Condensation does syn oil get rid of it??

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I heard that if you use syn oil in a few oci you can rid your engine of it. Could that be true? and how does this happen if it does. With
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lots and I mean lots of short trips, condensation is a issue I am sure.
 
The only way to get rid of condensation is to drive the car long enough to get the oil hot enough to boil it off.
 
Originally Posted By: ottotheclown
I heard that if you use syn oil in a few oci you can rid your engine of it. Could that be true? and how does this happen if it does.


No, syn oil alone will not do it, you have to get the engine hot once in a while.

Originally Posted By: ottotheclown
With
54.gif
lots and I mean lots of short trips, condensation is a issue I am sure.


You got it.
 
Originally Posted By: ottotheclown
I heard that if you use syn oil in a few oci you can rid your engine of it. Could that be true? and how does this happen if it does. With
54.gif
lots and I mean lots of short trips, condensation is a issue I am sure.


Not true.

It's always important to have the cooling system in perfect working order. Most engines I see with condensation issues have a partially stuck (open) thermostat or a 'stat that is non-spec (too cool). With the correct stat, most modern engines warm quickly. That said, getting the oil up to a temp to drive off water in very cold weather, can take 10+ minutes give or take a bunch.
 
Ok then, following this logic, is it better for my wife to warm up the Grand Caravan for 5 minutes or so during out Canadian winters for her 2-3 km drive to and from work? My guess is yes, as the M1 will protect the engine during the longer idle and hopefully will bring up the engine to temp.

Or maybe just make sure she does a longer drive once or twice a week in addition to burn off any condensation build up. I can see arguments either way.
 
no its not better to warm up the engine for 5 minutes,it puts a strain on your motor and your oil. Extended idling gets you 0 MPG and fuel dilutes in your oil which is bad,and you dont want that.

No motor oil protects engines for extended idling.M1 is nothing special.


Id say stick with the longer drives.
 
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
James, for such a short commute in Edmonton winters the only solution I can see to mitigate condensation is a block heater and/or oil pan heater.


+1..And sometimes blocking off a small section of the raditaor allows for a faster warm up. Seems to me this vehicle needs to be driven for at least 30 minutes once a week. JMO
 
Originally Posted By: James Miranda
Ok then, following this logic, is it better for my wife to warm up the Grand Caravan for 5 minutes or so during out Canadian winters for her 2-3 km drive to and from work? My guess is yes, as the M1 will protect the engine during the longer idle and hopefully will bring up the engine to temp.

Or maybe just make sure she does a longer drive once or twice a week in addition to burn off any condensation build up. I can see arguments either way.


Warming up isn't better - it's usually ineffective without a load, actually. I've never had a vehicle which warms up from idling in winter. In my current vehicle (a 1998 BMW 528) if I have the HVAC set to auto it will actually lose temperature if I park and idle before it's warmed up (eg. wait in the car for the missus at a very close errand). If I have the HVAC set "low" it will merely stop warming up until I resume actually driving. I would almost say that it would "never" actually warm up from cold idling with the HVAC on "auto". My cooling system/tstat all works fine (I've had three tstats over the life of the car and the behaviour is the same) and the other two cars I've had (1990 Acura Integra, 1992 Porsche 968) have behaved pretty much the same way.

The best thing for her to do *for the car* is to drive without heat, or with the heater fan set low. Between the cold, super-short drive, and the large HVAC heat load from a MINIVAN the engine isn't retaining any heat. It also needs to get on longer trips on the weekend. Perhaps get a block heater on timer before leaving.

I've found that reducing the HVAC fan speed, or driving with it completely off on really short trips, dramatically reduces my warmup time and has greatly reduced the crankcase condensation. On longer trips everything is set to auto once there's some heat in the engine.


The best thing to do may be to carpool, take the bus, walk, bike or something else for only 2km unless dropping kids off and whatnot is part of that 2km.
 
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I have read that synthetic oils are NOT as tolerant of water as mineral oil. It is said in context to gear oils, but I wonder if it applies to engine oils too. Assuming it applies at all. It is a common "fact" but I have never dug deep with my Bovine Scatology detector on full to determine its veracity.
 
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Originally Posted By: James Miranda
Ok then, following this logic, is it better for my wife to warm up the Grand Caravan for 5 minutes or so during out Canadian winters for her 2-3 km drive to and from work? My guess is yes, as the M1 will protect the engine during the longer idle and hopefully will bring up the engine to temp.

Or maybe just make sure she does a longer drive once or twice a week in addition to burn off any condensation build up. I can see arguments either way.


Warming up isn't better - it's usually ineffective without a load, actually. I've never had a vehicle which warms up from idling in winter. In my current vehicle (a 1998 BMW 528) if I have the HVAC set to auto it will actually lose temperature if I park and idle before it's warmed up (eg. wait in the car for the missus at a very close errand). If I have the HVAC set "low" it will merely stop warming up until I resume actually driving. I would almost say that it would "never" actually warm up from cold idling with the HVAC on "auto". My cooling system/tstat all works fine (I've had three tstats over the life of the car and the behaviour is the same) and the other two cars I've had (1990 Acura Integra, 1992 Porsche 968) have behaved pretty much the same way.

The best thing for her to do *for the car* is to drive without heat, or with the heater fan set low. Between the cold, super-short drive, and the large HVAC heat load from a MINIVAN the engine isn't retaining any heat. It also needs to get on longer trips on the weekend. Perhaps get a block heater on timer before leaving.

I've found that reducing the HVAC fan speed, or driving with it completely off on really short trips, dramatically reduces my warmup time and has greatly reduced the crankcase condensation. On longer trips everything is set to auto once there's some heat in the engine.


The best thing to do may be to carpool, take the bus, walk, bike or something else for only 2km unless dropping kids off and whatnot is part of that 2km.


The misses isn't going to drive anywhere without heat, that is hilarious!

Take the van on some extended trips, that is the only way to solve it. My girlfriend and I both commute about 15 miles each way. That is plenty to keep condensation away in our cars.
 
James Miranda,

I too suggest your wife drives longer than just allowing the motor to idle.

I don't know the weather conditions are in your area but if she can get one the highway for at least an hour then collected moisture will be absorbed and tossed out from the oil.

That way your circulate fresh oil all the time internally so nothing will rust/corrode.

In my area of California when the weather is good I always take my truck/car on the freeway for a good spin just for that issue at least every other weekend.


Durango
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I take the long way home from work every day to combat it.


If I had your car, I would drive the long way everywhere.
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH


The misses isn't going to drive anywhere without heat, that is hilarious!



My Missus does. It's still winter - we aren't in the car in shirtsleeves. How much heat do you think there will be in 2km anyways?
 
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