Oil And Levels

[is200 Newbie]

Car now on 79762 miles.

Picture of the reading this week shows its lighter than last weeks reading ... I took the reading last week after it had sat for just over a week in an airport carpark.

I guess with a weeks driving round the oil has had a chance to disperse the crud it has collected. This is the second time I have found that the oils darker when left for a period and becomes clear again when driving it.

I would not have expected to see any change really ... with the dirty oil molecules being "heavier" than the ones not saturated yet, would they effectively "sink" lower than the oil that's still clear. If this is the case then you could say that there is a degree of separation going on here?

In saying this, and in order to give the engine a good clean next oil change, would it be better to drop the oil first, engine cold, then fill with a cheap oil with an engine flush, run that for the time specified, change this and add the good stuff? This would only be a one off to give it a good clean

[johnatg]

Flushing oil seems to have gone completely out of fashion, and it doesn't do much for sticky deposits. Best to use an engine flush you add to the old oil - some can be driven with for a short distance, some you must drain out after a short idling period. Halfords/eBay have a selection.

I don't think you have anything to worry about really, but I use a flush at every oil change.

[is200 Newbie]

3567miles has been covered to this point today since the oil has been changed.

Car is now on 80556 miles.

I had a good run last week up to Scotland - I used both the full auto and the manual paddle shift option on both the trip up and the trip down.

In and out of traffic on the way up and in the rain, it was a horrible drive up, stop start in the traffic, dodging pheasants on the road in the highlands !. I decided to leave at night on the return trip to avoid the traffic and the pheasants.!

Got back today and took a reading of the oil. Found it had dropped again by another third. I am not worried by this as it corresponds with a weeks use I done a while ago using the car in the manual mode. I do my oil changes every 6 months so its becoming due.

At this point I have topped it up so wont carry on with this topic as it wont be accurate. The colour of the oil was the same as last week having got rid of the dark tint from when it sat unused for a week.

Here's what I found during the use of this oil:

1 / I used Castrol Edge at the initial oil change. Changed the oil and the filter and included an engine flush before the new oil was applied.

2 / The car will have done approx. 4000 miles by the time the 6 month is up and I change the oil again.

3 / I have not noticed any running issues - I had a sensor go, not related to the oil, and as a result I replaced both banks

4 / I had experienced a few "shivers" prior to the oil change which apparently indicates its got carbon build-up issues - since the oil change I have not had this issue re-appear although I have used the 97 ron fuel more and more.

5 / The colour of the oil has not turned black as such, over the period of monitoring the oil it has changed shades due to use as you would expect.

6 / I have found that driving the car in the manual mode (using the paddles) that it will use oil but due to the mileage I have covered on the two instances that it has noticeably used the oil then its not in excess. This is actually a good note to check the oil if driving it for any good distances in manual mode (I will certainly check it in the future) It is within the limits set out by the manufacturer.

I will change the oil in the next month or so and this time put Magnatec in and monitor any differences against this post.

3 pictures below -

The fist one is the level of the oil taken today.

The second one was the picture of the oil when I found it initially dropped

The last picture was of the initial oil change

These show the differences in colours between the oil when it was first changed to the oil at todays reading.

[is200 Newbie]

6 months on from the last oil change I have done the next change now.

I have used Magnatec this time.

I will compare the readings / oil colours "off line" to see if there's any noticeable differences.

I changed it on Sunday but have already noticed a difference in the noise of the engine - with the Castrol Edge on the last change there was a slight rattle - sounded like the old cam lifters / valves you used to have in older engines - it was not loud (practibly un-noticeable) but when you are used to driving a car you do notice small things like this.

After this oil change the rattle has disappeared - there's no other differences to the oil change as to what was done last time. Possibly? the engine flush is starting to have an effect on it. Its not a "Placeedo" effect as the noise has definitely disappeared.

[steveledzep]

I have just read this thread with great interest. Acquired a IS250 SE-L just 2 weeks ago, 6 years old (exactly) on 65k miles. I can only contribute from an anecdotal point, not technical.

For the last 6 years I have run Saab vehicles, all 2.0 turbos. A couple of 150bhp Vectors initially and more recently (until 2 weeks ago !) two 2.0T Aeros. Saab recommend Mobil 1 0W-40 engine oil and it is critical to the engine's health by all accounts. Where a Saab engine siezes, it is often due to the strainer in the sump becoming blocked with sludge formed most probably because of too viscous an oil being used. The Saab fraternity are generally not in favour of engine flushing either from what I gleaned from their forum, some members experiencing engine failure after flushing.

I'm no expert and none of what I write is conclusive evidence, however, it makes one think ??

The dealer (independent) I bought my Lexus from gave it a service prior to my collection. The oil is spotlessly clean, but I haven't a clue what it is ? I'll be monitoring consumption closely over coming weeks, I never had to top a Saab up with oil in between services. I don't expect to have to top up my Lexus either, I'll be disappointed if I do.

[is200 Newbie]

Hi Steve,

5w/30 is the recommended grade - there are quite a few post on the forum about the oil.

When I was initially monitoring the oil I did notice a drop in oil twice that corresponded with giving the car a bit of a "thrashing" using it with the paddle shifts - noticing this twice I would say that's not a coincidence

I am not worried about the loss of oil as its the only time in owning the car I have noticed the drop in the level. I am going to monitor the different type of oil against this one to see if there's any differences with this type.

I have always flushed the engine on the last few cars I have had - there is an issue with this engine that it will produce a rattle on start up from the VVTI which is not reported to be a big problem. I have had the issue a few times and it corresponds on mine to when an oil change is due ... the noise disappears after an oil change and whether its the fact that I have done an oil change or the engine flush I don't know but it cures the noise.

[johnatg]

I always use an engine flush additive before each oil change. I used to have a Saab 900 and I flushed that at every oil change too, with no problems.

Flush additive can cause problems if it is used in a very dirty engine, as it can loosen heavy deposits, large particles of which can block oilways. Some Saab engines, and for some reason particularly those fitted to the 9000 and 9/5, suffer from heavy silting - it is very common for the oil strainer on the pick up in the sump to become blocked and this can lead to engine seizure. I suspect that the best flush in the world can't dissolve the crud, and flushing just adds to the problem.

Sad, but Saabs are disappearing very quickly indeed! They were a good left field choice, as is the Lexus.

[steveledzep]

Thanks Noo and John. I'd probably have kept with Saabs if there was a continuum of supply, no complaints about my Saabs, loved them.

Love this new (to me) Lexus too ! The service history is excellent, every 10k approx, so I don't expect a very dirty engine. Maybe a flush prior to oil change is good, what product do you prefer to use ?

I had a go with the paddles today, great fun ! I think it was John that suggested that many autos don't get above 2500rpm, mine did today. Nothing daft, but it was interesting to discover what poke is available if I need it. Can't get over how very smooth this gearbox is, changes are virtually imperceptible.

[johnatg]

I've been using TEC 2000 recently, but mainly because I came across a job lot at a good price. I'd be as happy with STP or Wynn's or more or less any other brand.

I change oil with flush at 5K mile intervals - maybe a bit OTT, but it means I don't worry if I go over by 1000 miles or whatever. And I'm obsessive about a clean engine (inside!).

An interesting anecdote from Saturday's Telegraph car section - Honest John questions. Someone wrote in to say they had their first service on a Mk 7 Golf 2.0TDI at 19000 miles and the fuel economy seemed to have improved.
Response - 'You had the first service at 19000 miles? I hope you're not intending to keep the car for long' !

[steveledzep]

I only do about 7k miles pa so I have an annual service coinciding with the MOT. Works for me. I'll incorporate a flush next time too.

Interesting Honest John comment ! When I was searching for my Lexus I used eBay and Autotrader mostly. I'm a fussy bugger and not averse to travelling for the right car (went 200 miles for this one). All of the cars I considered were advertised with a full service history, some sellers interpretation of fsh doesn't concur with mine ! I recall one vehicle with 55k on the clock, when I asked for the SH details I was told "11k, 21k, 32k and 54k". This dealer believed that to represent a fsh !! I wouldn't dream of travelling 22k miles in between services, why should I buy a car that has done that ? Just a gentle warning to others to investigate the fsh "claim" quantitively.

I do notice a slight "rattle" from the engine after start up from cold. Only heard from within the cabin, not listened under the bonnet yet. Is this the VVTI issue that Noo bie refers to ? It goes away very quickly as the engine warms up. Is this normal ?

[is200 Newbie]

Hi Steve

Don't confuse the injectors with the rattle - the injectors are quite noisy on these engines -

just keep an eye on the "rattle" as it does come and go, theres no pattern to it. If it becomes noisier then it maybe time to give it an oil change - I would use the flush also when changing the oil - It has cured the noise on mine along with the oil change - I haven't had any issue connected with the rattle

[steveledzep]

Mine had an oil change just 2 weeks ago prior to my collection. The rattle (noise) I refer to is only apparent after cold start up and vanishes after a few miles as everything gets up to temperature. Is this normal ? Maybe I'm a little sensitive to it because it's a new acquisition, but also because the cabin is so very quiet that a little bit of engine noise appears intrusive.

[Ishaq]

Hi have a slight rattle on ticking noise on cold start but this does go away once all nice and warmed up.

Just had my MOT done over the weekend and was surprised how quiet the engine was when having the inspection done, flied through the test!!

[is200 Newbie]

The car likes new oil ....!

It shouldn't rattle on start up tho no matter what the temperature is - The injectors are noisy and you will hear them under normal operation. If the rattle is persistent (loud) I would check the oil level - it may need a top up or a change.

There are people on here that have experienced the rattles - it seems the oil reservoir within the engine does not hold sufficient oil to lubricate the valves on start up and hence the rattle which is only apparent for a very short time until the oil is circulated on turn over.

I have found it hard at few times to get a good reading on the dip stick - maybe it just needs topping up a bit - try to the max level and see how quiet it goes then

[steveledzep]

Thanks Noo bie. The car has new oil from just 3 weeks ago and it is up to max on the stick.

Maybe it's just me and I'm not describing correctly ? It's not loud, just a different (slightly rougher) sound until everything gets up to temperature. My Saabs sounded "tappety" upon start up from cold, but soon settled down to quietness when warm.

Think it's my unfamiliarity with this engine, never run a 6 potter before. My motor has an excellent service history, 5 Lexus stamps and the last 2 from a Jaguar agent, with just 65k on the clock I'm not anticipating a major problem. Thank you for your input.

[is200 Newbie]

So I have recently changed the engine oil (couple of weeks ago)

The last oil I used was Castrol Edge - this time I used Magnatec,

I kept track of all the levels using the Edge oil and also the colour changes in the oil etc (shown in this post) ...

So I have compared the closest mileage I have done from the change up to today - I have travelled 1702 miles since the recent oil change. The closest comparison to the last change was when I took the readings at 1772. Comparing the reading today to the old one, the Magnatec is cleaner and the level has not dropped like it did with Edge.

1/ There are a few possibilities that the oil is cleaner ... the magnatec is not creating engine wear as it does not seem to be "collecting" the dirty particles the engine creates

2/ It could not be doing its job?!

3/ The engine flush is starting to work better (3rd time done on the car)

I done these miles which were mostly motorway miles and drove a mix in manual and auto. Not a lot of "start/stop" has been done up to now on this oil so I think that will have a big effect.

[ColinBarber]

I've never looked into it but have you considered getting an oil analysis done? Quite a few people do that in the US, but there may not be the inexpensive options here in the UK.

[toffee_pie]

too OCD i think.....!

[is200 Newbie]

Just an update ...

2391 miles done on the recent oil (Magnatec) since it was changed a couple of months ago.

It is performing better than the Edge I initially had in the engine - oil is still clear and the level is as it was when it was changed. Compared to the edge at this comparable mileage, the Magnatec is a lot clearer and the level has held.

Picture below is of todays reading