Question Concerning 10k OCI & Timing Chains

[mahanddeem]

Maybe up viscosity to 0w40? Very popular choice among the Subaru guys.

 

[OppositeLocK]

GDI engines produce soot, that soot becomes suspended in the oil. That oil is the same oil that lubricates the chain and other components. The longer the OCI the more contaminants are in suspension "lubricating" your timing components. The longer your OCI the higher chance you have of prematurely wearing out your timing chain. If you want long life out of the chain, change it more frequently than 10K.

This has been proven on GM's 2.4 and 3.6 engines. They spec'd too long an OCI and timing chain failures resulted. Yes, it was bad design but it shows that more frequent OCI's can mitigate the problem.

VW (and many other manufactures) have struggled with certain engines and their timing chains as well. Our 2014 Jetta started exhibiting symptoms of a "stretched" chain and upon some reading I found it was a fairly common issue with the early 1.8 TSI's. Shortly after discovering that potentially very costly repair (and for a variety of other reason) we traded the 2014 for a 2020 Jetta 1.4 TSI equipped with a timing belt. I didn't want to go down the VW timing chain path again, not yet. They have a history of timing issues and clearly they didn't have it resolved in 2014.

Sorry for getting off on a rabbit trail. My recommendation is to NOT do extended OCI's in timing chain equipped engines and expect a long service life.

I'd rather have a timing chain than a timing belt. More frequent oil changes are cheaper than paying $$$$ for the 60K timing belt job.

 

[OppositeLocK]

Maybe up viscosity to 0w40? Very popular choice among the Subaru guys.

Don't do this. Stay within factory spec, use a quality synthetic, and reduce the mileage between oil changes.

 

[OppositeLocK]

From reading here it seems that timing chain issues seem to be more related to bad designs than OCI, shorter OCIs being a bandaid.

He's probably thinking km.

 

[mahanddeem]

I don't mind making all those extra trips to AA with my 5 gal container of used oil.

And that's 3 to 4 times a YEAR at most!
I second what you're doing

 

[OppositeLocK]

And that's 3 to 4 times a YEAR at most!
I second what you're doing

Or just do an annual trip. I recycle it after I have a few jugs of used oil.

 

[gathermewool]

He's probably thinking km.

Youre too quick. You quoted as I was editing. I think.

 

[OppositeLocK]

Youre too quick. You quoted as I was editing. I think.

Yup lol.

 

[anndel01]

From reading here it seems that timing chain issues seem to be more related to bad designs than OCI, shorter OCIs being a bandaid.

or shorter OCIs just prolong the inevitable.

 

[gathermewool]

or shorter OCIs just prolong the inevitable.

Quite possible, though we honestly aren’t reading in any forum about appreciable numbers of timing chain failures.

 

[wdn]

The Subaru 2.0l four cylinder is the engine that went 634,000 miles in a 2015 Crosstrek. The car now has 970,000 miles and he changes the 0W-20 oil every 12,000 miles.

 

[bbhero]

Quite possible, though we honestly aren’t reading in any forum about appreciable numbers of timing chain failures.

I agree ^^^^^

Though I did have a timing chain fail in my old Nissan Sentra.... Surprised me a lot actually. Car just stopped running... In a darn Wendy's drive thru of all places... The previous month or so the car would run a touch warm if sitting... Then cool down as I was going down the road. I thought it was a lazy thermostat. I WAS Wrong on that... I got the car with 118,000 miles on it. Drove it up to 242,000 miles and 5 years when the chain broke in the Wendy's drive thru. I changed the oil every 4,500 miles with Castrol Sentec. Overall it was a very good little car. No complaint.

Hope that you are doing good man. Always good to see you on here.

 

[bbhero]

The Subaru 2.0l four cylinder is the engine that went 634,000 miles in a 2015 Crosstrek. The car now has 970,000 miles and he changes the 0W-20 oil every 12,000 miles.

Same orginal timing chain still in that ???

No head gasket work ??

No other motor work necessary ??

That is extremely impressive really either way.

 

[OppositeLocK]

or shorter OCIs just prolong the inevitable.

Every car will inevitably crap out.......

 

[zfasts03]

Some engines 10,000 miles on OCI is a problem for timing chains and others no problem. Research the weak link of your specific engine.

Also, what is your goal? 100,000 miles, 200,000 miles, 300,000+ miles?

Personally I feel pretty satisfied getting 200,000 miles out of a car. If I was doing lots of highway I would be looking at 300,000 miles to feel as though I got my use out of it.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

What about the prolonging maximal performance factor? A slightly stretched but operable timing chain, some varnish, a couple of stuck rings?
the slow hard to percieved drop in performance and enjoy ability of driving? Most people get rid of their vehicle because they stop enjoying it. Not because it fails. It doesn’t drive as well, the interior stinks the exterior is ugly. They dont enjoy the vehicle anymore. It’s not the best financial decision to get rid of a servicable vehicle.

So how do we improve the length of our relationship with our vehicle? We take care of the paint, interior and Operability to make us enjoy the collection Of metal , plastic, rubber and fabric just as long as possible.
If that means a few more oil changes to hold off performance loss, maybe that is a good investment.

 

[wdn]

The guy replaced the FB20 engine at 634,000 miles and it had the original timing chain. No gasket issues. The engine burned no oil until just before he replaced it. It turned out to be a burned valve. The replacment engine has 340,000 miles on it already. Oil changes every 12,000 miles.

 

[gregk24]

I'd rather have a timing chain than a timing belt. More frequent oil changes are cheaper than paying $$$$ for the 60K timing belt job.

The belt on our VW is "lifetime". I plan on having it done between 90K-100K.

 

[OppositeLocK]

The belt on our VW is "lifetime". I plan on having it done between 90K-100K.

Lifetime my ass. Maybe lifetime of lease.

 

[gregk24]

Lifetime my ass. Maybe lifetime of lease.

I didn't say I agreed. Like I said, my plan is to have it replaced by 100K miles.