Oil And Levels

[is200 Newbie]

.... so ... thinking about it .... from what I have read, then the cleaner the engine and the better condition the engine is in then the oil will take longer to turn black.

But that would also, I suppose, depend on how hard its driven

[toffee_pie]

I never used engine flush, someone told me its not good, it removes natural lubriacants from the engine and that makes sense, modern petrol engines should need nothing more than good quality oil at regular change intervals.

Incidentally it seems both of us have done oil changes at exactly the same time, i used Castrol 5w30 which i always use, When I had it changed it was not up at the max, i guess i did not give enough oil but it was very close to the top.

I looked at the oil last week and it was basically in the same place, i have done 3 tank fills of petrol in this time.

The milage on this car is 55k, my last honda accord was on about 140k and that did not use oil!, also put Castrol into that.

[johnatg]

What 'natural lubricants'?

If you've ever seen the internals of an engine which has not had an oil change for 20K miles or so, you'll know that a hard varnish-like gum forms on many surfaces and black sludge gets deposited in corners.

Regular oil changes avoid the sludge, but clearly the gum starts to form soon after an oil change, slowly at first then, when the oil change is neglected, more quickly. New clean oil does dissolve it to some extent but there's going to be some formation even after a couple of thousand miles.

Engine flush dissolves the gum, loosens any sludge and reduces the viscosity of the oil, so that more crud is drained out. If an engine is very heavily sludged up, using flush can loosen big lumps which may get trapped in small oil ways, so it may not be a good idea in that case.

I find that engines stay cleaner for longer (and we are talking in terms of hundreds of thousands of miles) if flush is used regularly.

Also, it's particularly important that engines with hydraulic valve lifters (that's many - most? - engines today and includes IS250) are kept free of gum. It forms in the fine channels in the lifters and causes the characteristic rattle on start up (amongst others, Mk 1 Mazda MX-5s are particularly prone to this - so much so that Mazda reverted to solid lifters with shims for the Mk 2). I have a '92 Mk 1 and it is silent on start up - and it has been flushed at every oil change for the last 22 years (admittedly only 60-odd K miles)

[is200 Newbie]

Hi John

Agree with you totally ... it does make sense to keep the engine innards as clean as possible - you don't want stuff flowing round that should not be there. I have also flushed the engine at every change. Was thinking of missing the next flush out just to see what change it made to the oil. But thinking about it now I will more than likely just change the brand to compare the difference.

On the last car I had I even went to the point of adding two tins of the Wynns flush on an occasion as I thought I would give it a good clean - had no damaging effect. It smells a bit like paraffin which I guess helps to remove the deposits in the engine.

[is200 Newbie]

Car is now on 78,436 miles - having done 400 miles last week and 1447miles (8 weeks) since the initial oil change.

The level has not changed since last check and the colour is the same.

[toffee_pie]

my oil, am on 4th tank since the oil change in early june, don't think it has gone down anything really.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xn225axp11bxr3u/20140802_203049.jpg

[is200 Newbie]

Car is now on 78,550 miles - 114 miles done since checking last week and 1561 miles done since the oil change.

No change in colour and level this week.

[Captain Fizz]

Thanks for the updates - Nice thread :)

Just an aside - Is it normal for deisel oil to be BLACK pretty much just after being changed...

The garage I bought it from advised they'd just changed the oil, but it was black the moment I checked the oil.

[toffee_pie]

yeah, Diesels go black immediately.!

[is200 Newbie]

Car is now on 78,682 - 132 miles done since last checking the oil and 1693 miles since initially changing

No change in the level - its still the same at a 3rd of a litre used. Colour seems lighter this week but may be the light shining on the oil.

[is200 Newbie]

Car is now on 78761 miles - 79 miles done this week (tried not to use it as much due to a sensor failure) - 1772 miles travelled since changing the oil.

level and colour is still the same.

Will be interesting to see what affect changing both Bank 1 and 2 sensors have on it if any.

[is200 Newbie]

89 miles on since last check last week (car now on 78850 miles) - 1854 miles and 3 months ago since the oil was changed.

Oil level still the same - colour and levels the same as last week.

[is200 Newbie]

82 miles on since last weeks reading, car now on 78,932, 1936 miles done since the oil change and 13 weeks later .... oil still at the same level as last week. No change in the colour.

[North west beast]

The Castrol edge Is the best .i always used that ,it use to be called Castrol rs .magnatec is pants .

[Shepherd]

Hi is200 Newbie

Did you use Castrol edge 0w-30 or 5w-30? Castrol website seem to be recommending 0w-30 for the is250.

[North west beast]

Hi is200 Newbie

Did you use castrol edge 0w-30 or 5w-30? Castrol website seem to be recommending 0w-30 for the is250.

I used 5 w 30 mate but the 0w 30 will be just as much the same so I wouldn't worry about which one .

[Shepherd]

Thanks, I'll try 5w 30 this time. Its going to be due soon. Mine consumes about a litre every 3K miles but its run 140K now so I am not so worried

[is200 Newbie]

Hi Shepherd

I used the 5w / 30 on this change

I would recommend doing an oil flush before changing oil as I think it stays cleaner longer but that's just my opinion.

[toffee_pie]

this is my oil, 2,100 miles since oil change.

Castrol 5w30 i use.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nuva38p3q4rvpaz/20140907_163843.jpg?dl=0

[juicestop]

I always use Castrol Edge (hope all you guys are using the same) 5w30, the Castrol Magnatec is, as pointed out by North west beast, pants!

[toffee_pie]

how is it pants? i have used it in my honda and in this lexus and they both run superb, how better can Castrol edge be i am intrigued?

[juicestop]

My previous car had an oil change with Magnatec, thought it was ok until next change was done with Edge. Immediately noticed the difference (I'm talking about when the changes were done and not comparing 1yr Magnatec against new Edge) and also the longevity of the smooth running engine after the change. It does cost more but it's well worth it.

[toffee_pie]

I have not noticed anything wrong with magnatec, can give edge a try next time out of interest

[is200 Newbie]

This weeks reading

Car is on 79237, done 305 miles last week. 2248 miles travelled since the oil was changed on the 7th of June 2014

Colour and level is still the same as last week. The only difference so far has been the drop in oil the week when I had used it in the manual mode. Also a change on the car recently in having the fuel/air sensors replaced..

[is200 Newbie]

Car is now on 79,682 - done 445 miles since the reading two weeks ago (car has been standing for a week while on holiday) 2693 miles have been done since the oil was changed back in June.

Oil seems darker than the last reading but this could be due to it standing for a week - reading was taken before I started the car. Will have a look to see what the colour is next week.

I am planning an oil change in December (6 months usage) so there's just over two months left until the 6 months running on this oil is up.