Switching to thicker oils on an older engine

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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2004
Posts
10,830
Location
Kent
Is it true that a thicker oil may prevent loss in an older, more worn engine? My 1999 Focus 1.6 has been faultless since I owned it, but I have noticed that it tends to use oil. Ive scratched my head trying to figure out how and why; it doesn't leak anywhere that I can see. There's no mayo in the filler cap or loss of power. Exhaust fumes are clean, it never visibly burns oil. The engine has never failed to start after just one or two cranks and sounds/runs smoothly for a relatively old engine. The only explaination I can come up with is that as it's now jsut voer 10 years old and on about 97K miles, it must simply be using slightly more oil.

Recommended grade is 5W-30 for Zetec engine, but the manual says that 5W-40 and 10W-40 are also acceptable if 5W-30 is unavailable, but at the risk of lower efficiency. Would it be worth switching to one of these thicker oils to slow the oil loss?

The engine is absolutely sound apart from this, lives a sedate life with me and gets serviced annually at home. It's been about 6000 miles since the last service, and I was considering giving the oil a change anyway, but I'd like to now more about oil thickness and if it would help at all before i changed it.
 
I'd just stick with what's been put in it for the rest of it's life, changing oil types/grades can sometimes do more harm than good
 
If the usage isn't excessive then I would just keep topping it up with the recommended stuff. I've seen some manufacturers selling "high mileage" oils though I'm not sure what the difference is?
 
I havent yet checked the oil regularly enough and compared it to how the car is used to see how fast it's consuming oil. However, I did check the Ambiguous Dipstick (TM) the other day and it was quite a way below minimum (admittedly it was a bitterly cold day and the car had been sitting all night without any use), so I panicked and topped up again. The engine hasn't appeared to suffer at all and still sounds smooth. Im assuming the harsh winter has been causing more oil useage than normal though.

I have to admit I don't check the oil routinely - usually it gets checked if it's on the drive after I've just given the insides a quick vacuuming, but that can be as often as every two weeks, or as long as 6. I want to change the oil then get into the routine of checking it once a week, hopefully I can then establish exactly how much it's using and then work out if its excessive or not.
 
11 years and 97k miles is not considered old!
Maybe its worn tappets, a mechanic with a decent ear could tell you. Any blue smoke?
 
lizard king is right. ive got more than twice that mileage but do check the oil regularly. ive not got the first clue where mine goes
 
None at all. Im beginning to wonder if Im being paranoid and that the engine doesn't use as much oil as I think, and that I should just check it more often.
 
mine doesnt burn it. no smoke ever. the other day (in the dark) the inside of the exhaust pipe looked wet/dark. ran my finger on it and it was just condensation.

it barely leaks any now, the oil just disappears lol

put some good fresh oil in, if the current stuff is old it could be being blown out the breather or whatever.

keep an eye on it, but i cant imagine an engine that new smoking away
 
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