Has anyone had to get their oil changed before it was due?
After c. 19k Miles the oil in my Ocean had turned to a thick black paste. VW suggested that it could have been caused by changes in temperature on our 2.5k road trip last year where we went from c. 5’c and 9000ft in Austria to 35’c on the coast in Italy within 12 hours. I’d topped up the oil as suggested by VW after the trip. I’d serviced the van in March.
The van was driving quite sluggishly until the change. Drives fine again now.
Anyone else experienced this with their oil?
I have never heard such a ridiculous explanation.
I’m surprised you didn’t have any warning lights, oil pressure etc:. This is not normal and I have driven through such extremes of temperature etc: on many occasions over the years and never come across this.
http://www.syntheticoildistributor.com/Factors-For-Motor-Oil-Failure.html
Too Thick
When it comes to oil, although it may seem like "the thicker, the better," oil that is too thick is just as detrimental as oil that is too thin. Excessively thick oil is the most commonly discussed oil failure and the subject of many big oil company marketing campaigns.
When oil becomes too thick to flow to engine parts, these areas are starved of oil, resulting in metal-to-metal contact that can lead to catastrophic engine damage. The precursor to sludge is oil that has become much thicker than its original design. The cause is a complex chemical reaction involving heat, combustion byproducts and oxygen combining to create chemical attack on the oil molecules. The resulting chemical reaction creates a much thicker substance that does not flow or protect as well as the original oil. When the reaction continues, sludge begins to form in areas of higher localized temperature and low flow. While some varnish is normal, sludge is a sign of excessively degraded oil that needs to be replaced. In order to inhibit sludge and varnish, the oil must resist attack by oxidation forces. Synthetic base oils have a much higher level of saturated molecules that inherently resist this constant bombardment. Additionally, antioxidants are added to either reduce the formation of free-radical oxidation precursors or soak up these precursors once they form.
Another cause of oil thickening, primarily affecting diesel oils, is excessive soot loading in mechanically unsound engines. Diesel oils are designed to handle some soot contamination, but when the soot overloads the available dispersants in the oil, the oil thickens. The agglomerated soot particles reach a critical size and cause excessive wear commonly seen in diesel liners.
