[4age] oil

[agrath]

okay so maybe im a noob or something

4age engine + fully synthetic 5w-40 = bad?
i made the mistake of putting this in, and have been having heaps of problems with smoke from manifold and oil leaks. blew an oil filter gasket last night.
Just trying to confirm that yes, it was a bad oil to put it

i'm getting weird oil-in-frying-pan like noises when i come to a stop, (its fine while moving) and lots of smoke when i come to a stop (like at the lights or something). when i switch the engine off the noise gets worse for a few secs then dies away... lots more smoke when i come to a stop too.

so
1) this is a bad oil
2) will it have done any permanent damage?
3) what should i replace it with, brand and ratings
4) where sells 3) cheapest cause i'm absolutely broke

please refrain from calling me an idiot etc, cause i made a guess as to what oil to use and it looks like i chose badly. I did however ask a few people before i put it in, and everyone seemed to say "it'll be fine"

[Mr Revhead]

um, you didnt spill it did you?

personally its a little thiner than id use.

[agrath]

I didnt spill it, though perhaps i did a little around the outside of the filler hole... not much though

the gurgling-ish noise is whats worrying me, combined with smoke when i come to a stop...

currently i'm thinking its either too thin oil or too much oil. there's a chance that i put a little too much in when i filled it up this morning - but would that cause tonnes of smoke to come off the manifold?

Gareth

[Mr Revhead]

how much is a little to much?

i dont think a simple oil change would cause the things you mention

[Lloyd]

Ummmm.... wouldn't a look at the dipstick tell you if there is too much in there or not?

As for the smoking, if its off the manifold then its probably just oil burning off. How long has it been doing it? When you change a filter make sure that the old rubber seal from the old filter is off and that the new one sits in place properly. I've put a filter on before and had the old seal still there and it pissed oil everywhere. SOmething like that (but not as severe) could squirt oil onto a manifold and cause smoke/fire.

[agrath]

okay car has been sitting for about an hour and i checked the dipstick
i definitely overfilled it, its about 5mm maybe more above the F line.
Crap. I hear this can be really bad. I've driven it maybe 10km since putting the oil in, and i didnt take it above 4k rpm, used brakes to slow down, not engine etc...
i can drain it out obviously...

this leaves me with the question of

is the gurgling / oil frying sound when i come to a stop or switch the engine off (momentarily) because i overfilled it or has damage been done?

I dont think the smoke coming off the manifold is excess oil burning off, i'm talking a lot of smoke, like i just threw a cup of oil on the manifold while it was hot... i cant see a lot of smoke when im driving, its only when i came to a stop and a few seconds after that the smoke came out...


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[agrath]

oh yeah, and definitely no rubber from old filters left behind

the smoke and the gurgling is only when i've come to a stop after driving for a bit... doesnt do it when i've just started it up and its idling...

G

[FLAWLES]

if its magnatec u will have some probs its to thin when warm and it sticks to the knock sensor making the engine retard it self

i would

drain the oil and look for shinny bits in the metal " you rings and bearing mite be shot " or oil pump but i dobt it would be this

[ee904age]

I use valvoline 5w40 in my bluetop and have had no side effects whatsoever, engine is running perfect with no smoke etc even at 6k+ rpm.

[agrath]

this is shell helix ultra 5w-40 in a silvertop 4age 20v... but im getting the impression the oil is probably too good for the engine but wont do it any harm

Gareth

[RedMist]

I run Valvoline Durablend 5/30 in the race engine and have strictly used Mobil 1 5/15 in my 20 valves without issue. In actual fact I was most impressed with the Mobil 1 as I heat siezed an engine in the Woodhill race, once back in CHCH the engine freed itself! Raced that engine for another two races.
A well worn engine would probably require a denser oil.

[jondee86]

The only time I ever heard that popping, bubbling, frying sound was when I ran a car hard with next to no oil in it. When I heard the bearings starting to knock I pulled into the next servo and chucked some oil in. When the oil hit the crank it made that sound.... must have been REAL hot down there... smoked a bit too

Check your water.... look inside the radiator, don't rely on the gauge. The engine will get nice and hot if you lost your water and didn't notice.

Oil viscosity is not that important, so long as you have enough in there. And a few mm over the full line is not a biggie.... no engine sold to the public will be damaged by having 250 ml too much oil

Cheers...... jondee86

[skoty]

i
drain the oil and look for shinny bits in the metal " you rings and bearing mite be shot " or oil pump but i dobt it would be this

Been there, done that Quite a scaring and costly experience!

[agrath]

When the oil hit the crank it made that sound.... must have been REAL hot down there... smoked a bit too

I think my oil is overfull and when it heats up it hits the crank and makes the sound... i'm gonna drain some out tommorrow and give the engine a good clean as suggested by slntkngt (he came over while he was out this way and reved the car a few times and had a listen, he seems to think theres no permanent damage and its just too much oil)

I suppose I could probably do it now, in fact I might.

[Silent Knight]

well i had a listen to it and didn't hear any gurgling etc. sounds coming from the motor. there was a bit of oil round the rocker covers and gasket etc.

like i said before drain out excess oil and clean engine gud all round. warm up and take for little drive then check again if you can see any oil leaking from anywhere.

there's nothing else that i can see/hear that might be wrong the motor cept for oil overfilling which is bad if it's too full.

[CAMB01]

If you overfill and engine say 1/2 a litre or more the crankcase has trouble breathing and forces the seals out causing oil leaks, learned from experience.

[agrath]

well i had a listen to it and didn't hear any gurgling etc. sounds coming from the motor. there was a bit of oil round the rocker covers and gasket etc.

like i said before drain out excess oil and clean engine gud all round. warm up and take for little drive then check again if you can see any oil leaking from anywhere.

there's nothing else that i can see/hear that might be wrong the motor cept for oil overfilling which is bad if it's too full.

yup tho it only gurgled when i stopped after actually driving rather than just idling and reving engine. i drained some out tonight and did all the cleaning too... so tommorrow i have to check the oil and take it for a drive...
yes i did it in the dark, in the rain and with a broken ratchet. Win.

[Mr Revhead]

doesnt take much oil to make a lot of smoke... a table spoon on a manifold is enough to make it look like youv got a dozen pot heads under ya bonnet.

[agrath]

okay, i drained some oil out, then topped it back up to fullish...
let it idle for a few mins
then took it for a 500m drive around the block...
when i pulled back into the drive and stopped to check the car, there was lots of smoke, and a crackling noise

a few moments later i looked at the dash and the light under the oil light had come on, radiator i think...
temp was okay
since i used water to try and wash some excess oil off, (yeah i know oil and water dont mix but im broke) is this likely to be just excess water burning off the outside of the radiator raising the temp?

i'm getting most despondant

[jondee86]

Man !!!! It sure sounds like you are running without water !!! If the engine is hot enough to fry the oil it should have been blowing steam like geyser !!!

No steam means no water.... and the gauge won't tell you the engine is hot because it needs water around the sensor to get a reading. My apologies if you already checked the water level, but it's the things you take for granted that often catch you out !!

Cheers..... jondee86