engine and drivetrain what 5w30 can do for you, impressive pic within

[Guest Anonymous]

We have a customer at the shop who recently received a gift 2002. This car had a very original engine but ran well. They were taking it to FL and were added 5w30 into the engine (we recommended 20w50) along the way. Somewhere south of the BMW plant she uh decided that it didn’t like the oil. I will be pulling the engine apart in my spare time at the shop. I am almost done swapping in a used engine so they can get her back to FL. What’s the lesson in this? NEVER look a gift 02 in the mouth without running 20w50.

[K-Swiss]

So much for top end lubrication with no oil huh?

[eddycooper]

What is the reason for believing that it was the oil that did that?

Eddy

[Guest Anonymous]

There was also no sign of metal shavings nor knocking during the last oil change. I have seen 5 w 30 do this many times.

Sam

[Napes]

(nt)

[billhiddle]

What about Mobil 1, 10/40 in the winter in Oklahoma (mild)? That's what I run. My brother runs 15/50 all year and argues this is the only way to go. Since I went w/ Mobil 1, my mileage improved, but I'm much more concerned w/ engine wear & longevity. What says you?

[Guest Anonymous]

Robspeed posted the other day about oil, I have posted all info there. I hate to be a pain about it but its not a discussion I wish to keep going on many fronts. The short version is I am not a synthetic guy at all unless the engine is designed for it, I sugest all posts regarding oil be put with robspeeds post.

Thanks

Sam

[scottiesharpe]

I don' t think it was the oil. It appears to be a structural failure of the wrist pin or rod that caused the damage. Over rev'd? Left in 2nd gear on the freeway by a newbie driver? But certainly, let us know what you find out. Looks interesting....

[Guest Anonymous]

The car was buring oil, thats is another reason to run 20/50. The car is an automatic and when it happened the speeds were imposible for it to be in second.

Sam

[SteveJ]

What's the big deal????

Block inspection holes are normal, no?

Or maybe it is the "high output" real-time undercoating system.

[jimk]

So where is the impressive picture? I only see an old hulk sitting there. I was looking for sound evidence that the 5W-30 caused the problem. Let's see the failed parts!

BTW the quality of the 5W-30 has a lot to do with it. The general public doesn't know what the lousy acceptance limits there are on SAE test pass/fail numbers. They might have dumped in some 350F flashpoint oil.

Also 5W-30 has to meet certain EPA limits on various additives. SAE 40 and up do not and can have the stuff older cam designs need.

5W-50 in dino, maybe because of the low flashpoint of dino, in a snythetic, not requred. Also 5W-50 has too much VI improver which is the element of decomposition in that oil. Choose one that has no VI improvers.

A SAE 50 at operating temp is just a power robber and runs hotter than a SAE 40 due to viscous churning. It also flows less thru the brearings which makes them run hotter too.

[Guest Anonymous]

Sorry but the 5w30 had little to do with it.

If the oil is fresh and the car is not tracked 5w30 will be fine. M10s are not magically designed (they are actually quite simple) and as long as the oil is clean it wont matter.

That rod was ready to go regardless of the oil.

[Guest Anonymous]

With any vehicle that is buring oil switching to a thicker oil will slow the burning process. This engine was burning 20/50 (NO LEAKS UNDER The car) so running a thinner oil will burn though faster. This results in a loss of protection and BOOM. Also if you bother to read your owners manul you will see that 20/50 is the grade required for operating found in NC to FL. If there was no difference in oil grades why would we have so many? You can run what you want in YOUR car, I will be sure not to stop to help ya when yours fails.

[Guest Anonymous]

I agree that 20w-50 is a more appropriate oil to use in an 02, but I seriously doubt 1k miles or less of running 5w-30 was the sole cause for this damage. It may have exacerbated existing problems that would have cropped up soon anyways, but the oil is not the root of the problem.

[Madvibes]

i might be wrong, but if the car is burning oil, there are problems with the motor. if there are problems with the motor already, it's possible that whatever happened to the thing was going to happen anyway, regardless of a switch to thinner oil. the car was a freebie... that tell you anything?

now, it's definitely true that thinner oil will find its way through leak spots and gaskets (take a look at the underside of my 02 sometime) and perhaps that's all that happened here, more leakage. thicker oil doesn't leak as much, for sure.