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Hey guys. First time posting here.
Looking for some general knowledge on using heavier motor oil.Is using a heaver motor oil in older/high mileage vehicles okay to do?
I’ve seen people do this to help stop/slow down engine oil leaks, say down the valve stem seal.
Is this an acceptable practice? Don’t think anybody believes for it to be a fix, but a means to extend the life of an older engine without spending much cash.By the way – love the shows, live Q&A’s, and forum.
You all are awesome.
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This is a fix only so not to hear the noise, nothing else it is not advisable to use a heaver oil because it prevents oil from running through the small runners that need oil in your engine, in time it will starve the engine of oil and will make matters worse.
A bit heavier oil is better for really worn engine. Oil consumption or leaks don’t mean engine is worn. For example going from xW-30 to xW-40. But oils have other characteristics than viscosity so you do have to take other thing into consideration. It will keep oil pressure closer to what it was on new engine. But don’t use too heavy oil it will make too much pressure somewhere and not enough on others.
I used to drive a 6 cylinder Ford. Well, the valve seals were of the umbrella type and they were made of rubber. After about 50,000 miles they would crack and the engine would consume oil. So, I would replace them.
The second time I visited the dealer to buy new oil seals the parts guy says why don’t you buy the V8 seals, they are the same size, they are plastic, they cost the same and they don’t crack? Why indeed? Ford, why were you using the rubber ones?
The next car I owned was a Plymouth actually made by Mitsubishi. At about a 120,000 miles the valve seals were shot and it was consuming oil. Time for new valve seals and this fixed the problem.
The point is, if the valve seals are bad it is time to replace them. Putting in heavier oil for the engine to burn is not the solution.
Personally I’d never run a viscosity of oil that your engine isn’t specifically designed to run. Engineers that design these engines come up with what viscosity works best in each specific engine and using anything else could invite other issues in the future and could lead to more premature wear. Just my 2 cents.
Use the oil it says to use…
If it consumes oil, try a “High Millage” … if there is a leak, fix it.
Personally, I have been lucky, but I have had several high-millage vehicles 75000+ that consumed zero(0) oil and did not leak a drop!
Literally, you could drive 5,000 miles and check the dipstick, and it would still be on the full mark!
[quote=”Calhoun” post=91738]Personally I’d never run a viscosity of oil that your engine isn’t specifically designed to run. Engineers that design these engines come up with what viscosity works best in each specific engine and using anything else could invite other issues in the future and could lead to more premature wear. Just my 2 cents.[/quote]
I think there is something else going on here besides the engineers recommending the best oil for the engine. The engineers are looking for more mileage. One way to tweak a little more mileage is to run thin oil.
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