Olive oil as engine oil.

"Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh" (andymcbradleigh)
03/09/2015 at 07:06 • Filed to: None

Late this summer or early autumn I'll replace my old Ford Fiesta with an older Saab 9000. My Fiesta is not worth more than a few hundred quid, so I thought I'd see how far I could drive it with a 50/50 mixture of cheap Olive oil and 20-50w, if that doesn't kill it I'll try pure Olive oil.

So what do you think Oppo, how far can I drive my piece of shit on such oil?

DISCUSSION (29)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:11

100km

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > pip bip - choose Corrour
03/09/2015 at 07:13

Wow, that's pretty far though mate. I'm thinking perhaps a few km, we'll see later this year though.

shop-teacher > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:15

I'll say 10 km.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:16

and if that doesn't kill it , drain the oil , and then see how far you can go.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > pip bip - choose Corrour
03/09/2015 at 07:20

Yup, I'll try everything you should not do on this one.

Tareim - V8 powered > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:20

4-5 miles

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:20

Planning on replacing the olive oil somewhat regularly? I'd expect to see it burning and then that causing engine failure more than just running it on OO as a lubricant. Supposedly, the smoke point for olive oil is 207C, which is lower than motor oil, but above what the engine should be running at. If there's an oil cooler, I can see it working, but I get the feeling that it might start to burn without one.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > shop-teacher
03/09/2015 at 07:21

That's about what I'd bet as well. We'll see later this year though. If Olive oil as engine oil won't kill it we'll have to try something else ;)

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/09/2015 at 07:24

It's a '96 Ford Fiesta 1.3 litre, pretty sure there's no oil cooler :)

The whole point is just to see how fast it'll blow up though.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:29

I think you'd be surprised. The smoke point being 100C higher than the engine temps might make it work better than expected.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:31

30km highway

15mk city

Make sure to pack an extinguisher or two.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/09/2015 at 07:32

True, but how well will it work as a lubricant though? It'd be funny if it could survive for some time though, that way I can try other stupid stuff, such as moonshine and two stroke oil as fuel and such.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:36

pity you can't run it on veg oil bio diesel, you could cook your chips when youre done.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
03/09/2015 at 07:37

I always have an extinguisher or two in my cars, better safe than sorry.

I'll do this test on some remote road though, don't wanna cause problems for other motorists.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
03/09/2015 at 07:39

Hehe, true :P But I've played with used vegetable oil before, but the other way around, cook chips.. then put oil in the tank. Smelled like a chippy the whole time.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 07:48

I'm guessing not as well, but should still provide at least something. Here's something I was able to find on viscocity. It's lighter than motor oil, so I'd be expecting it to leak like a sieve, but it should at least get to where it needs to go.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/09/2015 at 07:52

It's MUUUUCH lighter, that's why I'll do a 50/50 with 20-50w at first. Olive oil flows like water compared to engine oil :P

E92M3 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 08:04

I can't wait to hear about this. My guess is several hundred km. My sister has a suburban that she never checks the oil in. Everytime I check it (which is only maybe once a year) it's 3-4 qts low. It's got 275k miles on it. Had 90k miles on it when she bought it.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > E92M3
03/09/2015 at 08:09

I'll keep the Ford registered and insured, and I'll give it all sorts of hell until it breaks down. We'll see how it does.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 08:25

probably the healthier option too

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
03/09/2015 at 08:27

I'd think so.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 08:50

Is olive oil more or less dense than engine oil, i.e. will it float on top? If so, I think it could go quite a while doing the 50/50 mix. My thinking is that the pickup is down in the sump, and your car doesn't actually need all the oil in it, usually only like 1/2 to 1 liter is flowing through the block at any time. The rest is there for cooling and longevity (spread the dirt and crud out a bit). So the pickup will probably mostly be sucking up regular engine oil. If you go straight olive oil, that's a different story. It has much less viscosity compared to regular engine oil, and doesn't have the stabilizers/detergents/anti-wear additives, so you'd be lucky to get a few miles.

Back when I was in the Navy we had a guy do something similar. He tried to run TEP-2190, a high temp/high pressure rated oil for steam turbines in his car. It's bright yellow and looks/pours a lot like olive oil. The car made it about 5 miles. Even though it's rated for higher temps and pressures than a car engine sees, it wasn't the right kind of oil. It's designed to be pumped much higher pressures and volumes, and designed to work with different types of bearing material. Also, it's not really designed to handle combustion by-products.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 08:51

Just make sure its Extra Virgin.

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 08:54

I bet mineral spirits will do the trick :)

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/09/2015 at 08:54

This is what I was looking for :) I'm just trying to torture the car, see what it can handle. Olive oil is less dense, will float on top unless they actually somehow mix that is.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > shop-teacher
03/09/2015 at 08:57

Would that be the thing we call white spirit here in Norway? If so, I'll try that as well.. but as a fuel.

shop-teacher > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 09:02

Probably the same thing or very similar. It's a clear alcohol based solvent that's used for things like cleaning paint brushes and such.

I look forward to hearing the results!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > shop-teacher
03/09/2015 at 09:04

Yeah, they're the same thing.. Won't use them as oil though, flashpoint is REEEEEALLY low.. like 21 to 55 centigrade.. I'd like to kill the engine, not me :P

shop-teacher > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
03/09/2015 at 11:24

Good point!