or may not be the same.

After 362k I bet the auto RX is going to remove some deposits and increase compression. We have proof of that in other high mileage Honda's with Barkerman's before and after compression testing (do a search on BITOG).
 
Originally Posted By: rcy
I loved my '92 Accord. My Mom recently unloaded her '91 with ~320000 KM on it. Have you noticed any oil in the spark plug wells? Those seals are know to dry out and leak. The uppers are easy to replace, the lower ones, not so much.


Yes, a bit of oil in 3&4, 1&2 look good. I have replaced the top seals but not the bottoms as it does seem a task. At this point I just drain it by pulling the plugs every 10k or so and even then, there is probably less than an ounce. Any ideas on when this is truly an issue?

A lot of good suggestions and kind feedback, much thanks.

Originally Posted By: hpichris
Gotta love Honda man.


Honestly, I am amazed. Sure, I have windows and locks that act up, gone through a few radiators and a couple A/C systems. But dang, this engine just keeps running like a clock and is still a lot of fun to drive. I don't know who is going to bury who at this point.
 
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My experience with 1999 and 2001 Accords is that the valve clearances change very little, usually 2 of them are .001 off, after 100K.

Had a 1982 Accord and the valves were on a more frequent schedule, 15K or so, and they needed more adjustment. The book on the 1999 and 2001 says they only need adjusting if noisy.
 
I bet the varnish looked the same at 50,000 miles, it's just the nature of the Honda engines ( or the accords I have owned). They engine requires no special care, run dino, or synthetic whatever you choose, you could even bump your dino changes up more in my opinion. The Honda 4 cylinder engines are built great, easy on oil, gas, and maintenance. Mine 97, and 02 looks the same as yours, I'm running synthetic in my 02 as I drive 40 miles each way to work, I don't do it for the engine, I do it for extended drains, and it comes out cheaper for me in the end. My 02 runs at 7,000 or 8,000 O forget on normal dino change, I run a synthetic out to around 12,000-15,000 and no use of oil between changes, of course I have less miles than you. Your have the run of the mill Honda four cylinder Honda done their homework, and made/makes a outstanding engine. Thanks for the pictures, and post.
 
Do not try anything to get rid of the varnish. It is normal. No worries. It looks great, a real testament to Castrol GTX.

Does it smoke, leak, or consume a lot of oil? That's the more important part, how well it did with the rubber parts, lol. I'd continue what you are doing if it's got you this far with clean bearings like those.
 
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