5W30 possibly cause a probelm

[Andy123]

So now my mechanic claims that the 5W30 caused a problem with the car.. *Could* of messed up the engine. Didn't explain very well. Oil was thin.. got on to pistons or such. Recommended thicker oil. Car has 75000 miles. Whats your take on this?

By the way car did have blue and black smoke. Found out the oxygen sensor was dead, took care of that problem. Totally dont know what to do now..

Thanks.

 

[99RedGs]

5w30 is just fine for these cars.

The 5 represents start-up thickness and is thinner as to help with start-ups, especially in the winter. After warm-up it becomes a 30 weight oil and is plenty thick for these motors.

10w30 will be thicker on start-up and when it heats up will become a 30 weight oil.

You can you 10w30 on a car that is reccommended for 5w30, since once the oil reaches temperature it is the same weight.


Are you using synthetic on a high mileage motor? Synthetic removes carbon deposits and can actually cause leaks and burning oil because of it. What happens is the carbon which has built up over the years is actually preventing oil from leaking or getting by the rings. If the car was run on regular mineral based oil for a long time and is now being run on synthetic you could actually cause more problems than with just sticking to mineral based oil.

Sounds like you need a different mechanic.



Which O2 sensor did your mechanic tell you was causing problems?

I find that the best way to avoid being taken advantage of when taking your car to a shop is to first do extensive research on what is wrong with your car. When you go in there tell them exactly what you think is wrong and use specific names for the parts. By doing this you show that you have an idea about what needs to be done and they are less likely to try and BS you into having other things fixed that don't need to be fixed.

EX) I had a bad tie-rod end. I fixed it myself and took it in to get an alignment. They asked why I thought i needed an alignment and I told them I had just replaced the tie-rod end. I got a call a few hours later from them saying that I needed new lower ball joints, and since they were not servieable I needed all new arms. I knew this was BS because while changing the tie-rod end I had already checked the rest of my ball joints to make sure they were fine. I was quoted $470 to change them, and when I asked if it was the lateral or compression arm, they just said, "its the straight one" (lateral). They were going to try and charge me $90 per arm when I can get brand new ones from the dealer for ~$30 each. I told them I'd fix them myself and was on my way. If I hadn't researched what was wrong with my car and just said, "Go ahead and fix them." I would be out $470 that didn't need to be spent.

Moral of the story, research what is wrong with your car so you don't get taken advantage of.

 

[Andy123]

my brother actually used synthetic.. but the mechanic took it out..

so now its just regular oil. Now having synthetic in for a couple of days only maybe driving it tops 20 miles cause a big problem?

The front and rear o2 sensors supposed didnt work. Like you can smell the car running rich.. We will be changing the front o2 sensor today

So stressful haha.. wondering if its even worth fixing it up. Like the engine still seemed like it drove fine..

 

[Andy123]

the engine is also relatively clean.. and passed emissions last year. So in one year, id hope not to many things could go wrong

 

[No_Skillz]

I'm a little lost... what are the current symptoms of your "problems?"

 

[Andy123]

ok car did pass safety.
Failed emissions.. the car does have an exhaust leak precat, so you can smell some fumes.
Mechanic said both o2 sensors dont function, car runs rich.
Car did have blue and black smoke coming out of exhaust. So its burning oil and running rich

My main question i guess would be having that synthetic oil for less than a week do a lot of damage? Other than the car is in good conditions and does seem to run fine.

 

[Andy123]

exhaust before hand was normal.. only ran a bit rich. Now its blue assuming its the oil i put in. Just wondering what exactly i couldve messed up? and it is worth fixing (like not a big problem) ??

Thanks

 

[99RedGs]

Synthetic shouldn't "damage" the motor per-say, it basically cleans the motor resulting in removing the carbon deposits. Since I'll assume the car has higher mileage this means the tolerances of everything in the motor have become greater. So if there was carbon build up on the cylinder wall, or on the piston it could have been filling in the greater tolerance that has built up allowing the rings to still seal properly. If the synthetic removed those deposits there could now be a gap between the cylinder wall and the rings where there once was carbon build up.


The upstream O2 sensor (front) is what the computer uses to control fuel etc. The Downstream (back) is basically there just to tell you that you are failing emissions and has no effect on the car running. A dead upstream would cause you to run rich and the motor to run poorly. If you want to make sure that is the problem take the car to autozone/checker/pepboys/ your nearest auto store and borrow their scan tool. They usually let you do it free. It will tell you what codes you are throwing and if you have bad O2 sensors. Replacing an O2 sensor is easy and you should be able to do it yourself with basic tools.

 

[Andy123]

Ok so it shouldnt damage.. so the blue exhaust could have been from the synthetic oil?

No codes were brought up. Only a week ago one came up, the car was running rich for over ten sec was the description of the code. They used a scan tool yesterday and found that both o2 sensors did not work properly.

 

[99RedGs]

Ok so it shouldnt damage.. so the blue exhaust could have been from the synthetic oil?

No codes were brought up. Only a week ago one came up, the car was running rich for over ten sec was the description of the code. They used a scan tool yesterday and found that both o2 sensors did not work properly.

Is the SES light on right now? If not they probably cleared the code after they scanned it. It can take a few trips before it turns back on again. A bad O2 sensor will show up on a scannner. I have a bad downstream right now and it shows up on the scanner.

Are there any mods done to this car?

 

[Andy123]

No lights are on now. They did clear the code. hasnt come up yet again but than the car hasnt been driven much. No, there are no mods at all.

 

[No_Skillz]

If you've only ever used conventional oil in your car, switching to synthetics sometimes is hard on the seals and may cause leaks. However, your motor is young and I'm guessing healthy. You should have no problems making the switch.

Right now, get your car back from the mechanic. It sounds like he doesn't know his ____ from his ____.
Change oil to synthetic (I recommend Mobile1 10w30 with Purolator Pure 1 filter).
Do a compression test.
BLT.
Check turbo for shaft play.

Post back results.

 

[Andy123]

We had synthetic, but the mechanic dumped it all (Royal Purple)
Now he switched with 10w30 with some lucas oil additive. Car does not smoke blue anymore as much.

Deciding on whether to take car back, either way the o2 sensor does have to be changed. There was a bit of shaft play in the turbo, but very minimal.. not enough to start any sorts of problems. Will be doing a boost leak test. Dont know how to do a compression test, ill search it up now, but like i said the engine seems to run fine.. pulls hard.

 

[VPrime]

Go to Club DSM Canada register there, it is a canadian board with A LOT of knowledgeable DSMers in your area that would be willing to help with your car. A Great DSM mechanic in the GTA area is Helder Dapont, look him up on those forums.

 

[Andy123]

alright thanks.. never that board before.