Hi All

I am reading that the 5w20 oil now being used by Ford and Honda leads toa finer mist being sucked into the intake manifold and burned up. This of course meansoil loss andfouling up stuff like o2 sensors. I can believe this is likely and wonder ifmoving to 5w30, especially with an older engine (more than 100K miles) is the right thing to do.


What do you think?

Thanks
Steve

 

I don't think you'll burn much with the "finer mist" if that really happens. Your PCV valve should let a ton of oil vapor through it, although it lets a little through. I recently installed a catch can between the PCV valve and the intake manifold and over the last 600 miles of driving it caught about 7 mL (1/4 Oz.) of oil on a 183K mile motor. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

Those oil numbers are results of standard testing in units of durability. Namely flow in given temperature ranges.
The oil is 'thinner' but given that 10-30 is a given standard for pre-2000 vehicles the actual difference between the two is not very much at all. The oil will flow a minuscule better in freezing weather, and flow minimally better in hot. The actual breakdown numbers I cannot provide as almost every oil is different, with synthetic being superior to all is 99% of all testing peramiters.
The only reason why they use a 'thinner' oil is to reduce deposits and certain build-up, and that in turn reduces a certain amount of emissions.
The main way that an engine burns oil is bad valve stem seals. Second is through a clogged or poorly functioning PVC system. Either the valve is bad, or the breather section built into the valve cover needs to be cleaned or depending on type of breather replaced.

 

Hmm, intersting thread ... the tailpipe end on my 04 Accord has a black oil ring around it and my oil needs to be topped up between changes. This motor is babied, no missed oil changes. There are no leaks I can see, other than checking the pcv, compression, and spark plugs tubeseals, what else should I check or is it worth a try to put some 5w30 in for a while?

 

Here's a link to another thread where one guy reports his newer Ford and Honda, all using 5w20 are using a lot of oil ...

"Here's some more information: My parent's cars, a 2002 Acura TL and a
2002 Mecury Grand Marquis LS, both are supposed to get 5W-20 oil, both
have had their oil changes at the dealer at the recommended intervals,
both have less than 18 thousand miles, and both blow blue smoke when
first started in the morning (the cars, not my parents!)."

http://www.hondacarforum.com/acura/1...mendation.html

Comments?

 

60k miles on my 2003 4-cyl 5-spd Accord. Always used 5w-20 and it doesnt burn muchat all. Ive generally done 7,000 mile oil changes while the driving was mostly longer rural roads. Almost always, Ive never had to add any oil in 7k miles.

 

just use what the manual says.
they say it for a reason