Oil

[CzEcHy]

I use 10w-30 Pennzoil High Mileage, yet my oil comes out black when I change it..

I change it every 2ish months (I deliver pizza so..)


Should I change oil or is this just normal cause my job..?



Never really paid much attention to it until now, I have 251,xxx miles.

[lostforawhile]

If I had an engine with 240k miles on it I would put in the cheapest oil I could possibly find. As long as you keep up with the change intervals expensive oil isn't going to help you one bit, so why waste your money? I use full synthetic in my truck because it's a newer engine and I like to run it longer between changes. But my diesel Suzuki on the other hand is so worn out that you could probably put cooking oil in and it wouldn't make a difference. It just burns it all anyway. Last change on the Prelude I think I used 20W50 GTX. It's a little heavy so I think next time I'll try Rotella-T, which is 15W40. The Prelude only comes out in the summer and I like to flog it, so thicker oil is warranted.

As for the ZDDP thing, I think that really only matters during the cam/rocker break in period. After that I think you're fine with reduced levels. At least this is what the local speed shop guys (old school domestic) seemed to think. The shop where I get my engine machining done though does a wider range of stuff, domestic, import, and also heavy vehicles like city buses and such. Next time I'm there I'll see what they have to say.


C|

just because your engine has 240000 miles doesn't mean it needs garbage oil, this is a Honda not a Ford, a lot of people put 500000 miles or more on their engines.

[2ndGenGuy]

it's like ordering a cheeseburger and then a diet coke.

I do that. But I think Diet Coke just tastes better.

[gtmst3]

so how about this zinc additive can it be added to any oil because i am concidering the castrol gtx but if i can get the zinc additive i figure why not right?

[2ndGenGuy]

Because excessive zinc in the oil can cause deposit buildup, foul your spark plugs and destroy your catalytic converter...

[lostforawhile]

Because excessive zinc in the oil can cause deposit buildup, foul your spark plugs and destroy your catalytic converter...

I think if you follow the recommended amount being installed in the correct number of quarts, it shouldn't be an issue, but it has to be in an oil with the zinc removed, or it will cause an increase beyond whats recommended. The reason for the additive is to put the zinc back to the oils previous level,not increase it beyond what was in the oil before

[VIPER1988]

I use 10w-30 Pennzoil High Mileage, yet my oil comes out black when I change it..

I change it every 2ish months (I deliver pizza so..)


Should I change oil or is this just normal cause my job..?



Never really paid much attention to it until now, I have 251,xxx miles.

i would change oil. pennzoil and qstate are wax based. the wax separates at high temps and builds up. i bought a 70 chevelle with 50k miles, guy had receipts for pennzoil oil change every 3k miles. i pulled the valve cover and it was about half an inch thick with sludge.

i use castrol, valvoline, or Royal Purple. All of which come out clean.

[lostforawhile]

i would change oil. pennzoil and qstate are wax based. the wax separates at high temps and builds up. i bought a 70 chevelle with 50k miles, guy had receipts for pennzoil oil change every 3k miles. i pulled the valve cover and it was about half an inch thick with sludge.

i use castrol, valvoline, or Royal Purple. All of which come out clean.

the new oils like that don't have the problems of the old ones, there's a good chance the road draft,or pcv system on the Chevelle wasn't functioning either. the old oils had a terrible time with buildup, especially without a pcv system, the pcv is the biggest contributor to gunk free engines ever devised, since it pulls the water vapor and blowby gasses out of the engine, instead of them collecting in the oil. nothing wrong with black oil, all that means is it's doing it's job, the dirt and garbage stay suspended in the oil, and are supposed to be removed by the oil filter. It could be a bad filter that stays on bypass all the time, like frams that instantly bypass and circulate dirty oil most of the time.

[CzEcHy]

I use a WIX oil filter.. so should I change to castrol high mileage gtx or stay with pennzoil? I just want my engine to last and not struggle, its my only vehicle for the time being but I always figured pennzoil was good enough.. I don't mind spending some extra money for a clean engine

[lostforawhile]

I use a WIX oil filter.. so should I change to castrol high mileage gtx or stay with pennzoil? I just want my engine to last and not struggle, its my only vehicle for the time being but I always figured pennzoil was good enough.. I don't mind spending some extra money for a clean engine

The only thing i'm worried about with modern oil is the zinc content, it used to be there were a lot of problems with wax in oils, but thats just not a problem with new high tech oils. even Pennzoil, it's not the same as it was in the 70's and 80's. if it was still gunking up engines like it was then they would be long gone. the refining process has come a long way to remove the excess paraffin. the Pennzoil and quaker state that gunked up engines in the 70's and 80's is long gone, in the oil world today it's adapt and change or die, those companies aren't even owned by the same refiner anymore.

[Vanilla Sky]

Viper, the issue with sludging you have is that the motor probably never had proper heat cycles to burn off moisture. Some Risolene would take care of the issue. Couple that with a few long drives and a few 500 mile oil changes and you should be clean of major deposits. You don't want to Seafoam an engine that's sludged badly, you want to soften the sludge so it can be carried away in the oil. Seafoam breaks up the sludge, and you often get clumps of sludge in places you don't want it, causing spun bearings and blocked oil passages.