High Mileage engine oil

mondeo

My relatives very old 93' Galant started using abit of oil lately. 151k miles on clock at this stage and probably valve seals are starting to fail. Not worth replacing them as the car is worthless.

First thing I would like to do is try using a thicker engine oil such as 15w40 as opposed to the advised 10w40. Castrol do a specific high mileage mineral based oil below. Worth trying it? Or go for an even thicker oil? http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_253933_langId_-1_categoryId_212419

jimmyw

Jeez we used to have I think a 90 galant 1.6 and it burned oil like a steam engine.Dont know what the problem was, but there was work carried out on the engine but it made no difference. We sold her not long after that I think.. Nice car though, very comfortable and not bad looking either. Engines must be s***e though.Anyway, reminiscing:rolleyes: I'd say you have nothing to lose putting a thicker oil in there. Worth a try I say. Your relatives car is a bit newer version though.



87-92



92-98

Max Power1

Hah, must be the galant reminiscing club here! Many moons ago the old man had a 1.6 galant, but it was the one before the first one pictured, IE it was this one, but red

Andrew33

Will the heavier oil not take longer to circulate on start up? Thus causing even more wear and oil consumption? You might get away with it in summer but winter might cause problems for your starter and battery.

Seweryn

mondeo wrote: »

First thing I would like to do is try using a thicker engine oil such as 15w40 as opposed to the advised 10w40.

15W40 is not any thicker than 10W40 in working temperature. It is only thicker during cold start, causing more wear to the engine and it would make no difference to oil consumption. If you want thicker oil, get some 5W50 or 10W60 (Castrol makes that one) or the 15W50 (made by Mobil).

Andrew33

Andrew33 wrote: »

but winter might cause problems for your starter and battery.

Care to elaborate on this theory ?

jimmyw

Andrew33 wrote: »

Will the heavier oil not take longer to circulate on start up? Thus causing even more wear and oil consumption? You might get away with it in summer but winter might cause problems for your starter and battery.

Seweryn wrote: »

15W40 is not any thicker than 10W40 in working temperature. It is only thicker during cold start, causing more wear to the engine and it would make no difference to oil consumption. If you want thicker oil, get some 5W50 or 10W60 (Castrol makes that one) or the 15W50 (made by Mobil).

RoverJames wrote: »

Care to elaborate on this theory ?

Well its a balance using a different grade oil. Too thick will reduce the oil consumption but make it harder for the batt and starter right enough due to increased resistance and will take longer to reach furthest parts. Too thin will increase consumption but get quicker to the parts.5w40/50 will burn more when cold, better when hot.

jimmyw

Max Power1 wrote: »

Hah, must be the galant reminiscing club here! Many moons ago the old man had a 1.6 galant, but it was the one before the first one pictured, IE it was this one, but red

Your pic is not showing, is this the one?



or this

JHMEG

Mechanic I know says 15W40 in older cars if they're burning 10W40. Seems to work for him.

Max Power1

Ah.. its the red one!

Andrew33

RoverJames wrote: »

Care to elaborate on this theory ?

I think its a bit more than a theory, oil becomes more viscous as the temperature drops, if the oil is heavier and more viscous it will take more to get it circulating (hence the different "weights" of oil). If you used engine oil on a Patek watch, I don't think you'd have a working Patek watch for very long, and in an old car with components possibly marginal in their performance it could place additional strain on these components causing them to fail. Vehicles used in extreme northern climates usually have pre heaters to warm the oil and coolant before start up.

Andrew33

Andrew33 wrote: »

Will the heavier oil not take longer to circulate on start up? Thus causing even more wear and oil consumption? You might get away with it in summer but winter might cause problems for your starter and battery.

jimmyw wrote: »

Well its a balance using a different grade oil. Too thick will reduce the oil consumption but make it harder for the batt and starter right enough due to increased resistance and will take longer to reach furthest parts. Too thin will increase consumption but get quicker to the parts.5w40/50 will burn more when cold, better when hot.

Andrew33 wrote: »

I think its a bit more than a theory, oil becomes more viscous as the temperature drops, if the oil is heavier and more viscous it will take more to get it circulating (hence the different "weights" of oil). If you used engine oil on a Patek watch, I don't think you'd have a working Patek watch for very long, and in an old car with components possibly marginal in their performance it could place additional strain on these components causing them to fail. Vehicles used in extreme northern climates usually have pre heaters to warm the oil and coolant before start up.

The likes of 15w40 and 20w50 compared to a 10w40 would not cause increased wear on a starter nor the battery over a span of a few years. They will indeed not provide as much cold start protection as the 10w40. Pre heaters being used in extreme climates has nothing to do with the initial comment that was made about the starter and battery possibly giving trouble in winter months due to a thicker oil being used. There is no engine oil that provides adequate cold start protection. In extreme conditions the engine will turn over much slower with a thicker oil when trying to start, however in conditions that extreme the engine won't start anyway unless a pre heater is in use.

Andrew33

RoverJames wrote: »

The likes of 15w40 and 20w50 compared to a 10w40 would not cause increased wear on a starter nor the battery over a span of a few years. They will indeed not provide as much cold start protection as the 10w40. Pre heaters being used in extreme climates has nothing to do with the initial comment that was made about the starter and battery possibly giving trouble in winter months due to a thicker oil being used. There is no engine oil that provides adequate cold start protection. In extreme conditions the engine will turn over much slower with a thicker oil when trying to start, however in conditions that extreme the engine won't start anyway unless a pre heater is in use.

It'll be worth the ban, you're a pedantic freak (you should have left your shoulder chip in cork). I probably should have expanded on the battery/starter comment but if you've any "real" knowledge of engines and how oil behaves at very low temperatures you would have understood the bare bones comment re same:rolleyes:

Alanstrainor

Take a week off Andrew. Absolutely no need for that.

mondeo

The castrol "high mileage" stuff contains some sort of seal conditioners so thats why I asked about that particular oil. Might help expand the seals abit.
Or is this just a marketing bracket to find out how many people are using older cars?

jimmyw

RoverJames wrote: »

The likes of 15w40 and 20w50 compared to a 10w40 would not cause increased wear on a starter nor the battery over a span of a few years. They will indeed not provide as much cold start protection as the 10w40. Pre heaters being used in extreme climates has nothing to do with the initial comment that was made about the starter and battery possibly giving trouble in winter months due to a thicker oil being used. There is no engine oil that provides adequate cold start protection. In extreme conditions the engine will turn over much slower with a thicker oil when trying to start, however in conditions that extreme the engine won't start anyway unless a pre heater is in use.

I thought that with the starter having to work harder due to the thicker oil, that it could wear it out though over time.