Did I just read a billboard? LOL......a mechanic at our shop just became a dealer, bugging the hell out of me to buy the product...I wouldn't now even if it is a good product....stickin' to Mobil 1...the cheap stuff...although I have been using it for 20 yrs....what would I know...

 

Back in the mid 70's I used to talk to the Amzoil rep about using their product in older cars. I had heard that it would attack the seals causing massive leaks which he had denied. I talked to someone who had used it in their British sports car (Triumph or MG) and had the rear main seal let go, blaming the Amzoil.
'60's American cars commonly used a "rope" type seal. The problem pretty much went away with the later use of 2 piece neoprene seal. Anything past the '60's shouldn't have the seals compromised with synthetic oils.
The build up of sludge at a seal on a rotating shaft will compromise the sealing of oil as the sludge acts as sandpaper, destroying the seal.
I used to buy Amzoil from a rep who would stop by. He would test the oil in my cars and recommend leaving it in past the recommended interval. Excellent product and service.
IMO I feel the extra margine of protection is worth the price.

Art Rigsby

 

My first car was a 1974 Dodge Colt GT that I bought from the original owner (my big sister) in 1977 with roughly 30,000 miles on it. When I finally gave it to my (eventual) brother-in-law it had almost 200,000 miles on it. I changed the oil every 3,000 miles (give or take a couple hundred) with Castrol GTX 20W50. The thing ran like a top, didn't smoke and rarely needed more than 1/2 a quart of oil between changes. I also ran nothing but Fram filters (oh the horror!!!).

My 1984 BMW 318i also was running strong and not burning oil at 200,000 miles and it routinely got either Pennzoil 10W40 or Castrol 10W40. Again, Fram filters.

To this day I've never understood what I could possibly have gained from using an expensive "boutique" oil in those cars, or a filter that wasn't prone to failure as the Interwebs would have us all believe. And 400,000 combined miles of 3,000 drain & filter change intervals is a lot of Fram filters!

My Crossfire will continue to get Mobil 1 in the recommended weight. In all honesty, my reasoning echos that of Photoman's - if the folks who designed and built the engine recommend a certain oil and filter then I'm good with that.

 

The truth is, if you keep oil in your vehicle, any oil, you will likely never experience an oil related failure. You can change it every 500 miles, or never change it and just keep it topped off. The results will be the same either way.

 

Yeah, right.
Take a glass jar and fill it with really dirty engine oil and let it sit for a few months. The heavy sludge will sink to the bottom, pour off the clear oil and feel the consistency of the sludge and wonder what that will do as is settles in to the engine oil-ways and components.
The clear looking oil is not too pure either.

 

Better yet, try this; Ask every mechanic you know, and every mechanic you get a chance to talk to, how many oil related engine failures they have seen in their lifetime. If they have ever seen one, it is most likely to be that there was NO oil in the engine.

Oil related engine failures are extremely rare. The oil companies have done an outstanding job of convincing everyone otherwise.

One of the exceptions here is cars with turbos where you are likely to see a turbo failure in vehicles which have not had their oil changed regularly.

Oil performance while sitting in a glass jar has no relevance to what it does in your engine.

Do you remember the old commercial where they filled two engines with oil, ran them, then drained the oil and ran them until they seized? Both engines ran a lot longer than one might expect, even with no oil.

Still, there is no harm in changing oil too often - just the waste of money involved. Some view it as cheap insurance.

 

Just bought Mobil1 oi (0-40)l at Farm and Fleet...... 6qts for $30 .... on sale till 8/1/10

 

Working many years as an auto mechanic and engine rebuilder, many internal engine failures were due to infrequent oil changes. Collapsed lifters, worn cam lobes and bearings, worn rings and pistons, shot rod bearings, worn rockers and shafts, pushrods filled with sludge, valve guides, all due to oil breakdown, not oil level. Oil is a complex molecular chain and breaks down in use. That would be considered an "oil failure".
I've brought in many heads to machine shops that they called "Quaker State" specials due to sludge build-up. BTW Quaker State changed their additive package a long time ago and is a fine brand.

Art Rigsby

 

I'll defer to your actual experience on that. It seems a broader sense of "oil related failure" - beyond just the entire engine seizing - is more realistic.

A question along those same lines - I equate sludge with dino oils, and somehow have the impression synthetics would not sludge. I'm guessing that probably isn't true though. Is it?

 

Here's what I know ...... oil is a petroleum product and will break down with use and time...... Mobil 1 (and others) is an oily feeling lubricant, and doesn't break down under normal engine operating temps, but will get dirty like Petroleum based oil. As far as I know, if a synthetic oil is kept sealed in a bottle, or in an engine, and not exposed to moisture, it can last a long, long time.

 

From Wikipedia:

In the 1970s, typical cars took 10W-40 oil which was used for a duration of 2,000 mi or less[citation needed]. In the 1980s, to improve fuel economy and engine performance 5W-30 oil was introduced which was then used for a duration of 3,000 miles. A modern typical application would use 5W-20 viscosity oil or synthetic oils for durations greater than 7,500 miles.
From the early 1980s most oil change shops have been recommending an oil change every 3,000 miles. During the following decades engine technology and oil technology have advanced requiring less frequent oil changes under normal driving conditions. The demands on new motors have also increased placing greater stress on the motor oil as performance has increased relative to displacement.
Reasons

This recently identified "myth" has continued to propagate due to the complexity existing in today's car industry. The diverse array of cars and oil types available make it hard for an average person to reliably know what to do and the expert advice of a qualified mechanic is needed depending on driving styles.
In response to this, car manufacturers include a manual with recommendations for how often the oil should be changed [2][3] often including recommendations based on driving conditions. Some models now come with a monitoring system that alerts the driver when the oil needs changing. Depending on driving conditions, these can extend change intervals to 10,000 or 15,000 miles. In case of diesel engines and manufacturer recommended long-life oil, the indicated change interval can be as long as 19,000 miles (BMW) or 30,000 miles (VW).

 

Mine ran 3/4 of a mile, started knocking bad. Pushed in the clutch, engine died and cam seized immediately. Let clutch out at 35 mph - snapped timing belt!

I'd say it ran SLIGHTLY longer than I expected, but not much longer.

 

I helped a friend repair a '56 Chevy Bel Air in 1964 and the engine was plugged solid with dried sludge, the rockers were completely dry as the oil-way in the rocker shaft was plugged solid. The push rod holes were plugged solid except where the rods moved, in fact the sludge had a polished look to it where the rods rubbed against the hardened sludge. Seemingly these cars came with the option of an oil filter and this car did not have one.
Maybe the previous owner was someone with Joliet John's philosophy.

 

I'm still chuckling 180!! Yeah, that '56 Chevy had a "road draft tube" with no filter of any kind, also negative pressure during a portion of piston travel caused any dust to be sucked right in the crankcase! Remember the smoke pouring out of the tube when you had blowby past the rings? Really nifty! I rember when PVC came out, a mech. friend said the engine was eating it's own garbage........So much for progress.

Art Rigsby

P.S. onehundred80: Hot as "hell" here, garage 100+ deg.. Will ck those top and trunk sensors this week. Thanks.
John from Joliet: please don't mind us old timers, we don't know it all by any stretch, just things we've run into in the "class of hard-knocks" Please keep posting...........Art

 

P.S. onehundred80: Hot as "hell" here, garage 100+ deg.. Will ck those top and trunk sensors this week. Thanks.

Shoulda been to "pizzaguy"! I've lost lots of memory, what's left is pretty well shot...........

Art

 

Thread revival!

I don't know very many drivers using this brand but Liqui Moly (GmbH) 5W-40 Synthetic is whats in my engine now. Mercedes-benz approved and complies with Sheets standard for MB passenger vehicle gasoline engines.


Manufacturers description: Liqui Moly Special Tec 5 W-40
is an synthetic low-viscosity oil formulated using state-of-the-art technology for year-round use. It has been specially developed for vehicles requiring an ACEA A1 or B1 specification engine oil. The combination of unconventional base oils with state-of-the-art additives has produced a guaranteed low-viscosity engine oil with high shear stability, which reliably prevents the formation of deposits, reduces friction losses in the engine and provides outstanding protection against wear. Reduces fuel consumption and significantly increases the service life of the engine.

 

"garage 100+ deg.." April-May is odd here, hot earlier, chilly now. That is why both ends of my "working" garage open and have lotsa fans. That said haven't seen over 93-95 OAT for a few years now. Of course by mid-June humidity is the same.


The 100 days of summer is when utility bills go up and you do not go outside unless you must.


That is why 5W-40 or even 10W-30 is fine here.

 

2009? That's not a revival-it's a resurrection!

 

My benz dealer tossed in 5w-40 Mobil1 in my car 3 days ago. Should I have any cause for concern? I know the motor supports 5w-40 easily.

 

Is that the diesel blend?