Guest Richard D Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hello all, My 90 coupe now has 141,500 miles on the clock and I change the oil about every 3,500-4,000 miles. It can take five months to get that much mileage, car is driven every day. The dip stick shows no difference at 4,000 miles, no leaks or tranny leaks. I have been using Pennzoil W10-30 here where it is always above 60 degrees and Pur-One filters. Should I switch to the new High mileage oil now available? For you engineering types is it a different oil or marketing hype? I keep thinking, if it's not broke don't fix it, but if it is a better oil for high mileage engines..... catch-22 HELP!Many Thank'sRichard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kennyw Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 (edited) decide for yourself.......Guys:> after viewing this link you will find you know less about motor oil then ever.......kenAll About Motor Oil. link is on this thread:> Dino Oil vs Synthetic (Multi-page thread 1 2).......page #3 Edited October 28, 2009 by kennyw link didn't come through (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Dunno but for a buck a gallon extra am willing to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 (edited) Why look for trouble?You have no leaks!You are using a good oil and filter.I would just continue what you have been doing.My 2 cents Edited October 28, 2009 by CHAS1 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 High mileage oil is too general of a term for me and all cars with higher mileage can't be painted with the same brush. Consider the difference in internal engine wear with a 140,000 mile car that has had regular oil changes at or before the recommended interval, a higher percentage of highway miles vs city driving, as well as not being driven in extreme cold or hot climates compared to another 140k engine that has had oil changes exceeding the recommeded intervals, a higher percentage of city driving or short trips vs highway miles, and all in a hot or cold climate.I think you have to evaluate each car and how it was driven when deciding whether or not to change to a HM oil. Common sense tells us one oil would not perform equally in an engine with considerable wear vs an engine with factory new clearances. There is some merit to using an oil formulated for an engine with assumed higher clearances due to high mileage. So at some point when clearances reach a certain level from wear (extensive testing would need done to determine this) a HM oil would provide better protection. Then the question becomes would it be so much better that you would keep the car long enough to realize any perceived benefit? Considering the condition of your engine, I would not change the type of oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thank You to all who took the time to answer my question. I am not worried about the extra cost, it seems that tolerances are still tight and within spec. I am going to send a sample of 4K old oil out for anlaysis. That should tell me if there is any bearing wear or any reason to use the high mileage oil. In the meantime I will keep the same oil/filter regiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfair Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 One thing that high milage oil includes is an extra dallop of seal sweller. If you have no leaks, why give your seals a punch in the nose (which results in swelling) if they do not need it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Telco Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I would add to this that unless you started using synth oil early on, it's not a good idea to switch to it. Synth oil will clean out any deposits left inside the engine by the dyno oil, which can cause you to develop leaks. This is even though you have been keeping the oil changed, it's just the nature of the beast. I don't like seeing anyone switch from dyno to synth past 75K miles, and really don't suggest it once you hit 6 digits. Usually the time to go from dino to synth is around 10K miles, as rings seat better with dino. It's not guaranteed that the leak problem will develop if you switch to a synth at this time, but this is the norm.I'd just keep running what you've been running, it's obviously doing the job well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kennyw Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 If anyone took the time to read my oil link they would find DINO oil can now be refined so well it can be called synthetic. MOBIL lost a court case on that one. You will find that you know very little about oils of any kind. It is an eye opener...........ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike_s Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Is this the link you were referring to KennyWAll About Motor OilHere's another one some might find interesting from the Antique and Classic Car Club of Canadahttp://www.acccc.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51%3Ahdeo&catid=47%3Amaintenance&Itemid=37 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest F14CRAZY Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 3800? 141k? high mileage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 3800? 141k? high mileage?GOOD POINT! I was thinking of engines from the 1960's and early 70's that were considered used up if they made 100,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 If anyone took the time to read my oil link they would find DINO oil can now be refined so well it can be called synthetic. MOBIL lost a court case on that one. You will find that you know very little about oils of any kind. It is an eye opener...........kenHello Ken, As a matter of fact I did read your link and that is one of the reasons I decided to keep things the way they are and not listen to the marketing hype. If I had seals leaking or some other problem I would consider it. Once again Thank You All,Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kennyw Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Yes: who would have [thunk] motor oil is mainly mineral oil to start with? It is a long read and at the end you know less than when you started. It sure debunks the, if it is an old motor use single weight oil as that is what it was designed for. Here I am talking motors made from 1950 or so back. I have so many friends who will not use modern oils in antique motorcycles. Basically the article says the old oils were junk. That was the reason you were doing motor rebuilds from the 40,000 mile mark. ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Well, part of the reason. Better metallurgy (what sunk the Titanic) and being able to hold much tighter tolerances is more and you can toss in oil filters (optional in the '50s) and the 3800s roller lifters and georotor (much better than a gear pump) oil pump rounds it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) Optional Oil Filters. Boy I remember that. Optional heaters as well!100K on my slany 6 Mopar and it was a oil burner back in the 60'sThings change. Edited November 1, 2009 by CHAS1 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Do any motorcycles still use centrifugal oil "filters"? Back when I was 14 I was attempting to put a Honda 305 engine on a 160 frame and for some reason I pulled one of the engine side covers and saw a cup that I did not know what it was. I figured it out, oil comes in the bottom and the cup spins at some high RPM and the trash in the oil gets plastered against the sides, so hard that it becomes part of the cup, was almost impossible to scrape any out with a pointy tool. (screwdriver) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Do any motorcycles still use centrifugal oil "filters"? Back when I was 14 I was attempting to put a Honda 305 engine on a 160 frame and for some reason I pulled one of the engine side covers and saw a cup that I did not know what it was. I figured it out, oil comes in the bottom and the cup spins at some high RPM and the trash in the oil gets plastered against the sides, so hard that it becomes part of the cup, was almost impossible to scrape any out with a pointy tool. (screwdriver)Some of the Fiat cars (124 Spyder) used a similar system except the centrifuge was built into the harmonic balancer. It could be cleaned by removing a row of bolts that allowed an access cover to be removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Hi Ronnie, Very clever idea before they came up with the spin on oil filter. Thank's for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 FIAT 124 particularly. Saw quite a few that had oil pressure issues caused by gunk in the slinger. Few were caught soon enough to avoid problems. I had a '68 Spyder bought cheap with 100k and low oil pressure. Cleaned the slinger and went another 80k before selling it still running strong. One of the cars I miss though suppose a Miatta is a better car.The 150 cc 1986 Honda "Spacy" I just bought has a slinger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greg Ross Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Had a '72 124 Spyder that I bought new, When the Oil Pressure started to studder I traded it in. Would have been nice to know at the time.RIchard,The oil analysis is probably a very good idea, where you bought the car with some miles on it, no way of knowing what sort of oil change intervals it saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wws944 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) I had a '74 124 Spider and it did have an oil filter. However a friend had a Fiat 850 Spider which had the centrifuge system. A lot of Fiat owners ruined their engines because they never knew/cared about cleaning out the flywheel.To the OP: It sounds like what you are doing with your Reatta is working well for you. Just make sure you are using current quality (e.g., SM grade) oil and change it at least once a year. (More often depending on mileage.) Edited November 1, 2009 by wws944 Add obligatory Reatta content (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Didn't say my 124 didn't have an oil filter (it did), just said it had a slinger (also). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wws944 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Didn't say my 124 didn't have an oil filter (it did), just said it had a slinger (also).Interesting. Wonder if my '74 was the same way?My friends 850 Spider, IIRC it was a '73, did not have a filter. He had it for a year or two, and traded it on a 454 'Vette. Talk about extremes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Also briefly had an 850R coupe. "full of sound and fury..." OTOH friend had an Fiat Abarth 1000 Bialbero that had raced at Sebring. Wicked fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Telco Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Some of the Fiat cars (124 Spyder) used a similar system except the centrifuge was built into the harmonic balancer. It could be cleaned by removing a row of bolts that allowed an access cover to be removed.And not one reference to a Riatta. Not that I would have said anything had it not been for this thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 What cleans out engine sludge is not synthetic oil per se, but how much ester content is in the synthetic oil. This is a variable situation!The seal sweller will affect EVERY seal in the motor, so if there are currently no problems, then you don't need it.Keep on doing what you've been doing and don't look back. I understand that sometimes we want to prevent problems before they might start, getting a little paranoid in the process, but many times these concerns are unfounded . . . at that point in time. OR we want to do something that is better than what we've already been doing. Still, in so doing we can end up with marginally better results and more money spent for (basically) naught.Keep up your current maintenance schedule and things will probably be fine.Regards,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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