Thickest oil my Honda can handle? 363,000 miles.

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Gasbuggy

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My 95 Accord 2.2 burns through a quart every 700 miles or less. It started burning oil, lots of oil, about 120,000 miles ago when a ngk plug blew apart and heavily scored cylinder 2. I'm getting blow by I believe. It turns the oil black pretty quickly. I usually run a decent 5w30 dino, I tried 10w30, and it seemed to add 100 miles to my quart adding.

I would like to go thicker, but I don't want to give the engine something detrimental. My oil pressure is still above Honda's minimum specs. Should I give 10w40 a shot or can I go farther?

fyi I've tried engine restore a couple times, I dumped a V6 size can in the last time, it did make a slight difference but not worth paying for.
 
Originally Posted By: Shark


I would like to go thicker, but I don't want to give the engine something detrimental.


The bore is Booggered, what have you got to loose?
I once ran an old oil burner on 20w-50 and STP year round.
What do you expect to happen?
 
Sounds bad. Like you've definitely got shot rings. You could save for a rebuild, depending on how much ya like the car.

Not sure what all leads to a shot/blown spark plug? Threads damaged already? Excessive combustion chamber gas pressure? What would that be, EGR uber plugged, PCV, etc?
 
Dude. If you are in a warm enough spot in the country. Dumb some no smoke in it with 10w40 that will help. Even if you get start up clatter from it it wont hurt it worse than it already sounds like. If you live in a cold area don't use it. But motor honey may help its not quite as thick
 
When i didn't know better i ran 15W50 Mobil SS in mt 97 Civic. Nothing wrong with the car. I had it in the car for two weeks then traded it in..it was a pig on that oil.
 
Hey Shark...how long have you owned the car? 363,000 miles is quite an accomplishment even in a Honda. I have a 1996 Accord with the V6...I've heard the 2.2 4 cyl. is a better engine. Mine has 113,000 miles and runs great. If I can get half the mileage your car has I'll be happy.
 
I'd first step up to a 5w-40, like Rotella T6 or another 5w-40.

That or go with a high mileage 10w-40 oil if it's warm.

For the Summer, go with HM 10w-40.
 
Ok,,,its time for another ride, ur riding on borrowed time and nursing a dying engine with tuneups in a can or heavier oil is only masking the problem IMHO>
 
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: Shark


I would like to go thicker, but I don't want to give the engine something detrimental.


The bore is Booggered, what have you got to loose?
I once ran an old oil burner on 20w-50 and STP year round.
What do you expect to happen?


Exactly what I was thinking! He could even try a 10W40 and LOS. This might be a perfect example of where the Lucas product has some value.
 
363k miles x 1.6km = 580000 kms

At that mileage you don't have an issue.

Your vehicle has served you well.

Burning a 1 L every 1100km.

Mechanical fix maybe?

If all BITOG members could get that mileage out of any engine we all be happy.

It must close to the highest mileage recorded here. There was a thread some years ago on that matter.
 
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Give 20w50 a try and buy the cheapest, keep a case in the trunk and add as needed.

Motor is already shot, just run it until it blows.
 
i would run a brand name hdeo 15w40, it is cheap, thick and heavy duty and will not hurt anything. If it still burns oil at a unacceptable rate In the summer I would run a 20w50. It will not hurt anything. To me the car would not be worth spending alot of money on it, if you could do your own mechanic work then that would e a different story as you could pull the engine and rebuild yourself for that price it would be worth fising.
 
Well, the manual for my '96 specs 20W-50 for any temperature above about 18 degrees Farenheit. I'm guessing your manual does the same so no harm in trying.
 
What tri state area? If youre talking NJ/NY/CT, it is rarely cold enough for a 15w- to be out of spec in reality.

Some start-up clatter isnt the end of the world, just go easy for a while.

Id likely run a 15w-40 HDEO to see how it goes.

If you get a lot of cold issues, you could swap in a 5w-40 HDEO in there, though that is more $.

20w-50 is another option, but IMO too thick for practical use, though your driving profile may be good for it.

Id start with a 15w-40 and move from there. My only concern being that if you are consuming it, and need to pass emissions, API SN PCMOs will have less ZDDP, and thus be kinder on your converters...

But not sure what the best way to just thicken up the oil is...
 
Go straight to 20w50. Anything you can find that's cheap.
With a damaged cylinder wall there's nothing you can do unless you want to swap or repair your engine.
If you don't want to repair it, your engine needs motor mud.
Try to get it on sale and buy it by the case.
Put oil in when it needs it and never change it again.
Change the filter every 10k miles.
 
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My car is 10 years newer than yours and still lists 20w-50 as acceptable down to 20 degrees F / -7 degrees C.

If you really want to reduce oil consumption, I would consider trying 20w-50 unless it just gets way too cold where you are.
 
I agree with many others that the engine sounds like it's toast due to the damaged cylinder.

It's always best to try to use the thickest needed but thinnest possible to get the job done.

If you've moved up to 10w30 already, try a 10w40 before proceeding to into the 20w range as i feel it's way too thick at starting temps.

If you can creep up to 1 quart every 1,000 miles, i think that would be a great accomplishment.
 
20-50 ought to help. Other than dino is a waste. If your battery and ignition are in good shape a bit of slow cranking in the cold weather won't hurt anything. On the real cold nights stick a 100 watt lightbulb(if the government still allows us to buy them) on a timer under the hood and set to come on an hour or so before you need to use the car, or a trickle charger for the battery. A battery in good shape will still work a whole lot better if warmed up, and a trickle charger will do that.
 
I vote for HDEO 15w40 as well, it's relatively inexpensive and readily available.

Try SuperTech 15w40 from your local Walmart. It's $11.66 per gallon at my local Walmart.
 
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