How to change the brand of engine oil

How to switch to another brand of oil correctly

Imagine the situation: the time has come to change the engine oil, you go to the point where you have been accustomed to purchasing a certain brand of motor oil for the last few years, and are bewildered to discover that the store is closed for an indefinite period. It’s good if the oil of this brand is quite common, and you only have to spend time finding another trustworthy seller (which is also often not easy) and buy the oil from him. What if this was the only seller of this particular oil in the city? This is exactly the situation the author of these lines had to face.

In this case, a rational solution would be to change the brand of automobile oil poured into the engine. Also, the material in this article will be useful to those who decided to change the oil manufacturer not for such an exotic reason, but, for example, because of problems with the quality of the product of the chosen brand. Or you purchased a new car, and you don’t know for sure what the previous owner put into the engine.

A frequent recommendation when changing the brand of engine oil is to flush it. There are two types of flushes: flushing additive and special flushing oil. You shouldn’t use any of these washes, and here’s why. Flushing additives and oils contain a complex of aggressive detergent additives. After draining, up to 10% of oil remains in the engine cavities, and when filling in new oil, the resulting mixture will not bring anything good to the engine. Each oil contains a special complex of additives, which manufacturers keep secret primarily from each other. When mixing oils of different brands, and even more so when adding any additives to the oil, the interaction of additives can cause undesirable chemical reactions and the formation of new components, including the formation of insoluble compounds and precipitation, which can have a very negative impact on the service life of the engine.

Also pay attention to the fact that the engine manufacturer in its instructions nowhere mentions the need to flush engines, and flushing oils are not found among the products of well-known companies.

Therefore, we do this: drain the old oil, fill in new one. We drive on the new oil for some time, say 500 km, then drain it again and fill in new oil of the same brand. Only in this case can we expect the absence of a negative effect. For some, this procedure may seem costly - just one additional oil change; good oil is not cheap. But here, as they say, everyone chooses for themselves what to save on - on the engine life, which is undoubtedly reduced by the use of strange mixtures in it, or on one additional can of good oil of the chosen brand.

How to switch to another engine oil correctly

How to change one engine oil to another?

Switching to another oil is an important topic of interest to many motorists. To switch from synthetics to semi-synthetics, from semi-synthetics to mineral water, or to make other manipulations with changing the type of lubricant composition, it is important to take into account certain rules.

Inexperienced motorists, if they want to switch from one oil to another, simply come to the nearest service station and ask to change the oil. In most cases this will not cause problems, but there is a small risk of problems.

When is it necessary to change the oil type?

You have to switch from semi-synthetic oil to synthetic or vice versa for various reasons. For example, if you have been using your car for a long time and have a high mileage on the odometer, it is better to fill it with semi-synthetics instead of synthetics. Also, sometimes the oil previously poured into the engine disappears from sale. In the latter case, you may only have to change the brand of engine oil, and the type of lubricant itself will not change. We recommend reading the article about the types of motor oils.

Sometimes the question of switching to another oil arises among people who bought a used car. We do not recommend trusting the seller’s words regarding previously filled oil; it is better to simply fill in a new, guaranteed suitable oil, following the rules for switching from one fluid to another.

Flushing the engine when switching to another oil

When replacing mineral oil with semi-synthetic oil, auto mechanics usually recommend flushing the engine. This operation is performed in two ways:

1. use of a flushing additive;
2. pouring special flushing oil.
   

We do not recommend using either of these washes. The fact is that they contain aggressive detergent additives, and after draining the liquid, about 10% of the filled liquid remains in the engine cavities. When you fill the system with new oil, it will mix with aggressive flushing, and this can harm the engine.

Each oil contains certain additives, the list of which is not disclosed by manufacturers - this is a trade secret. When mixing different lubricant compositions, especially when adding additives of different types, the compositions can interact, causing negative chemical reactions and the formation of new substances. Sometimes insoluble compounds even form and a precipitate forms, which has a bad effect on the service life.

It should be noted that car engine manufacturers do not mention in their instructions that the engine needs to be flushed when changing the fluid. In addition, well-known companies do not even produce special flushing fluids.

How to switch to another oil?

When you plan to switch from synthetics to semi-synthetics or change other oils, you can do everything very simply. We fill in new fluid and drive it for a while (a few hundred kilometers are enough). We drain this lubricant and fill the system with the same fresh oil. In this case, you are guaranteed to avoid a negative effect.

Some motorists will find this costly, since high-quality oil is not cheap. Despite this, everyone chooses for themselves whether it is worth saving on it. Undoubtedly, the service life of a car engine inevitably decreases when unsuitable oils of dubious origin are poured into it.

Why flush the engine?

Now let's consider another point of view regarding engine flushing. Many auto mechanics and experienced car owners recommend flushing the engine when replacing mineral oil with semi-synthetic oil. The oil is intended not only to lubricate contacting parts, but also to clean them from contaminants:

1. unburned fuel;
2. microscopic dust;
3. wear products, etc.

All these foreign particles are washed off from the inner walls and mixed with the lubricant, as a result of which it darkens and becomes more viscous. Why then flush the engine when changing the oil if the lubricant already contains detergent additives? This is necessary for several reasons:

Immediately after pouring oil into the engine, detergent additives decompose.
The longer you drive, the worse these additional compounds will work. At the end of the mileage, the additives contained in the oil cease to perform their tasks. When replacing, approximately 10-15 percent of the oil in the engine is stored in hidden cavities. The dirt contained in this lubricant mixes with the fresh lubricant and deteriorates its properties.

Consequently, with each oil change the oil will perform worse, even when using high-quality lubricants from well-known brands. For the same reason, it is important to strictly follow the machine maintenance regulations.

Engine flushing options

We’ve almost figured out how to switch from mineral oil to semi-synthetic or from semi-synthetic to synthetic, but we’ll look at ways to flush the lubrication system in case you still want to flush it.

Special oil

Flushing oil for switching from synthetic to semi-synthetic is a waste of time and money. The fact is that such washing compositions leave a sediment with contaminants, although not so concentrated. Such a liquid does not wash away deposits and cannot dissolve them.

Application of vacuum installation

The vacuum pumps used by craftsmen at some service stations are also almost useless. Similar equipment is found in car repair shops and is used for express replacement. Experts claim that the pump pumps out all the oil without any residue, but in reality this is not the case. Not a single pump will clean out lubricant from hidden cavities, not to mention washing away and dissolving dirt from the walls.

Five-minute washes

Switching from synthetics to semi-synthetics or changing other types of oil sometimes forces motorists to use the so-called “five-minute”. These are flushes that are poured in for a few minutes of engine operation. These liquids are generally useless and even sometimes dangerous.

A five-minute rinse has a weak concentration, so it does not wash away the dirt, and even if it manages to do this, it does not dissolve it. As a result, deposits clog the oil channels, and this is dangerous due to oil starvation of the engine with scoring on the cylinder walls. This leads to the need for expensive overhauls.

Highly concentrated five-minute sprays wash away dirt and dissolve it, but at the same time rubber seals and gaskets are damaged. This leads to leaks and the need to replace seals, which is expensive.

Long rinses

There are good long-lasting rinses that are considered the most effective. Before changing the engine oil, a special liquid is poured into the engine, on which you need to drive from 50 to 500 kilometers. The oil is then drained and the system is filled with fresh lubricant instead. Deposits from the walls will have time to wash off and dissolve without harming the engine. After such washing, you can safely switch from synthetics to semi-synthetics or vice versa.

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Do I need to flush the engine when changing the oil? If necessary, how? — Encyclopedia of Japanese cars

You need to flush the engine if you are changing the oil for the first time (especially if you don’t know what kind of oil was filled in previously); if you switch from one type of oil to another; if you change the brand of oil; if the engine is dirty. In other cases (during periodic oil changes), opinions are divided: some say that it is necessary to flush, others say the opposite.

The question of flushing often arises when switching from one type of oil to another. It is strictly not recommended to mix different types of oil - otherwise the oil may curdle, the engine will become clogged with the resulting suspension, and it will have to be seriously repaired or even replaced.

There are cases when the owner of the car himself does not know what kind of oil is poured into his engine - synthetic or mineral water - the previous owner, say, did not inform. To determine the type of oil, you can, for example, try to drip hot oil from the engine into some container and add new oil from the canister. Mix and see if a slurry forms. At the slightest suspicion of its formation, do not add new oil.

It is safer, of course, to flush the engine before changing the oil. There are two ways to flush the engine: with a “five-minute flush” or with flushing oil.

Detergent additives (also called “five-minute additives”) are concentrates of detergent agents. They are poured into the engine before changing the oil and quickly drained along with the old oil. The argument against “five minutes” is that they wash away deposits very aggressively, including removing “useful” deposits. In addition, do not be surprised if after using the “five-minute” oil seals leak - this happens in most cases. However, there is an objection to this that you need to use them according to technology, that is, fill them for a few minutes, and not drive them for a long time. It is also said that you need to use imported washes of good quality. But in any case, the use of “five minutes” is compared to a lottery - maybe the engine will be better for it, or maybe, on the contrary, worse. If you don't mind experimenting with your engine, go ahead. If your engine is not conducive to experimentation, it is better to abstain.

Flushing oil, unlike “five minutes”, is poured into the engine after draining the old oil. It contains an increased (compared to regular oil) amount of detergents, and the time of its use should also be short (5-10 minutes). After which it is drained and fresh oil is added. The advantages of flushing oil: it acts less aggressively than “five-minute oil” - it washes out suspended particles without affecting “useful” deposits. Cons: flushing oils are usually made on a mineral basis, so they may not be compatible with synthetics.

The third option is to flush the engine with the actual oil you are going to drive, that is, fill in new oil and change it after a shortened time interval. In other words, do not flush the engine at all, but trust the detergent additives that are included in any high-quality oil. If the oil darkens during further changes, you just need to change it more often. This option is good when you are changing the engine oil not for the first time, pour proven high-quality oils and do not operate the car in extreme conditions. Don't forget to change the oil filter at the same time.

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How to correctly switch to another brand of motor oil, instructions

An important procedure is caused by the purchase of a new car or the user's desire to try out new technologies. Our article will answer the question of how to properly switch to another brand of motor oil.

What are the consequences of an incorrect transition?

Improper switching from one lubricant to another can cause such consequences.

1. Coagulation of fluid inside the crankcase compartment.
2. Formation of insoluble precipitate.
3. Destruction of the protective properties of the new lubricant.
4. Overheating of the power plant.
5. Damage to seals and piston rings.
6. Increased fuel consumption.

In order to prevent negative consequences during the transition, it is necessary to carefully remove the old formula by thoroughly flushing the highway system.

How to properly and with what to flush the engine

There are several ways to flush the engine before adding a new lubricant.

1. Diesel fuel. A dangerous method based on pouring fuel into the crankcase. The essence of the method is to wash lines and components from old deposits and worn-out masks. If improperly flushed, the engine may be destroyed and important components may be damaged. Strictly not recommended without experience. Use on engines of modern foreign cars is prohibited.
2. Special flushing liquid. A safer, more humane way. Liquid is poured into the crankcase compartment to wash away the old oil. Then a new lubricant is poured in.

The second method of flushing, before changing the brand of oil in the car, is safer. Therefore, further instructions will tell you exactly about it.

How to change the oil correctly

The correct transition to another engine oil is carried out according to the instructions:

1. A special container for processing is prepared.
2. The machine warms up to operating temperature. This is done on the go - under load, heating occurs 3-4 times faster.
3. Next, you need to drive the car onto a flat area, inspection hole, or lift.
4. Open the filler neck.
5. Remove the crankcase drain plug.
6. Completely drain the used lubricant.
7. Screw the plug into place and fill the oil container with flushing.
8. Start the power plant and let it run for 3-5 minutes. The exact procedure time can be found on the canister label.
9. Next you need to completely drain the crankcase.
10. Pour in a fresh portion of lubricant and operate the machine in standard mode.

Switching from one brand of motor oil to another can be done at home. This will require careful adherence to the technological process and a simple set of tools. However, if you do not have confidence in your own abilities, it is better to entrust the fluid replacement to a qualified technician.

Should I flush the engine when switching from one type of oil to another?

Perhaps each of us, having delved into the baggage of our automotive experience, will remember several topics that can always be discussed. And although we constantly feed ourselves with new knowledge, read magazines, follow advertising, yet again we ask questions as old as a car wheel. One of them is how to change the oil?

No, we know that it is poured into the engine from above and drained somewhere below. The question is different - is it possible to mix different oils with each other and is it necessary to flush the engine?

This is not the first time that we are looking for the answer to these questions together with you. In issue 12 last year, the magazine found out what flushing oils are capable of and how they differ from motor oils. This year, in No. 4, we tried to mix four types of oils with each other - mineral motor oils, semi-synthetic, synthetic and flushing oils. Now, starting from what is already known, let's move on. Let's try to virtually replace one type of oil with another, with or without flushing the engine, and see what happens.

Old yeast

So, when testing flushing oils, we saw that their best samples are somewhat superior to motor oils in their ability to wash away dirt and dissolve it in themselves better, so for reasons of cleanliness, flushing the engine when changing the oil looks quite logical.

Then (No. 4) we asked ourselves another question - compatibility. Experiments have shown that mixing fresh oil with the remains of old or flushing does not lead to serious consequences, so it is safe for the engine to replace it either through flushing or without it.

Again we need to decide: what is better? If we assume that an admixture of flushing oil, which always has low alkalinity, can spoil fresh engine oil, there is no need to flush it. And if we remember that “working off” can be worse than washing? Today we will just look for an answer to this question.

Let's get started. The first thing we have to do is to simulate the aging of three different oils in the laboratory, as we did before (see, for example, ZR, 2002, No. 3). The first is mineral quality level API SJ/CF with viscosity SAE 15W40, the second is semi-synthetic SJ/CF, 10W40 and the third is synthetic SL/CF, 5W40. As a result, we get three “tests” with which we will conduct experiments. Which?

It is known that when changing oil, a fresh product dilutes about 10% of the “working off” (or flushing). This means that in order, say, to simulate the replacement of mineral oil with synthetic oil, you need to add 10% of used mineral oil to 90% of “synthetics”. And if the same replacement occurs with flushing, we will add 10% flushing to 90% of “synthetics”. Thus, having three fresh oils, three “working off” plus flushing, you can simulate any option of replacing one oil with another with or without flushing and test the mixture obtained after replacement. That's what we did. True, they did not exchange “everything for everything”, but everything for “mineral water” and everything for “synthetics”.

Getting acquainted with the results, we will dance from the engine and the old oil: how to change “mineral water” and how to change “semi-synthetic” and “synthetic”.

It's hard to study

Since the last time we dealt with artificial aging was a long time ago, it’s worth remembering what it is.

The main factor under the influence of which motor oil deteriorates (pundits say “aging”) is exposure to high temperature. Therefore, the method that our experts used to age the oil involves keeping the samples for several hours at high temperature in the presence of a catalyst. Before and after this, the optical density of the oil is checked (it always increases), the change in its alkalinity (the ability to neutralize oxidation products) is assessed, and how the viscosity has changed is determined. Finally, the catalyst is weighed, which always loses mass *.

Optical density is a weighted average indicator of the overall quality level and, in our case, the degree of oil contamination. The smaller it is, the better.

Alkalinity indicates the content of functional additives, directly - antioxidant, indirectly - the entire package. The bigger, the better.

Viscosity can change in two ways. With a minus sign - when the oil becomes thinner due to a good base and the destruction of the thickener (typical of “synthetics”). With a plus sign - thickening as a result of oxidation of the base (this is about “mineral water”).

Well, with the loss of mass, everything is clear: corrosion in its pure form - the less, the better.

Since specialists have accumulated vast experience in such tests, they can draw a conclusion based on the absolute values ​​of the numbers: whether the oil is good or bad, whether it will still work or not. We are more interested in comparing the numbers with each other. And now - to the results.

Changing the mineral water

Frankly, we were a little unlucky with mineral oil. Either the batch was unsuccessful, or the additives used in it are not able to withstand high temperatures. Be that as it may, the result looked as if the oil in the engine had been overexposed. Alkalinity dropped from 8.54 to 1.10; consider that there are no additives left alive.

When the specialists replaced this overexposed oil without flushing with the same one and conditionally rolled the engine until the next maintenance, what remained in the crankcase (and in our test tube) had an optical density of 0.39, an alkaline reserve of 0.47 and a noticeable increase in viscosity. In a word, tar.

This was a case where the engine was in real danger. If you go back and replace a poorly used “mineral water” with the same one, but through washing, then by the next maintenance the indicators will be better: optical density - 0.36, alkalinity - 1.54. Please note that in terms of the last parameter, a mixture of 90% mineral water and 10% rinsing worked even better than pure mineral water. It can be seen that the additives in the flushing oil ** turned out to be more durable.

Then we went back again and replaced the mineral oil with synthetic motor oil without flushing. Finish result: optical density – 0.11, alkalinity – 3.07. It's a completely different matter.

What if you replace it with “synthetics”, but through flushing? It turns out that the oil is more transparent, although the additives are in almost the same condition or worse (optical density - 0.07, alkalinity - 3.04).

Let us now try to draw the first conclusions. So…

If you skimp on oil or leave it in the engine longer than it should, or maybe you bought a used car and don’t know what’s inside... flush it! If you are going to fill in expensive “synthetics”, you can rinse it. This procedure will have almost no effect on the quality of the freshest oil, but if it darkens later, it will be more pleasant for you. And finally, the third – main conclusion: do not buy frankly cheap oils.

Changing “semi-synthetics” and “synthetics”

It just so happened that in our experiments we change semi-synthetic oil either to mineral oil or directly to synthetic oil - these are two extremes. True, in both cases they provided for a replacement with or without flushing. Therefore, there are only four options.

The best results were obtained, as you might guess, when replacing with higher quality synthetic oil. Moreover, as in previous experiments, synthetic oil had greater performance, which replaced “semi-synthetics” immediately, without washing. But lower optical density, on the contrary, is obtained if you rinse. It turns out that the oil looks fresh, but works a little worse.

But with the replacement of “semi-synthetics” with “mineral water” it turned out a little strange. A slightly better result is when replacing with flushing (alkalinity 1.54 versus 1.2). In the most general interpretation, this means that for inferior “mineral water” the admixture of fresh washing is better than that of used “semi-synthetics”.

So we have come to the case of replacing “synthetics” either with “mineral water” (with or without rinsing), or with the same “synthetics” (also - with or without rinsing).

You probably guessed it: when replacing synthetic oil with the same type, there is no need to rinse it - it only makes things worse. But we have a similar result with replacing “synthetics” with “mineral water” - with washing it turns out worse. It can be seen that the oxidation resistance of high-quality oil is so high that its residual properties are still much better than a good flush.

Don't say "I knew"

It's time to summarize the results. The next check (perhaps not the last) showed that whether to wash or not to wash depends on what we are changing for what (see picture).

In all cases, when either the initial or the final product is “synthetic”, washing is not necessary or necessary. If mineral oil appears, on the contrary, flushing is either desirable or would not be superfluous. But let us repeat once again: we are talking about the results we obtained with good washing and a very mediocre “mineral water” (or maybe just bad). So, in fact, where we say “mineral oil”, we are talking about either inexpensive oil, or one that has slightly exceeded its useful life, or one that has served its intended purpose under very difficult conditions. engine_page19And another interesting fact. When using good oils (we are not talking about the type of base now), flushing the engine can keep the fresh oil cleaner (lighter), but the antioxidant properties will become higher if you replace one good oil with another without flushing.

* – The word “catalyst” is used for simplicity.
Strictly speaking, a catalyst is usually called a substance that is not consumed during a reaction. ** – Knownly high-quality flushing oil was used.