Partial o/c on older car

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I am curious about something and would like to get some feedback.I recently purchased a 94 Plymouth Acclaim with 63 k miles that had sat for about 3-4 years,I bought it from a guy who had purchased it from a charity.After he purchased it he had an o/c done at a Valvoline lube shop.Valvoline 5w30 conventional and a Service Champ filter .I am now a little over 2000 miles into the scheduled 3000 mile run,the oil is now about a half qt low.The oil appearance is dark brown at this time.

Should I just top off and change at the 3000 mile mark?
OR
Should I change out the filter and top off,then run it to 5000 miles.

The car runs smooth and does not smoke.However the mitsu/chrysler v6 is known to leak oil.This model year had the updated valve seals that cured the oil burning issues of this engine.
I have Chevron Supreme 10w30 which has a similar add pack to top it off.

What is your thoughts ?
 
The oil is 3 or 4 years old? If this is true I would change the oil and filter.

If you do not have the money, top it up and drive until you can afford to change the oil and filter.
 
For me personally, I'd top it off and dump at 3k miles.

Yes, VWB can easily exceed the 3k mile OCI in a properly working engine, but we don't know enough about your new car to make that assumption. Especially after sitting for so long, and considering our lack of service records, I would feel better about more frequent OCIs with the intent to lengthen them as you learn more about the car.

If you have the money/means to do so, a UOA would help you in this process.
 
[quWobblyElvis]The oil is 3 or 4 years old? If this is true I would change the oil and filter.

If you do not have the money, top it up and drive until you can afford to change the oil and filter.[/quote

Sorry I was not clear.The oil is only a few months old.The car sat up 3-4 years and was then donated to a charity.It was purchased about 2-3 months ago .That man had the o/c done with Valvoline.I purchased the car about 3 weeks ago from that man.
 
I would change it. Dump any crud that has been cleaned up. Then run a normal OCI here on out.
 
Originally Posted By: urrlord
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
The oil is 3 or 4 years old? If this is true I would change the oil and filter.

If you do not have the money, top it up and drive until you can afford to change the oil and filter.


Sorry I was not clear.The oil is only a few months old.The car sat up 3-4 years and was then donated to a charity.It was purchased about 2-3 months ago .That man had the o/c done with Valvoline.I purchased the car about 3 weeks ago from that man.


Add and drive. It's a 24 year old car.
 
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Given that you know little of the service history, I'd go a little further. I would treat this run as a test and eval. I'd prolly change the filter and top off with some MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) and run it out to 3K. Then do a change to Maxlife 5W-30 in the red bottle (syn-blend) because of the age of the seals. A bit of seal softening is prolly in order. Keep the Chevron for top-ups
smile.gif
 
The only way to kill those Mitsu's is to run them without oil or to overheat them. They are quite durable otherwise so you should be just fine. I have a ton of experience with that particular engine and Chrysler products in general thanks to my dad working for Chrysler and having his own shop (licensed mechanic).

Just top-off and keep going and when you do change those engines really like the Max-Life oils.

I would check the age and condition of the timing belt because if it has been sitting it might be dried out and if you snap it the engine is toast. Also do the water-pump if you are in there for the belt because it's a common problem on the 3L's. (Also if it has been sitting, they don't like that)

Steve
 
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I know a lot of people like to top off oil but, as far as I'm concerned, anywhere between the add and full lines is just fine. I'd just keep an eye on the oil level (check it every fill) and drive it to 3,000. The car likely uses a bit of oil and the rate can increase later in the change interval (I assume it's losing some viscosity).

After that I'd suggest using a good quality oil (probably a 5w-30 SN, whatever your manual recommends) and changing it and filter every 5,000 miles.

There's no reason not to top off oil. I just don't think it's necessary.
 
Top it off and drive the heck out of that thing until you change the oil.

That way, you'll (hopefully) be doing some crud collection at the expense of the already installed filter.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Top it off and drive the heck out of that thing until you change the oil.

That way, you'll (hopefully) be doing some crud collection at the expense of the already installed filter.


This and I'd top it off with Valvoline Full Synthetic or NAPA Full Synthetic.
 
Oh and take PCV valve out using a wrench and spray brake cleaner through it and put it back in. Common problem for the little ball in there to stick and cause it to use more oil.
 
Originally Posted By: StevieC
Oh and take PCV valve out using a wrench and spray brake cleaner through it and put it back in. Common problem for the little ball in there to stick and cause it to use more oil.


thanks for the advice.will do.
 
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