Oil question What the manual says, vs. what Dad says.

Hi, all,
I have a 96 Saturn SL, and it's begun to burn oil when I really give it the
gas. I can see a cloud behind me. My Dad told me that I might be able to
alleviate that by using 10w40, instead of the 5w30 the manual calls for.
I live in Michigan, so it's going to get cold. Is there any truth to the
statement that this will stop the oil from burning? And, will it hurt my
engine, if I switch? I'm under the impression that the thicker oil will make
starting harder, especially in the winter, and that if the oil is too thick, it
won't protect the engine.
Any thoughts or insights? I'd appreciate them,
Tedrick

What year? How many miles? How much oil is it consuming and under what type
of normal driving conditions?

Background: Saturn engines tend to burn oil after they have been broken in
(> 60K miles), but from what I've been able to gather listening to other
owners and confirmed in reading this newsgroup, burning a quart every 1500
miles is "normal" and does not appear to have a major affect on the
vehicle's reliability or longevity. You just need to check it frequently
and add to keep it full between changes.

The 10W40 oil or other off the shelf additives would likely help reduce your
consumption slightly, but I personally would not recommend it for use in MI
during the winter. If you do a google search on "Saturn oil consumption" or
"oil burning", it should turn up at least a couple of different threads over
the last year in this newsgroup that provided a detailed cylinder soak
procedure that seemed to help others unstick rings and halve their
consumption.

Good luck.

Bob

"TSMANGOD" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, all,
> I have a 96 Saturn SL, and it's begun to burn oil when I really give it
the
> gas. I can see a cloud behind me. My Dad told me that I might be able to
> alleviate that by using 10w40, instead of the 5w30 the manual calls for.
> I live in Michigan, so it's going to get cold. Is there any truth to
the
> statement that this will stop the oil from burning? And, will it hurt my
> engine, if I switch? I'm under the impression that the thicker oil will
make
> starting harder, especially in the winter, and that if the oil is too
thick, it
> won't protect the engine.
> Any thoughts or insights? I'd appreciate them,
> Tedrick

"TSMANGOD" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, all,
> I have a 96 Saturn SL, and it's begun to burn oil when I really
give it the
> gas. I can see a cloud behind me. My Dad told me that I might be
able to
> alleviate that by using 10w40, instead of the 5w30 the manual calls
for.
> I live in Michigan, so it's going to get cold. Is there any truth
to the
> statement that this will stop the oil from burning? And, will it
hurt my
> engine, if I switch? I'm under the impression that the thicker oil
will make
> starting harder, especially in the winter, and that if the oil is
too thick, it
> won't protect the engine.
> Any thoughts or insights? I'd appreciate them,
> Tedrick

If you are going to a 10W base oil, it would be better to use 10W-30,
as the 10W-40 doesn't meet Saturn specifications. Your impression is
pretty much correct. The thicker oil will put more strain on the
starter, but won't harm the engine. I've run 10W-30 during the summer
and 5W-30 during the winter. I'm currently using Mobil 1 10W-30 and
plan on using it this winter. The better cold flow capability of the
synthetic should help. The Saturn ('96 SL2) is now my son's. Our 2
other vehicles both use 10W-30 year-round and I'd rather just deal
with the 1 weight of oil.

Ken

Napalm Heart wrote:

> If you are going to a 10W base oil, it would be better to use 10W-30,
> as the 10W-40 doesn't meet Saturn specifications. Your impression is
> pretty much correct. The thicker oil will put more strain on the
> starter, but won't harm the engine. I've run 10W-30 during the summer
> and 5W-30 during the winter. I'm currently using Mobil 1 10W-30 and
> plan on using it this winter. The better cold flow capability of the
> synthetic should help. The Saturn ('96 SL2) is now my son's. Our 2
> other vehicles both use 10W-30 year-round and I'd rather just deal
> with the 1 weight of oil.

Why not use 5W30 then? Even GM has pretty much stopped
recommending 10W30 for anything. At normal operating
temperatures, 10W30 and 5W30 have virtually the same
viscosity. At 0 degrees, the 5W30 will flow better. And a
conventional 5W30 will flow better than 10W30 Mobil 1 at 0
degrees, although this is likely not true at significantly
lower temperatures, since the Mobil one does not thicken as
much as the temperature decreases below 0 as most
conventional oils. I have seen nothing that indicated 5W30
is more likely to break down with normal usage than 10W30,
so I see no advantage to using 10W30 unless it is cheaper.
In a relatively warm climate, the difference is trivial.
However, even in balmy North Carolina we have a few days
where the temperature is below zero (centigrade, not
Fahrenheit), so I think 5W30 is the correct "all season"
choice for me.

Ed

I run 10w30 all year here in NY. Before I rebuilt the engine due to oil
burning, I would throw in a quart of 10w40 here and there......

I wouldn't hesitate to run 10w30 through the winters and 10w40 in the summer if
you want.

I have tried everything. The dealer told me to use a 15W-50, so I put in
the Mobil 1 syn. Still not helping. I'll rebuild the engine when i get
back from the War in a year. It will burn oil regardless, just keep
checking it and don't waste money like me on the expensive stuff. I've
tried all the fillers, every different brand of Sny Castrol, Royal Purple
and even that restore stuff. The engine just gets tired. There is no
Viagra for the common car.
Good Luck,
Matt
"TSMANGOD" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, all,
> I have a 96 Saturn SL, and it's begun to burn oil when I really give it
> the
> gas. I can see a cloud behind me. My Dad told me that I might be able to
> alleviate that by using 10w40, instead of the 5w30 the manual calls for.
> I live in Michigan, so it's going to get cold. Is there any truth to the
> statement that this will stop the oil from burning? And, will it hurt my
> engine, if I switch? I'm under the impression that the thicker oil will
> make
> starting harder, especially in the winter, and that if the oil is too
> thick, it
> won't protect the engine.
> Any thoughts or insights? I'd appreciate them,
> Tedrick

There is a TSB out on saturns burning oil.

In short, if you soak the pistons overnight by putting GM top end cleaner in
the cylinders, it unsticks the rings, and tends to greatly improve the oil
burning issue.

Hunt around with dejanews in the archives - you'll probably find it. Search
for excessive oil consumption TSB and you should find it.

"TSMANGOD" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, all,
> I have a 96 Saturn SL, and it's begun to burn oil when I really give it
> the
> gas. I can see a cloud behind me. My Dad told me that I might be able to
> alleviate that by using 10w40, instead of the 5w30 the manual calls for.
> I live in Michigan, so it's going to get cold. Is there any truth to the
> statement that this will stop the oil from burning? And, will it hurt my
> engine, if I switch? I'm under the impression that the thicker oil will
> make
> starting harder, especially in the winter, and that if the oil is too
> thick, it
> won't protect the engine.
> Any thoughts or insights? I'd appreciate them,
> Tedrick

Going to 10W40 will cause more harm than good especially if you are in a
cold weather area.

As others have mentioned, a dose of Top Engine Cleaner is said to often make
a big difference in oil consumption on these engines..

--
Robert Hancock Saskatoon, SK, Canada
To email, remove "nospam" from
Home Page: http://www.roberthancock.com/


"TSMANGOD" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, all,
> I have a 96 Saturn SL, and it's begun to burn oil when I really give it
> the
> gas. I can see a cloud behind me. My Dad told me that I might be able to
> alleviate that by using 10w40, instead of the 5w30 the manual calls for.
> I live in Michigan, so it's going to get cold. Is there any truth to the
> statement that this will stop the oil from burning? And, will it hurt my
> engine, if I switch? I'm under the impression that the thicker oil will
> make
> starting harder, especially in the winter, and that if the oil is too
> thick, it
> won't protect the engine.
> Any thoughts or insights? I'd appreciate them,
> Tedrick

Tedrick:
If it's not too late, as far as reading posts and getting a solution,
I found that owner's manuals recommend a range of SAE's, so - have a
look at what synthetic engine lube, like Amsoil's 5w-30 options and
maybe a fuel additive like Amsoil's P.I. You can see these at
www.lubedealer.com/hiebert

My Dad, RIP, only knew what his dad taught him about oil, but if he
were alive today, he would be first one to try something better. He
was the first in town to build a guitar from scratch. He died before
he could see a farm tractor start in 40 below with Amsoil.

Tedrick,

Matt,

You can stop this oil burning permanently. Here's the story. I
bought a Saturn '95 SL2 a couple of years ago and the engine was
burning oil quite miserably- at least a quart every 500 miles. I lost
track of the oil level and the engine gave up the ghost while on I75.
So after I had a second engine put in the car I searched for best ways
to treat the Saturn. I found out about bypass filters, these
secondary filters that are so thick that they remove particles much
smaller and more effectively than the OEM filter can. The government
did and is doing tests on these filters and find them excellent. I
decided to install the Frantz filter made by www.wefilterit.com. Not
only does the filter eliminate engine wear providing 2-3x longer
engine life (proven by the SAE), it also helps the moving engine
components to seat properly and thus will lower oil consumption. In
fact my engine now has eliminated the oil burning completely! You may
not believe me but the only remedy is to prove to yourself by doing a
little research on the internet. And if you are so inclined it takes
about a couple days of planning and 2-3 days of work. The effort is
worth it because in the end you get a cleaner/ quieter running engine
and the peace of mind when it stops burning oil.

Here are some pictures of my installation:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...;f=36;t=000144

Check this out:
http://www.uscg.mil/SYSTEMS/GSE/P2OA.2-1-1.htm