Oil

[Edik90]

I have a 1992 Corolla with 244,000 on it and when I change my oil I put in 10w-30 and a bottle of Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer. When I recently changed the oil, it had a water like texture. Is there something wrong with my engine or is it normal because when I changed the oil in an Astro it was thick but mine was runny almost like water.

[rockwood84]

are you saying it was thin or are you saying it had white creamy look to the oil?

[Edik90]

It was thin and dark like old oil usually is. Do you think I can put in Mobil 1 High Mileage into my engine?

[spytearbite]

All that additive is an old stage coach cowboy city slicker coming into town. Get the drift on that? All that molecule chain and all that is, goobullygop more high tech jet plane oil in the big bucks seat.

Chocolate oil is water in the oil is a head gasket blown. You have water in the radiator? Is it low?

Probably that additive might have been water'down enough to act like someone filled the crankcase with gasoline like a float was stuck and poured in half the gas tank and now the oil is like water.

Change your oil and forget that stuff. Plain old boiled crude still keeps the milk churning. Save your money.

[rockwood84]

yeah if you want a thicker oil put in a 40w and all that hype about high-milage is usually a gimmick to get a little more for a quart of already too high priced oil . i just use whatever weight the cap or owners manual calls for most of the oil is a multiblend that is sold today but you can still get 30w,40w,and 50w. if you want to run a thicker oil 40w is a good weight oil.

[myjeep]

How many miles on the oil that came our like water?
Could be too long between changes and broke down.

At your mileage, I'd do a Sea-Foam cleanout and then stick to regular oil changes (3000 miles mostly city driving, or 5000 miles with mostly freeway driving) with a little thicker oil like 20W-50 and lose the additive.

Dan

[rockwood84]

yeah i use 20w-50 in mine ,good weight. the astro probably had a thicker weight oil in it.

[jdmccright]

Using full synthetic in older cars like yours is generally overkill and in some cases can actually harm some of the seals since they were designed to tolerate conventional oil and it's more variable composition. This is especially true for transmissions and differentials.

Though I wouldn't officially plug it, I prefer the semi-synthetic lubes to help with longevity as well as retain some the original lubricity characteristcs (sounds kinky). I have personally liked Valvoline's Max-Life line for along time now, but I'm dabbling in the Lucas Oil line in my truck, using their additives/oils to the engine oil (Max-Life in here too), tranny, and rear diff.

I would NOT recommend straying from the OEM recommended weight as this could lead to oil starvation or at the least poorer fuel economy. This makes the oil harder to pump through and may not be able to flow sufficiently to reach everywhere it's supposed to. If you do use the Lucas or other additive, make sure you follow directions and don't overdo it. And if Seafoam is or was used, it is recommended to change the oil shortly after using it (250-500 miles?) so that any suspended deposits can be removed and flushed out.

Did the oil look thin when draining? Smell burned or unusually black? This is likely from being overdue for changing. You don't mention the mileage interval since the last so it remains a possibility. But as mentioned, if it has a chocolate milk look to it, then there is likely a head gakset break.