20W 50 Is Good For An Old Lancer????

[LancerL]

Please advice me is 20W 50 good for an old lancer 4G32 Saturn engine which has totally driven nearly 200,000 and has done a full engine repair about 10,000Km back..

Thanks in advance..

[The Don]

I think it should be ok. Have you been changing oil more frequently since the engine repair?

[LancerL]

I got this just 1month back back from a reseller, he just mentioned that the engine has fully repaired! but couldn't get more info from him.. :-(

[The Don]

I got this just 1month back back from a reseller, he just mentioned that the engine has fully repaired! but couldn't get more info from him.. :-(

To be honest either xW40 or xW50 should be ok for your car. X denotes winter viscosity which is irrelevant in SL. I think its safe to assume the engine by this point has been broken in and conditioned (after an engine repair you end up with a lot of worn metal particles in the oil from the excessive friction while parts like new piston rings and sleeves bed in, hence you have to change oil a little more frequently.) so a normal oil change should suffice. Remember in SL this is at least once a year if not running much or at least twice a year or every 5-10,000km or so whichever comes first (the variation is due to the quality of the oil. Some people change as low as every 3000km though I think that is a little excessive).

[CARBON B4]

I got this just 1month back back from a reseller, he just mentioned that the engine has fully repaired! but couldn't get more info from him.. :-(

If I were you I would get a lot more information when someone says the engine was fully repaired... like what exactly was the problem for the repair and what was replaced and how many oil changes done after the repair etc...

Just like what Don has mentioned its good to do at least 2 quick oil changes after the engine is re-built.

[LancerL]

Dear friends, thank you very much for all the advices..

the guy i brought this was a reseller and he was not aware about those information and I couldn't contact the original person who has done the repair..

@Don : twice a year or every 5-10,000km, don't you think this is too much, hence most people advice to do it in every 3,000+Kms or your referring synthetic oil?

As I was aware 20w 50 are available in small retail shops and they measure and give the amount we want, I think its called "Lanka Super". Will this be ok for me or do I have to go for a branded 4Ltr cane?

Thanks.

[Amila G]

If I were you I'll always get branded cans and never the "measure and give type". You cannot be sure what they'll give you.

Always use good quality oils.

On a side note I think the "w" rating is not that irrelevant. It's the cold viscosity grade of the oil. 90% of the normal engine wear occurs during the time between the start up and oil reaching operating temperature, So a thinner oil will lubricate the engine better during start ups.

Also since it s newly rebuilt engine doesn't the 50 grade too thick ? I'd probably chose a 15w - 40 over 20w 50.

I'm no expert by any means and these are the things I found when searching for oils. Btw I use 10w 30 toyota oil for mine but will be switching to 15w-40 mobil as she's burning a bit of oil. After all she's done almost 200k now.

[The Don]

Dear friends, thank you very much for all the advices..

the guy i brought this was a reseller and he was not aware about those information and I couldn't contact the original person who has done the repair..

@Don : twice a year or every 5-10,000km, don't you think this is too much, hence most people advice to do it in every 3,000+Kms or your referring synthetic oil?

As I was aware 20w 50 are available in small retail shops and they measure and give the amount we want, I think its called "Lanka Super". Will this be ok for me or do I have to go for a branded 4Ltr cane?

Thanks.

Even in our harsh climate modern multi grade and often semi synthetic oils should not degrade before 10,000 KMs in regular use (the manufacturers normally vouch for over 10,000 miles not km)). But this is also dependent on the car. If you are using mineral oil perhaps 3-5000 is a good idea but you have to realise what a short distance 3-5000km is. For example I once did a drive up to Inverness in Scotland from Newcastle and back over 2 days and racked up nearly 1000km. Though the climate is milder remember the engine operating temperatures are the same wherever the car is (the cooling system regulates that).

Engine oil has come a long way since these cars were manufactured and modern oils are not as susceptible to chemical breakdown as it once used to be and multi grade oils have greatly improved performance at low temperatures and reduced engine wear at start up.

Just keep an eye out to see how quickly the oil discolours cos this might indicate issues like carbon build up etc (though it shouldn't on a newly rebuilt engine).

the 50 viscosity oil does sound a little thick but I don't think it will harm the engine (particularly an older engine) though you might have a slight negative impact on fuel economy.

How much do you run the car per month?

[LancerL]

@ AmilaG what are the best branded oils on the market which will suits for me? and how much it will be..

can I straightly flush the current one and fill with new one or is there a best way to do it, hence those are two different oil brands.

@The Don I used to run nearly 1000Km per month..

[The Don]

@ AmilaG what are the best branded oils on the market which will suits for me? and how much it will be..

can I straightly flush the current one and fill with new one or is there a best way to do it, hence those are two different oil brands.

@The Don I used to run nearly 1000Km per month..

So once every 6 months is adequate even with the most basic oil.

[TheClutch]

guys this is a related question..

i bought a ek3 Vi 1996 recently and changed the oil last week after 3500 kms.and i used mobil fully synthetic(5w-50) since the previous owner also used the same oil for nearly 1 year. (have service records and bought the car on very next day he has changed the oil) odo is reading about 131000..and my question is..

is fully synth good for a car that have 131k in odo..??..

and im feeling a bit less pulling power(less pickup) after the oil change hearing a whizzing noise when accelerating ..what could be the issue??? fuel consumption remains the same about 10-11 in city with ac in mild traffic..

[The Don]

guys this is a related question..

i bought a ek3 Vi 1996 recently and changed the oil last week after 3500 kms.and i used mobil fully synthetic(5w-50) since the previous owner also used the same oil for nearly 1 year. (have service records and bought the car on very next day he has changed the oil) odo is reading about 131000..and my question is..

is fully synth good for a car that have 131k in odo..??..

and im feeling a bit less pulling power(less pickup) after the oil change hearing a whizzing noise when accelerating ..what could be the issue??? fuel consumption remains the same about 10-11 in city with ac in mild traffic..

5W-50 is a little too thick I think, try 5W-40 or 10W-40. Remember thicker oil requires more energy from the engine to pump around. Using fully synthetic is OK, just if you ever decided to switch back to mineral make sure you flush the oil with mineral oil a few times over before you switch.