Any opinions?

[coguk]

I am interested in whether anyone can "accurately" help me answer the following - hypotheses with calculations welcome!

How much of the following would an "average" car engine take-in/consume over a 10 year period:
1. sand/dirt;
2. acid;
3. any other corrosive/abrasive impurities likely to contribute to engine wear?

 

[franzh]

Tons and Tons, depending on where you are, how effective the filtration is, how large the engine is (air pump) how careful the maintenance is at keeping dirt out during service, so on and so on. There is no "accurate way" since the vehicle is not in a controlled environment.
As for corrosives, just ask the experts at Toyota, when their typical world class engineers goofed on their engines crankcase ventilation system which ruined many engines due to condensation, Chrysler and their V-6 engines with too small drainback holes in heads, early 80's Ford 5.0 engines with poor crankcase ventilation and copious amounts of sludge.
Sorry if I offended any OEM manufacturers, I got this information from the NTSB Recall and Warranty website while doing a study recently.
Franz

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Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[amorrison]

Additional questions (apologies to the OP).

4. How much crud is in the gasoline consumed -grit,tar, wax, asphalt?
5. How much crud in new lub oil - I have been told that new oil is cleaner AFTER it goes through
the engine oil filter.
6. Do oil "additives" increase wear - I have heard that half of multigrade oil is additives?
7. What is the creamy liquid in the bottom of the oil pan that does not drain out during oil changes?
8. Has HEPA filter technology been applied to engine air filters?

PS.
Given the gist of the original post - look at the other side of the coin -

Routinely, bus diesel engines with 500,000 miles on them that are opened up show no wear at all.

 

[1Bluegrass]

If your car ran the same known route every day, got the same maintainence everytime, with the same parts and fluids, it might last a lot longer too as well as being able to relate records to what is seen for wear and undesirable accumulations within the engine.
Make sense?

 

[GregLocock]

5 well I'd be a bit miffed if it got dirtier when it went through a filter!

7 =water+oil emulsion.


This could be because your engine never gets really hot, or it could be that you have a cracked head or a head gasket problem.







Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[amorrison]

5 revisited
Ya well - the idea was that if the NEW oil was actually CLEAN the filter would have no effect - the word used was "cleaner"

7 revisited
Isn't the idea of detergent in oil - to keep the water in suspension so that it can be drained properly during an oil change.

 

[patprimmer]

The idea of the detergent is to keep dirt, metal and carbon particles in suspension, so they can be carried to the filter and removed.

It also helps to emulsify oil, but this emulsion is the creamy substance you speak of.



Regards
pat pprimmer@acay.com.au
eng-tips, by professional engineers for professional engineers
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[btrueblood]

If you have "creamy liquid" in your oil, shouldn't you either a) fix the coolant leak on your heads, or b) drive more than 1 mile at a time, so the oil gets hot enough to cook the water out?

 

[amorrison]

This "scientific" event was ~35 years ago - helping a friend tear down an 4 cyl. engine in his home garage.
The oil was probably 10W30. Other "facts" not recallable.