P27GLN Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 If since my last major service in Mar 22 my 987 has only driven less than 2000 miles was there a need to change the oil in Mar 23 regardless of miles driven?, I’m hearing about water condensation contamination, issues regardless of miles driven, so to help me understand this issue how or why can condensation occur within the oil in the engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 Because it gets hot, there is air in it and it's not air tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 There are arguments for and against annually changing the oil, most high end oils (Mobil 1) are for long drain intervals i.e. 2 years or high milage. That said an engine that is started infrequently and maybe of short runs can suffer high wear. I get mine done annually, which is around 5 to 6k miles. Multiple oil changes are cheaper than an engine rebuild, but who know what might break when... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 11 minutes ago, edc said: Because it gets hot, there is air in it and it's not air tight. Got it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 7 minutes ago, ½cwt said: There are arguments for and against annually changing the oil, most high end oils (Mobil 1) are for long drain intervals i.e. 2 years or high milage. That said an engine that is started infrequently and maybe of short runs can suffer high wear. I get mine done annually, which is around 5 to 6k miles. Multiple oil changes are cheaper than an engine rebuild, but who know what might break when... Understood and agree 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer boy Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 40 minutes ago, edc said: Because it gets hot, there is air in it and it's not air tight. Hmm ! It’s the other way round . Its because it’s left long periods unused ,cold in a damp climate.Eg U.K. winter .Moist air gets in and the water condensates on the cold metal .Dew point and all that . Now the difference is if it was a daily doing a nice longish commute say clocking up 18 K pa it would get warm enough every morning to burn off last night dew point water condensation.What little there was as it’s still ( oil hold temp ) cooling down from its evening run home . So with the Op s car every day stood its oil just gets more and more water condensation in the winter damp months . Obviously if he lived in Nevada , Namibia etc where it’s dry then the oil won’t degrade and he’s right to challenge the oil change frequency.But as it is his low miler is more knackered so to speak because it’s stood than the guy using his as daily. Welcome to bore scoring . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Boxer boy said: Hmm ! It’s the other way round . Its because it’s left long periods unused ,cold in a damp climate.Eg U.K. winter .Moist air gets in and the water condensates on the cold metal .Dew point and all that . Now the difference is if it was a daily doing a nice longish commute say clocking up 18 K pa it would get warm enough every morning to burn off last night dew point water condensation.What little there was as it’s still ( oil hold temp ) cooling down from its evening run home . So with the Op s car every day stood its oil just gets more and more water condensation in the winter damp months . Obviously if he lived in Nevada , Namibia etc where it’s dry then the oil won’t degrade and he’s right to challenge the oil change frequency.But as it is his low miler is more knackered so to speak because it’s stood than the guy using his as daily. Welcome to bore scoring . So from now I’ll change the oil every year 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXY Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 6 hours ago, P27GLN said: So from now I’ll change the oil every year 👍 That won't solve your problem, only mitigate it. Taking it for a decent run i.e. not just until the water temperature is up to temperature, it's probably another 20 miles before the oil is up to temperature and ready to start burning off any water content. I despair at the volume of serviceable oil that is changed prematurely, more so with my ESG training. Horses for courses though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iborguk Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) Use the car, fixed. Edited June 1, 2023 by iborguk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted June 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 Appreciate all the replies! so in my case there is no quick fix based on my international business travel etc, have no choice that the car lay idle for weeks and have to accept the issue it seems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 47 minutes ago, P27GLN said: Appreciate all the replies! so in my case there is no quick fix based on my international business travel etc, have no choice that the car lay idle for weeks and have to accept the issue it seems Leaving the car idle for weeks is not the issue at all. Oil isn’t hygroscopic and plenty of cars are left in long term storage or only driven in summer. @EXY is correct. If you only do short journeys, the moisture from petrol combustion works its way into the oil (and all inside your exhaust and silencers by the way) and doesn’t get evaporated fully. Try to plan in at least one long drive every few short ones, and get everything nice and hot, but change the oil yearly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted June 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 17 minutes ago, BBB said: Leaving the car idle for weeks is not the issue at all. Oil isn’t hygroscopic and plenty of cars are left in long term storage or only driven in summer. @EXY is correct. If you only do short journeys, the moisture from petrol combustion works its way into the oil (and all inside your exhaust and silencers by the way) and doesn’t get evaporated fully. Try to plan in at least one long drive every few short ones, and get everything nice and hot, but change the oil yearly. Got it 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 https://carlubricantshq.com/guide/condensation-in-engine-oil/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 1 minute ago, dpg123 said: https://carlubricantshq.com/guide/condensation-in-engine-oil/ So both theories above are correct and the only way to get rid of condensation in oil seems to be to drive it hard and drive it fast. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 12 minutes ago, dpg123 said: So both theories above are correct and the only way to get rid of condensation in oil seems to be to drive it hard and drive it fast. and often... 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXY Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 3 hours ago, P27GLN said: Appreciate all the replies! so in my case there is no quick fix based on my international business travel etc, have no choice that the car lay idle for weeks and have to accept the issue it seems Another alternative is I could call round and take it out for a hoon when you are away. Naturally as a fellow BoXa.netter I would only levy a small charge for this essential service 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer boy Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 Warm + dehumidified storage works best for long term periods of inactivity.Realise this is an aspiration in the U.K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted June 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 4 hours ago, dpg123 said: https://carlubricantshq.com/guide/condensation-in-engine-oil/ This is a brilliant article, txs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted June 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2023 On 5/31/2023 at 11:33 PM, Boxer boy said: Hmm ! It’s the other way round . Its because it’s left long periods unused ,cold in a damp climate.Eg U.K. winter .Moist air gets in and the water condensates on the cold metal .Dew point and all that . Now the difference is if it was a daily doing a nice longish commute say clocking up 18 K pa it would get warm enough every morning to burn off last night dew point water condensation.What little there was as it’s still ( oil hold temp ) cooling down from its evening run home . So with the Op s car every day stood its oil just gets more and more water condensation in the winter damp months . Obviously if he lived in Nevada , Namibia etc where it’s dry then the oil won’t degrade and he’s right to challenge the oil change frequency.But as it is his low miler is more knackered so to speak because it’s stood than the guy using his as daily. Welcome to bore scoring . The thought of bore scoring Greeks me out 🥵 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted June 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2023 On 6/1/2023 at 3:24 PM, EXY said: Another alternative is I could call round and take it out for a hoon when you are away. Naturally as a fellow BoXa.netter I would only levy a small charge for this essential service Why not when I’m here? Hehe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P27GLN Posted November 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2023 Impressed to say I did an oil and filter change recently after realising my mistake allowing my 987 to sit idle during winter not being used which could have created a condensation build up in the engine that would just not burn off easily hence turn the oil to milk and expedite bore scoring dilemmas although I have corrected my ways to make sure my 987 is run every 2 weeks for a couple of hours each time during this winter That said I was amazed at how clean the oil and old filter was during the oil change Gonna repeat the exercise in March with a major service i know I could be under criticism on the above for changing oil that maybe doesn’t need to be changed, but it is my choice, however I do appreciate the opinions of others without issue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.