I have heard several indicate you really had to be careful when switching an engine that had run a large part of its life on non-detergent oil over to detergent oil. I guess it will really break junk loose and then you can be in a world of trouble when the oil galleries and such become plugged.
I know a modern day analog is when a neglected engine is cleaned out with Seafoam or other similar treatments. All the crud can simply break loose at once and plug things up. I have been told that most such flushes are a waste of money and aren’t needed if have taken care of the oil.
I have been told that most such flushes are a waste of money and aren't needed if have taken care of the oil.
I’ve never done an engine flush in any engine I’ve ever owned…and I’ll bet I have less then a teaspoon of sludge in my engines. You keep up with oil changes and you shouldn’t have any sludge.
I complained to the folks who make the Motorweek show because “Goss’ Garage” ran a segment claiming EVERYBODY needed to do engine flushes, frequently. Goss showed of a sludged up BMW (I think) engine and claimed it had received normal oil changes.
What a crock of BS. I got a reply, still claiming they were needed.
@texases “Normal” oil changes in a BMW are every 16,000 miles or so and if the car is driven only in the city and parked outside it could be full of sludge after a few years. Germans drive their BMWs at 100 mph on the autobahns and put a lot of fast miles on. The company has yet to adjust its manuals for slow poke US yuppies.
However, Goss has stopped being a mechanic long ago and now seems to push products and services.
If the oil is changed every 5000 miles or more frequently, that sludge will not form!
“So, by using a machine like this periodically, 30 to 40,000 miles, you can double, triple, quadruple the life expectancy of your engine. So, it is money well spent. Something that I highly recommend.”
I’m not posting a link, I have no interest in advertising for him…
I’ve been trying to tell my son that but don’t know if he is listening or not. The problem is that BMW now includes maintenance for the first 50K so its hard to tell people that BMW be danged, go pay for two oil changes for every one that BMW will give you. I had the same thing with Acura when they look at you like you have three eyes questioning why you want to change the oil at 5K. I just do it myself now and don’t have to argue with anyone.
“Germans drive their BMWs 100mph on the autobahns and put a lot of fast miles on them.”
I lived in Germany for many years, and you’re not entirely correct
There are very few stretches of no-limit Autobahn. Far too much traffic to allow that anymore
Most Germans don’t have BMWs. The cars there generally have less hp under the hood than the cars in the US. Those small “city cars” that are considered so crappy here, are far more common in Europe.
Germans, on the whole, are far more conscious of fuel consumption than US drivers. Many of them actually know how to calculate fuel economy the correct way. Unlike many US drivers, who only know how many dollars it takes to fill up their tanks . . .
As for the lot of fast miles, wrong again. Germans drive far fewer miles per year than US drivers
@db4690: Since gas is the equivalent of about $9-$10/gallon over there, it’s totally understandable that most folks have miserly cars and don’t drive as much as we do. I laugh when people whine that gas has gone up to $4/gallon.
To answer the OP’ s question directly, NO, never had an oil analysis done and NO never had a favorite oil. I just go to whatever is best price at Wal- Mart so long as it is name brand and meets specs in my owners manual. I’ve been driving since 1973, owned all sorts of vehicles since about 1975, and have never had an engine problem due to oil. Recently I retired an '89 Accord with 585,000 miles on it, the deepest I went into the engine was valve stem seals. I used 10w40 or 10w30 dino for the first 250,000 miles, then went to 20w50 (except in winter), and the engine “used” about 1/4 to 1/2 a quart I (dripping, leaks, start-up, whatever) every oil change, which I did religiously every 3000 miles. Ran good when I retired it, stopped driving it due to underbody rust. I’m a firm believer that faithful maintenance as per the owners manual will pay dividends in the long-run, and regular dino oil changes with any spec oil will work. An analysis (to me) is just an attempt to stretch intervals, and my question to that is . . . why bother? Just do what the engineers who designed the vehicle suggest that you do. Good luck! Rocketman
One time I heard of an engine dying from sludge and it was a Mercedes or BMW that took a lot of short trips. They changed the oil way more often than the manual prescribed, even for short distances, but it was day after day of 1 mile trips or so. The engine died well before 100k and it was simply because the engine was never allowed to get hot. I drive 10 miles one way to town everyday so my engines always have a change to get warmed up nicely. I used to change every 3000 miles but the oil isn’t even dark when I change it out so have extended the mileage but still remain under the manufacturer suggestion.
As for the tiny European “city cars”, I have an equivalent of one here. It is the 1994 Geo Metro and one thing I have to keep an eye on is underbody rust. That has led to the demise of more than a few of these cars.
I am sure that dino oil will serve most engines just fine as long as there aren’t specific requirements such as for a turbo or some odd defect like the Toyota sludge issue. Synthetic for me is just peace of mind. I usually buy several changes at a time when it goes on sale and I really don’t pay much more than standard conventional, even the store brands. I also find that I get slightly better mileage with synthetic for some reason and figure that this will offset any extra cost of the oil over its life. And, when my cars and trucks do finally rust out, hopefully their engines will find life in another vehicle without needing to be rebuilt.
The thing I’ve noticed with cars that I have rented “over there” are that they cruise along at about 3000 rpm. That’s a good 1000 rpm higher than around here and would require a little better oil I would think to handle that kind of stress on a little 4 cyl.
Yeah, the Geo Metros also tend to cruise and hit their sweet spot at around 3000 RPMs. I think this is part of the reason the enthusiasts of these little cars like to run the Euro spec synthetic oils.
Now, GM has come out with the Dexos requirement. Although I have seen dino oils meeting this spec, most are synthetic or syn blends. I know many of the goals are much the same as the Euro specs included longer change intervals.
The price of gasoline in Germany has always been exactly twice as expensive as southern California, where I now live
Over the years, that ratio has always been constant
So, when people complain about the price of gasoline, I laugh and say “Stop complaining, please. You’re paying half what you would in many other countries.”
Don’t forget though that the difference in cost is tax not actual cost of the product. The Europeans choose to tax petro at a high rate to pay for their social programs like health care and nursing homes and providing subsistance to the underclass. Its a different mindset over there and they are scared to death that the underclass will rise up and start a war again. I’m not sure they’re on the right track though-they have lots of social problems and uneven property distribution.
Another big reason for the fuel taxes is to reduce tax cheating/avoidance, which is rampant on income taxes in some European countries. Sales of super-expensive cars has plummeted in Italy because they started auditing those driving Ferraris, Lambos, Maseratis, etc…
There have always been far more Ferraris sold here versus Europe
For that matter, there have always been more luxury cars sold here versus Europe
I have noticed that, for some reason (marketing, probably) many US drivers are convinced that they need and/or deserve that $60000 - $80000 luxury/sporty car, never mind they can’t afford it
I have also noticed that European drivers have far less illusions about what kind of cars they can afford to operate
The US automotive industry is great at convincing people that they need and can afford a Porsche