As I was getting onto the highway tonight, my check engine light came on....it happened just after i went over 7500RPM.

At the next exit I get off and pull into a gas station, turn off my car and check my handy owners manual.

The check engine light is actually a malfunction warning. In the manual its that I either have an emissions problem or an engine problem.

When I turned on the car again, there is a low droning sound from the catalytic converter area....so i'm thinking i need a new cat.

This suprised me, but I didn't know that my engine or was in such rough shape. I'm using 20W50 oil right now to cut down on the amount of oil I burn. So between burning oil, and using such heavy a wieght, I'm sure the cat is taking a beating in emissions.

I'll keep you posted on what happens, I'm going to my honda certified mechanic tomorrow to see what's up.

 

SWAP

SWAP

SWAP

Hoping everything isn't too broken..

 

20w50 is thick ... and should be a clue that maybe *swap*r*swap*e*swap*b*swap*u*swap*i*swap*l*swap*d* swap*i*swap*n*swap*g*swap* should be in order.

 

i thought the higher the number of oil... ie 15W50 was a thiner oil?? and like 5W30 is the thicker oil?? was i mislead?

 

yes you were I think the higher the first number the heavier the wiegth I beleive .. drag cars use a 0w20 I think thats what it's rated at which is extremely thin and reduces the weight of the oil sticking to the crank shaft and other rotating parts that would then slow it down ....and blah blah blah blah

bruno .. your better at this stuff

 

damn I hate these oil questions...

any weight of oil beginning with one number, then a 'W', and ending with another number is a 'multi-grade' oil. The first number indicates the viscosity rate (thickness) at start up, and the second number indicates the viscosity rate at operating temperature. '0' (zero) is as thin as oil gets, and if used, it will circulate quickly throughout the motor, ultimately preventing engine wear (since most wear occurs at start up). The '5' in 5W30 is a little thicker at start up, and '10' in 10W30 even more so, etc, etc.. So, the higher the number the thicker the oil. 20W50 is one of, if not, the thickest oils you can get. And, in actuality, a thicker oil may be worse for your motor if it is (a)burning oil or (b)leaking oil. Thicker oils will create a better seal inside the motor, therefore creating more oil pressure and forcing more oil through any deteriorated external gaskets. At the same time, thicker oil will often 'gum up' the valve seals and piston rings, and therefore cause more oil consumption (burning).

 

chris knows his ****... i think you got a similar question on sunday about oils... haha

just a follow up question... mobil1 make a "performance driving" oil which is 15w50... shouldn't the 5w be the performance oil sine its thinner??

 

It really depends on the type of motor and how hard it's pushed. i.e.: If the motor is only used for high speed driving (racing) and not for street or daily driver, then a thicker oil is normally used to prevent bottom end damage.

 

hmmm i see.... so what would you say is a good oil if we do drive our car hard and hit above 6000 rpms often??

 

So if I change the oil....will that make a difference?

I'm sure it won't make the engine light turn off.

Well if I change the oil, back to 10W30 and then keep an extra bottle in my trunk, get a new O2 sensor, and a new cat I think my problem will be fixed.

I'll take it to the shop tomorrow to see what happens.

 

hey james how many kms does your motor have?? i got a 93 Si hatch with like 282 000 kms and it burns hardly any oil like between synthetic oil changes i'll go from full to low on the dipstick

 

Personally, I wouldn't go any thicker than 10W for any car that's regularly street driven. Remember the first number indicates how thick the oil is at start up, so it's best to have something as thin as possible to prevent cold starting wear. The reason being, before you start it, the oil is sitting in the oil pan, so it has to go from there to everywhere else in the motor in a few seconds. Those few seconds are when most engine wear occurs. 5W30 or 10W30 grade oils are just fine for most of the cars in this club. As I said, unless you do nothing but race, there's no need to use a ridiculously thick oil like 15W40 or 20W50. For one thing, 15W40 is a diesel oil. With the exception of the S2000, Honda is now recommending 5W20 in most of their vehicles. This oil is better for fuel mileage and emissions. Besides the fact that motors are not the same as they were 20 or 30 years ago.

 

It's tough to say why your check engine light came on... could be a number of things. Could even be something as simple as the gas cap not being tight enough.

 

211,000kms.

I'm the fourth owner of my car.

It must have been abused before me.

But this "new" problem, has been surely creeping up on me. It all started when my two previous oil pans started leaking due to stripped drain plugs. When I had the faulty pans on, my oil light came on twice. The dipstick was bone dry both times. As soon as it came on, I filled it back up, but I'm sure damage was already done. I got a new pan installed 2 months ago. At about this time I started using the 20W50 oil.

In retrospect and after reading Chris' post, using the 20W50 may not have been such a good idea. It probably caused more problems, considering honda recommends at most using 10W30.

Well I'll get it checked out tomorrow, but I'm surely swapping now.

All I have to do is find a b series complete swap.

 

I don't know Chris about the gas cap thing.....that wouldn't explain the droning sound coming from the header/exhaust area.

I hope my honda certified mechanic has the diagnostic tools to hook up my ECU to get the code telling him what the problem is.

 

James, if a rebuild is in need, definately go with the swap.

When you take the car to the mechanic they'll read the code to see why the light is on... at least they should.

Go from there.

 

I've got an OBDII code reader. Check under your dash for an outlet. I think your car might be too old, but it's worth a try... and I won't charge you anything.

 

Sorry Chris....my car is OBDI....thanks though.....I really hope my mechanic has one.....I don't want honda to charge me an arm and a leg.

I could take the el cheapo way to get the engine light off....if you disconnect the battery the ECU resets itself....but then again, the light would just come on again, as soon as i hit high speeds.

 

his car is OBD1 since it's a 93

 

James, the outlet should look like this...