Engine Oil for Maruti 800

[mahilaljayanath]

Since my Maruti 800 burns engine oil, I thought of filling the engine with grade 50 engine oil instead of grade 40 engine oil for the moment. Grade 50 petrol engine oils are not available in the market so my technician said it is ok to use grade 50 diesel engine oil so let it be that.

At service station, the guy took 3 litres of diesel engine oil (grade 50) and filled the engine 3 litres. Now the dip-stick shows the level of engine oil is 4mm above maximum level.

I noticed smoke again, which I thought might disappear after using grade 50 oil.

Why the smoke again?

 

[allhyundaicars]

Re: Engine oil Maruti 800

i don't know if using different grades causes engine burning oil but as the engine gets old , the piston rings also worn out. i think you need to check the piston rings , the oil is escaping and causing oil burn.

and yeah someone said that using thicker oil will reduce oil burn and diesel oil is thicker. since you have already done this next is to check the piston rings.

 

[mahilaljayanath]

I have replaced piston rings few years back. The car has done only 18,000 km since then. I'm surprise to hear that you need to change the piston rings again.

If the oil burning is due to burnt valve seals, how do I know?

 

[jarpickle]

In India shell makes 20w50 for gasoline engines.

Some oils are interchangeable between gasoline and diesel engines and some are not.

Most synthetic oils are interchangeable.But its best to stick with gasoline specific engine oil rather than go for diesel oils.The working of both engines are different and normal mineral oils might be tailor made for specific engine.

Not advisable to go for synthetic oil in older cars either.

I find normal 20w40 better than 15w40 too.The semi synthetic 15w40 oils are not that good either, the engine feels coarse when it gets hotter.

With Shell in India there are only two options 15w40 and 20w-50(mineral oil).Since mine has not yet gone over 50000kms yet,so I went with the 15w40(semi synthetic).It is good when the conditions are cold, but when it gets hot the engine feels coarse.

What is the color of the smoke that you see.How long does the smoke last.

 

[mahilaljayanath]

Thank you both for comments.
Smoke is white colour. I couldn't check the duration.
I forgot to mention that I washed the silencer few days back and its raining since yesterday.
At oil stores there was one product that can be added to engine oils to stop smoke. What do you think about this product?

 

[jarpickle]

I would suggest not to add anything.The diesel oil has a lot of detergent particles in it.If the deposits are removed then the engine might need an overhaul because of the increased gap between components.

The white smoke is mostly water.Use the car regularly and let all the water come out.

 

[Releesh]

You told your oil level is higher than the maximum limit. This will really increase the oil burning.Reduce it to the level first.I think you had mixed the oil with old oil which is a different grade. Oil burning will reduce as soon as the oil level reduces and may be stop at little higher level than the minimum.But again will start to burn on higher acceleration. So only the options are either check frequently and add oil when required or do check the engine by any good mechanic and rectify the issues.

 

[jarpickle]

The engine does not burn oil until there is something wrong with it.If you have poured more oil you need to reduce it by opening the drain plug.I have been there, the mechanic added 3 lts when the engine needs only 2.5.It did not go down one point in 6 months, had done 3000 kms on it.Since the oil was thinner it didn't ruin the oil seals.I marked the dipstick to make sure if I was checking it right.In the end had to remove the excess oil by loosening the drain plug.

Too much oil is bad for the engine too.Especially if its thicker than normal.

If you are changing the grade or type of oil, flush your engine to make sure the old oil and other particulates are removed from the engine.Filter change is a must with your oil change.It is also a good time to change the air and fuel filters too.Typically in gasoline/petrol cars running on mineral oil its 5000-7000 kms and synthetic oil 12-15k kms.It is a good thing to change the oil atleast once a year even if you have not crossed the given mileages.

After adding the flushing liquid you need to let the car idle for atleast 15 mins before changing the oil and filter.

 

[Releesh]

Jarpickle, I dont think flushing and oil changing will work for him unless he is doing his engine work. New oil will be burned and reduced within no time.

 

[jarpickle]

The flushing is important when changing the grade and type of oil.Going from mineral to synthetic.This is done to remove the old oil as much as possible so that the full benefits of the newer oil can be achieved. New oil does not burn.The oil is for lubrication purposes, it does not burn like fuel.

When you get engine work done the engine is cleaned inside out to free it of any metal shavings that occurred during machining , so flushing is not require then.

Flushing is recommended at 30000 kms, 50000 kms,70000 kms and 100000 kms and every 25000kms that follow.

Usually after 100000 kms the engine needs an extensive overhaul if it has been run hard.It depends on driving styles and other factors.

If your car is burning oil, check all the gaskets and seals.Buy a gasket and seal kit and replace them all.This should help solve the problem.The only time i had oil problems was when an engine seal was leaking oil.Once it was replaced the oil does not disappear any more.

 

[mahilaljayanath]

After reading all your comments I think I need to add some information.

1. The car has done only 18,000km after replacing the rings.

2. I did a compression test and the initial values were, 9.0, 9.2 & 10.8 and after adding small amount of oil the values were 9.8, 9.8 & 11.(cannot remember the units)

3. The smoke is visible after 1 -2 minutes when the engine starts and continues.

 

[jarpickle]

You said you had washed the exhaust pipes,the smoke could be due to that.

The variations between the values are a bit far off.The volume should not vary so much.You might have to go for an all out overhaul.I will get back with the values and how much variation is accepted.

 

[mahilaljayanath]

I see oil in 1st plug & 2nd plug. Specially on the treads of the plugs. But not on 3rd plug.

 

[jarpickle]

Check the oil seals in the engine.Petrol/gas residue is oily too.Do check all the oil seals.Change all the gaskets too.

 

[juandiazmora]

Hi, I think you engine is smoking because the oil level, if the unit was kg/cm2 it's on the limit for change rings, was the block rectified? maybe the surface is not smooth enough so the new rings can't close the combustion chamber
I have a black deposit on the thread of the spark plugs, and my car has just 39.000km, it's just carbon and a little of oil, you must check the tips of the spark plug, the two metal tips must be clean and the white ceramic must be a little brown. If the central tip has a black and bright cover it's oil (this is valid if you are using NGK BPR5ES or Denso W16EXR-U or another of the same thermal grade and your ignition system is OK)