Dino Oil

When I removed my valve cover today I was kind of shocked at how crappy the head looks. (No, I didn't get it anodized) I realize it's from years of dino oil use, but is it causing any harm? Is this normal for a 6-7 year old car with 70K miles? Can anything be done (besides swapping heads) ?

http://home.comcast.net/~sammm/head.jpg

Strange... mine looked like new when TC and I changed my Valve cover gasket. He even made a comment on how good it looked after 13 years. :scratch:

I don't know what Dyno Oil is but if it aint broke, don't fix it. After all you are the President TCB right :P

Nothin' wrong with the golden glow... as long as it isn't all sludgy inside you are fine.

RJ

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Originally Posted by channelmaniac

Nothin' wrong with the golden glow... as long as it isn't all sludgy inside you are fine.

RJ

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We have a winnah! 8) Yep. What you don't want to see is icky black pools of sludge in the corners and crevaces. The golden glow is nothing to fear. :thumleft:

Out of curiosity, what brand of oil and filter do you use and how often do you change it?

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Originally Posted by black roadster

We have a winnah! 8) Yep. What you don't want to see is icky black pools of sludge in the corners and crevaces. The golden glow is nothing to fear. :thumleft:

Out of curiosity, what brand of oil and filter do you use and how often do you change it?

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I think the problem is not necessarily how often he changes it, but how often the country singer who used to own it changed it...

Some oils have more detergent than others. Race oils in particular have very little detergent and will result in darkening of the metals. I would suggest using some Seafoam in the oil, takes about a half a can, and run it for about 500 miles. You will fine this will help clean the internals. Been there, done that.

I had the same issue when I tore my engine down a while back. Using the race oil over 2000 miles caused mine. Race oils should not be used on the street, they are designed to be used for a race and then drained for the most part. I used the race oil as they claim it has less chances of detonation due to a little better oil filming and cooling characteristics. Well, live and learn.

Seriously though, the Seafoam will work in cleaning your engine.

Gary

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it!

What is this seafoam stuff everyone is talking about and where do you get it. I'm sure my Miata could use a good cleaning.

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Originally Posted by Miatamoto

What is this seafoam stuff everyone is talking about and where do you get it. I'm sure my Miata could use a good cleaning.

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It is a can of magic engine cleaner that you can get from Gary or from some parts stores.

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Originally Posted by Titus

It is a can of magic engine cleaner that you can get from Gary or from some parts stores.

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http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUp.htm

By the way, you won't find it at your local AutoZone or PepBoys. I think O'Reilly may have it.

Interesting comparison. Here's Sammm's head at 70k on dino oil:

http://home.comcast.net/~sammm/head.jpg

Here's my head at 89k on Mobil1:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...5_211_full.jpg

I think I'll stick to using Mobil1. :mrgreen:

^Man that is a huge difference! :o

Friends don't let friend use dino oil!