dbw@maxvax.UUCP (09/26/84)
My impression of Mobil One oil is that it is a single-weight oil
of low viscosity, and that it keeps its viscosity when it is hot.
Also that it is pretty good, but maybe not worth the price.
Any recommendations, warnings, on the matter?
Dave Wood {hogpc|maxvax}!char!dbw | maxvax!dbw | hogpc!dbw
(all from ihnp4)prg@mgweed.UUCP (Phil Gunsul) (09/27/84)
<<<<<------ this line is not here ------>>>>> I have been using Mobil 1 in my '64 fuel injected Corvette for about 2 years now and have had no problems with the oil. I hate to say anything though, for fear that people may leap on my body and do severe harm to it for making such a statement (ref. the poor fella' that made a statement about the 3.7 second 0-60 -- or was that 3.3 ;-) )!! Seriously, the car engine has about 74,000 miles on it and I was concerned about putting this synthetic material into the ol' mill and having it come apart (engine or oil)! The car does not get driven much in the winter, but does regularly get started when cold, so I can't say to much about what it would be like in severe (lower than 0 degrees) weather. In the summer, when we go out to play in the streets, the oil pressure holds at about 35-40 on idle and 80 when driving, hot or cold. The only thing that bothers me is that I don't hear of many other people that are using it. Phil Gunsul ( 0 - warp3 in 5 nanoseconds!!)
dw@rocksvax.UUCP (Don Wegeng) (10/01/84)
I've been using Mobil 1 for about a year now in my '83 Saab 900S.
I'm very satisfied. It seems to help the car
start in cold weather (it gets cold here in Rochester).
Go for it.
/Don
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
arpa: Wegeng.Henr@Xerox.ARPA
uucp: {allegra,princeton,decvax!rochester,amd,sunybcs}!rocksvax!dw
|| ihnp4!tropix!ritcv!rocksvax!dw
--
/Don
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
arpa: Wegeng.Henr@Xerox.ARPA
uucp: {allegra,princeton,decvax!rochester,amd,sunybcs}!rocksvax!dw
|| ihnp4!tropix!ritcv!rocksvax!dwpwv@fluke.UUCP (Pat Vilbrandt) (10/03/84)
[... slip-slide me some oil ...]
-The Tin Man (Nipsy Russel)
"THE WIZ"
I, too, had many questions about synthetic oils and had heard many
(unsubstantiated) horror stories about their use, so I decided to try my own
(moderately) controlled experiment. I bought a shiny new Subaru 4WD wagon in
Sept. of '77 and after the 1000 mi. check, ignoring the warranty warnings I
put Mobil 1 synthetic oil in the crankcase. Thereafter, I changed the oil
filter every 4-5K mi. and changed the oil every 25K mi. (I drive about 40
mi./day, mainly highway.) The oil consumption has been one quart every 1.5-2K
mi. (mostly up the PCV hoses, I think).
As for cost, at $3.95 (typ.) a quart, this schedule cost me about $0.0030/mi.
Comparing this to using, say Penzoil 10W40 (my next choice after Mobil 1) at
~$1.10/qt on a 5K mi. change schedule, the cost would be about $0.0016/mi. So
the lubricant cost works out to about double.
The engine always performed well. The only external effect of using the
synthetic was that the engine stayed relatively clean. What little synthetic
oil leaked out of the engine didn't break down into sludge like petroleum
based lubricants do. I theorized that this was true for the inside of the
engine as well.
After ~85K mi., as the result of engine block failure, I had the pleasant
opportunity of tearing the engine down and rebuilding it. I was very
pleasantly surprised at the overall condition of the engine, except of course
for the problem that led me into the rebuild in the first place. There were
almost no deposits or varnish at all in the engine. Most importantly, close
inspection of the bearings, journals, wrist pins, rings, et. al. with
micrometers and calipers showed almost no discernible wear (most within the
normal to high side of the range for "new"). The only exception were the
thrust surfaces on the center main which showed about 0.003" of combined wear,
still well within the tolerance range (clearance limit 0.012").
For a 1600cc four banger driven relatively hard, I feel that the condition of
the engine warranted the additional expense of Mobil 1.
NOTE and WARNING to other Subaru owners of similar vintages: The engine block
failure I speak of was caused by overheating (loss of coolant from water pump
seal failure while highway driving). I didn't think the overheating was bad
since I noticed the temp. gauge was high before I lost all coolant and stopped
to add water which got me home. However, the engine block design (steel
sleeves in an aluminum block) leaves the "bottoms" of the cylinders relatively
unsupported. This overheating caused the bottoms of the cylinders to "sag"
and stretch so that they were about 0.005" to large and up to 0.008" out of
round. (I say "bottoms", however, Subaru engines are a horizontally opposed
flat four, so it was really the "back" of the cylinder.) This resulted, of
course, in compression loss and excessive oil burning at the bottom of the
stroke.
I do not, in any way, relate this problem to lubricant failure, since there
was no cylinder scoring or wear. The relatively "thin" Mobil 1 (rated 5W30)
appeared to have kept its film strength even when the engine overheated, for
what it's worth. This is a distinct advantage of synthetics over regular
petroleum based oils, I feel.
So, after a 0.025" over rebore, new pistons and rings, the Sube is back on the
road with Mobil 1 and 99+K mi., and probably will go another 99+K (I watch the
coolant level religiously now).
DISCLAIMER:
My experience has been with MOBIL 1, a 100% synthetic oil. I have used no
other materials or additives. I have had no experience with any other
synthetics. I have no interest in Mobil Oil Co. or Subaru of America,
financial or otherwise. This is only personal experience. I make no
recommendations either pro or con for any of their products. Nyah, Nyah,
Nyah.--
Pat Vilbrandt
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
Everett, Washington USA
{ uw-beaver, decvax!microsoft, ucbvax!lbl-csam, allegra, ssc-vax }!fluke!pwvdan@digi-g.UUCP (Dan Messinger) (10/09/84)
In article <> pwv@fluke.UUCP (Pat Vilbrandt) writes: >I bought a shiny new Subaru 4WD wagon in >Sept. of '77 and after the 1000 mi. check, ignoring the warranty warnings I >put Mobil 1 synthetic oil in the crankcase. > >The oil consumption has been one quart every 1.5-2K >mi. (mostly up the PCV hoses, I think). > (I'm not picking on you, Pat. It was just your article that brought this to mind) I heard that the cylinders of a new engine are not a smooth as they could be, and that during the breakin period, the pistons hone the cylinders much smoother. For this reason, it is best NOT to switch the the synthetics until after the breakin period (The improved lubricating properties on the synthetics reduce the honing effect). And as stated by others previously, you don't want to wait too long, or there will be excessive deposits throughout the engine. I switched to Mobil 1 after 10K miles in my Blazer. After 5K additional miles, I have only lost a half a quart. Dan Messinger ihnp4!umn-cs!digi-g!dan