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Re-ring engine while still in car

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  #21  
Old 08-03-2012, 09:24 AM
Eva89's Avatar
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.....And I'm back! Thank you.
 
  #22  
Old 08-03-2012, 03:03 PM
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10-40 year around should be fine.
 
  #23  
Old 08-04-2012, 02:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Eva892

UnclJohn - I was going to ask what weight oil I should use. I was considering 20W50 while it is still summer here. I live in northeastern PA, so winters are cold, but it's been in the 90's all summer long. I'm thinking 20W50 in summer, and 10W40 in winter.

I will watch oil consumption as the car is driven more and update everyone on how the car is doing....if I don't get banned again! Then I might have to change to yet another username to update again....
If you go look at the oil viscosity vs temperature chart which at one time was pretty much the standard in suggesting proper oil weights and in my opinion despite heavy advertising of extended wear high mileage variations of what still is light weight oils
A 10W oil, a winter grade is safe to run down to 14 degrees. A temperature range that is quite adequate and expect-able in Pennsylvania. A 40 weight oil is equally acceptable up to 104 degrees. so a 10W 40 multi-viscosity oil
is certainly an acceptable grade of oil.
And if you think about things for a moment, a chart such as that gives suggestions based on average usage of your car and average winter/summer driving.
There are explanations and I am also sure exceptions such as you drive 300 miles a day or all you do is go to the post office every Thursday. The first might well suggest you go to one step heavier in oil used, the 2nd a step lighter and that should make some logical sense once thought of.
Also take into consideration the age and mileage of your car.
100,000 miles is generally considered high mileage so a heavier oil could be recommended just because of the age.
However the suggested 10W40 multi-viscosity oil is a perfectly valid suggestion and I am sure a steady diet of it would be beneficial in the long run.
If the car was mine and I still lived near Rochester N.Y. which is similar to living some where in Pennsylvania that is what I would use.
Where I live I see triple digit daily temperatures a third of the year. I rarely if ever see freezing unless I am in the mountains over night which is rather rare for me.
So I choose to use a 20w50 because it fits the temperature range, I can and although it is getting harder to get due to the market being flooded with manufacturer suggested winter grade oils. I will continue to use that grade as long as I can find it.
I do not have a personal recommendation as to brand. Although if you are going to use a synthetic, Mobil one is about 1 to 2 dollars cheaper a quart and you can argue cost justification in using it. I don't see any reason other than cost to choose it over other synthetics.
 
  #24  
Old 09-02-2012, 10:09 PM
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Hmmmm.... "OMC Engine Tuner"....agile (well, that might be stretching it a bit) minds immediately wonder if this process would do any good for those of us that have the 1.9dohc's that are sipping oil at about a quart per thousand miles or so, but not smoking yet....I think I remember seeing somewhere that it's not our rings but an actual ring down around the bottom of the piston that is the culprit...wonder if the penetration from the top of the cylinder would be good enough to free it up?
 
  #25  
Old 09-03-2012, 07:47 AM
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Originally Posted by timmerz
Hmmmm.... "OMC Engine Tuner"....agile (well, that might be stretching it a bit) minds immediately wonder if this process would do any good for those of us that have the 1.9dohc's that are sipping oil at about a quart per thousand miles or so, but not smoking yet....I think I remember seeing somewhere that it's not our rings but an actual ring down around the bottom of the piston that is the culprit...wonder if the penetration from the top of the cylinder would be good enough to free it up?
A little knowledge might be good here as to what exactly is being talked about. Such what exactly is a piston and it's rings?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston
This simple explanation shows a line drawing of a piston and an explanation of what rings do. The top is called a compression ring, it generally is one of three rings although it can be one of four. The bottom one is called an oil control ring. And notice it goes in the bottom groove which is also close to the top of the piston.
It's purpose as suggested by it's name is to control the oil so that it does not get past the all of the rings into the combustion chamber. The oil control ring can loose it's effectiveness when it gets stuck due to carbon build up as a function of time which can be a function of excessive heat and wear. Either of which can be caused by either a lot of mileage or very light weight oil used by the owner and driver. Which can be used as a suggested use by the manufacturer who's primary interest is fuel consumption which can be measured and verified to make advertising claims sound better. 'Specially since once the warranty is over they don't care about how long the engine lasts using a heavier oil which is actually better for engine life.
If you notice, the piston "Rings" are all at the top of the piston. Not the bottom.
Also the explanation indicates the fit loosely and that is by design, how loose? There are specifications available to define that, however tight is not loose and when they are tight they no longer function correctly and oil consumption is going to be increased.
By the time that happen excessive wear and damage has taken place and no engine fix it in a can is going to fix the basic problem. However if the oil ring or and other is stuck thus tight which aggravates the problem and they can be loosened up to function better than that is something that can be tried. And if done with in reason it will not hurt anything to do so.
It is an age old problem and fix. Over years many chemicals have been sold to supposedly help if used. Some actually worked. Others? Were mostly hype. In some cases it was not un-common to use Coca-Cola for the same thing. The Bardahl company made a life time of profits offering products of this nature one of which is this:
http://www.bardahl.com/products/oil-...-tune-up-flush
The point being, maybe if a heavier oil had been used from time zero Saturns and many others may not be in this position today but the aftermarket recognizing a market place have been making products to solve problems that make money by selling them have been doing this about as long as the gasoline engine has been around. Some of which have actually done some good.
 
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