Is It Better to Use Thicker Oil in Older Engines

Something about poor or lack of service history of my engine. Older engines with less precise tolerances sometimes required higher viscosity oils especially at higher temperatures.

Do You Use Heavier Weight Castrol For An Older Engine Mcnally Institute

Slightly more viscous oil will help you in protect worn bearings too.

. Its the second quart that starts to change the operating characteristics of the oil. Although you should hardly notice an increase in consumption. One quart wont change it enough to worry about.

Maybe modern gasoline engines but not all. Dont go crazy and change from SAE 5W-20 to SAE 10W-50 all at once. So that this can cause the oil to burn in the combustion chamber.

The engine does not leak and Ive never seen a whiff of blue smoke. So if you had to add the second quart of different viscosity. If the car youre maintaining is worth extra care and extra cost Amsoil Premium Protection Motor Oil is pretty much the best you can get.

Dec 30 2009. Maybe you could mix 5050 10w30 and 10w40. Just like using an oil with too high a viscosity may lead to problems in Brads engine using a thinner oil can have the same result.

Herein is it better to use thicker oil. Lets say a new Honda engine burns a quart 500ml of oil between services. Not good all the way around.

Selling a Car with High Mileage. If you have an oil pressure gauge and in the vehicles old age the oil pressure is running lower perhaps due to wear causing larger clearances in the bearings and oil pump then it may be warranted to go thicker but probably just enough to get oil pressure back up to spec. Well in went 0W-40.

This is a practical method to improve oil pressure in an older high-mileage engine. By older I mean 1980s and prior. Its available in 10W-40 and 20W-50 and is a synthetic-based engine oil.

SteveF June 20 2008 1235am 6. Fenske concludes with the following statement. No doubt your oil changes will cost quite a bit extra but Amsoil will protect your engine like none other.

The slightly thicker oil film from the heavier base weight oil 10W can help protect worn engine bearings as well. Itll create more friction and heat which causes slightly more engine wear. When heavier oil will be added to the engine it will never leak and throw extra smoke out of.

Today i put a thicker oil in my 240000km LS2 i go from the recommended 5w30 to a 10w50 and start up seems a little smoother and it actually seems to run ni. So no its not a good idea. Once the engine is up to operating temperature the thicker oil wont flow as well as 30-weight oil.

Make The Switch To Castrol. In the old days when your car was burning oil people would suggest that you add really thick molasseslike oil to the engine like some 20W-50 weight glop. 20w-50 is the oil of choice for older European engines old rotary engines and many others as well.

So to sum up you absolutely can use synthetic oils in older engines. Ad 2999 Synthethic Blend Or 20 Off Full Synthethic Oil Change. It will fill the bigger gaps between moving metal parts and will adhere better to the metal.

The right thing to do though is keep using the grade of oil the manufacturer says to use but check your oil levels every week or two. 20w-50 is not too thick for gas engines. Although it is easy to use engine oil with manufacturers recommended viscosity it is recommended to use engine oil that is one level more dense than the recommended engine oil for an engine that is considered old.

Because a high mileage engine may burn a bit more oil than a new one. Its not that I dont want to its that I always thought that using a thicker oil is better. Thicker has a slight correlation with less volatile two schools of thought here one a less volatile oil will burn less in a consumption prone high mileage engine.

Choosing the best oil for older cars. Generally speaking most people do not need a high-mileage oil. Therefore some mechanics recommend using engine oil that is one level thicker than the recommended engine oil for engines that are considered old.

That this combo would work well in my car. Now if that same vehicle is used in a colder climate the difference between 5W and 10W is enough to make a difference in winter starting. However a less volatile oil may also leave deposits so it is a game of relevance.

An area that is often overlooked when oil comsumption is a problem is hardened valve stem seals. Yes you can bump up the viscosity of your oil to help a worn engine with low oil pressure. Oil will bypass hardened seals and allow oil into the combustion chamber via the valve stems.

Thicker heavier oil or oil thickening additives such as the STP Oil Treatment or one of the many other options are definitely a good idea to prolong the longevity of older motors. After talking to my friend an experienced engine builder he said to try Mobil 1 0W-40 in her. Ad Castrol Provides The Fluids The World Needs For Every Application.

10w30 if you have a bit of engine noise otherwise 5w30. Also be sure to watch until the end of the video if at any point in this article. The thicker oil when cold will not flow as well as the 5w-30 which means your engine will remain oil starved longer at start up causing it to achieve more wear.

Yes because it is a feasible method to improve oil pressure in an older engine. Should I use thicker oil in an older engine. The answer is pretty simple.

No modern synthetic oils will not cause leaks. If that were true then we would use 90W gear oil. Extreme stress and heat add to the challenge.

Thicker oil is not always better. If you had 5W-20 in the engine and you add 1 quart of 10W-30 it raises the viscosity of the crankcase oil slightly. And sometimes as engines add more miles a little thicker oil works wonders.

The car runs better than new. Oil thats too thin can fail to develop a consistent lubricating film inviting metal-to-metal contact that causes wear. Because the thinner the oil the easier it is for the oil to enter into narrow gaps.

Consumption as high as one litre per thousand kms can be caused by valve stem seal leakage. Its More Than Just Oil. Visit Your Local Midas for a Synthetic or Conventional Oil Change.

It would especially not do your engine any good to put the thicker winter weight oil into the vehicle assuming you are gaining on winter where you are at. Running a very thick oil can sometimes cause issues in modern engines.

How Bad Is Synthetic Oil For Older Cars The Truth