I do not QS in my Ford (Castrol), however, in my other vehicles, whose make shall remain nameless, I put 183,000 miles before selling using strictly QS and, yes Fram oil filter, no oil related problems. When a head gasket was replaced at 140,000, the inside of the engine looked great. The key in my opinion is changing it every 3,000 miles, not so much what brand. The newest vehicle, which also shall remain nameless hs 62,000 miles with no problems with QS and it runs like a top. Change that oil every 3,000-5,000 and she will last a long, long time otherwise, look out!!

 

My Dad used QS for my whole lifetime. He also was a Ford owner. He changed oil on a regular schedule and NEVER had an oil related engine problem . He usually traded cars at about 8yr intervals and often had high miles . The 73 pinto he had was retired at about 190k! His last vehicle was a f-250 4wd with a 460. Runs smooth as a babies butt! 130k miles of towing a 21 foot trailer back and forth to Alaska. QS never let him down. However he was the only person I ever knew who used it. Oh.....and he'd use a can of Bardahl "top-oil" in the tank once in a while too! When I got out of high school ('64) he gave me a small set of craftsmen wrenches for my birthday. I've been working on my stuff ever since, mostly with those tools. I never thought much of QS all those years because of hearing about all the problems associated with using their oil. Looking back I think my Dad was right; about that and a whole lot of other stuff. I lost my Dad sept 16. I miss him .I miss him a lot. There's a can of QS sitting on the shelf of his garage right now. I might just use it. Where do you buy Bardahl?

 

It seems to jog my memory and the mid to late 70's Quaker state had a bad batch of oil get out that would gel. I was working at a filling station when this happened. It even gelled in the can.

But Quaker state Oil is good oil and so are others.

Tim

 

 

>>
>>I've heard numerous reports of problems with Quaker State
>>motor oil. They used to be one of the best in the motor oil
>>business, but now they're a low price, low quality supplier.
>>Their MSDS lists the contents of their oil as a mixture of
>>Group I and Group II/III (probably Group II) base stock as
>>well as additives for viscosity and pour-point modifiers.
>>The Group I base and the additives are the source of the
>>sludge.
>>
>>This is another motor oil I wouldn't put in my lawnmower.
>
>Paul,
>respectfully...please add more to your points.
>I have read/heard the opposite! I was under the impression
>that the "old" QS was the one that (reportedly) had a
>tendency to create deposits. And, the "new" QS was the
>benefactor of much newer, improved motor oil technology and
>no longer given to forming such deposits.

Brian,

According to their MSDS, they still use Group I motor oil. Group I motor oil is 'solvent refined' motor oil. It has all the disadvantages of dino oil; breaks down under heat and stress, contains contaminants, requires viscosity extenders to form multi-grade type oil. Bad, bad, bad. In addition to all if its natural tendencies to make sludge with its weak oil and contaminants, the viscosity extenders make the problem worse.

I'll grant that they now mix in Group II 'hydroprocessed' motor oil to improve its performance, but you'd better not stress this stuff and you'd better change is every 3 months regardless of the mileage or your engine will suffer.

We can ignore the reports of problems with Quaker State motor oil if we wish, we can even deprecate those reports as unreliable. It's easy to do, this is the internet. But I'd prefer to gain the benefit of other's experience and information. Quaker State oil, once the best in the business, is now the motor oil equivalent of Fram oil filters; cheap crap that I will never use.

>
>Do I run QS? No - as you know its Shell. Would I? Yes, and
>probably wouldn't worry much about it.
>I know we have been down this road before, but I am left to
>wonder...Does anybody know of any real world reports by any
>respected truck magazine, or automotive magazine, etc. that
>elaborates on this subject? It is somewhat interesting to me
>from several perspectives.
>I figure if the problems REALLY existed:
>a) some publications would comment accordingly.
>b) QS would be aware of it and, if interested in staying in
>business, fix the problem.
>I view this as an opportunity to learn, and there are plenty
>of educated guys here to learn from.
>So, Paul (you being one of those) I understand your point
>about the MSDS info and agree it gives rise to some degree
>of suspicion. But, have you any first hand experience or
>knowledge of deposit formation etc? ALso, what about my
>understanding that the new QS has been "fixed"
>Thanks in advance!
>Brian A

 

When I changed my own oil for the first time on my new truck, I used Quaker State becuz that's what was in it when I bought it not knowing anything about it. I did not like what I saw. When it got to the bottom of the quart, there was a dark black almost sandy looking stuff in the bottom. It didn't feel sandy but it looked disgusting and I regretted putting it in my engine. I did not have the money to change it again either. This time, I had the oil changed becuz I had a coupon that allowed me to get the tires rotated too, and I was thinking about going to something else. I have a 79 f100 with a 302. Is a synthetic a bad thing to put in an older vehicle? My uncle seems to think it'd mess up an older engine not made for synthetics. Also, I've heard about Quaker State sludging up and leaving deposits in engines but, thankfully, have not seen it. What would be a good one to go to? Is Pennzoil the same way?


Thanx!
Connie (only Ford luvr in the family!)

'79 f100 "Silver Ghost" (my baby)
'83 f100 "The Ford" (my first)
'85 f150 "Old Blue" (my next project)

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 25-Dec-02 AT 11:10 PM (EST)]Your Uncle is probably just being an Uncle (*and that's a good thing*!!!), you know, trying to "look-out" for `ya.

The only thing you're likely to "mess-up" is your budget, especially if your truck already "uses" (burns/blows/leaks) oil.

It's probably, in fact most likely, "over-kill" in most situations - unless you put harsh (severe) demands on your engine on a "regular" (usual) basis.

If your money is tight (and whose isn't these days?) stay w/ a "dino" (conventional) oil, heck even the "no-name" or "off-brand" oils, "providing API-SAE SL/GF-3 protection", "SHOULD" be good for every bit of 4500 miles, probably 5-6000 under "normal" conditions.

***Summertime in TX though, I'd change "dino" at 3-5000 MAX., especially if you drive in heavy traffic, lots of stop & go, and EXTRA-especially if you run A/C and/or haul heavy loads.***

I wouldn't recommend an Off-Brand - and fewer & fewer folks seem to have trust or faith in Q.S.-Pennzoil (though they've merged AND been bought-out by one of the major oil companies - so they may be an "up & comer") - I'd suggest (not in any particular order) Chevron, Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Texaco (Havoline), there are a few others, I believe Phillips makes a "Trop-Artic" that's good - and Valvoline has ALWAYS been good to me - Castrol GTX is also a strong motor-oil.

Personally, between those, I'd shop best price - and try to stick w/ one brand.

And Motorcraft filters are excellent for your Ford.

Best - Glenn . . .

 

>When I was in line at auto Zone the other day, a man in
>front of me inquired after high mileage Qauker State oil.
>The young clerk wrinkled his nose and muttered that Quaker
>State is a "bad oil." Curious, I leaned forward and asked
>him why and he said his dad had a Ford Ranger that they
>"opened up" the engine and the insides were full of jellied
>junk (that was his description). He said he woudl never use
>Quaker State because it leaves deposits behind.
>
>I wondered at this, thinking that if this were true, it
>woudl have been pulled off the maarket years ago, no?
>
>What do you guys think?

Well, my Grandfather had a Lincoln back in the 70's that only had Quaker State Super Blend used in it, and the engine went sour in it while the car was still under warranty. When the pan was taken off, it was noted that the entire inside of the engine was coated with some of the nastiest looking gunk ever seen. It was a sludgy substance.

That was so long ago that I don't recall the outcome, but there was a many-months long battle between Ford and Quaker state concerning who was going to pay for the new engine.

I don't remember who won.

The car was serviced at regular and proper intervals for the time.

Larry

 

>It seems to jog my memory and the mid to late 70's Quaker
>state had a bad batch of oil get out that would gel. I was
>working at a filling station when this happened. It even
>gelled in the can.
>
>But Quaker state Oil is good oil and so are others.
>
>Tim

My Grandfather experienced this with a Lincoln in the Mid-70's as per my post above. The timing sounds right...

Larry

 

Connie, a good quality, cheap way to go is to use MotorCraft 10W-30 synthetic blend motor oil and MotorCraft oil filters. The quality of both the oil and the filter are pretty high, and the prices are excellent. My local WalMart offers a good deal on oil changes and you can specify which oil and filter you want to use.

Products I wouldn't even use in my 25 year old lawn tractor include Quaker State motor oil and filters, Pennzoil motor oil and filters, Fram filters, and Castrol SynTec synthetic motor oil. There's too many other better products at good prices.